Need Help Getting Around Germany
 

I'll be flying into Frankfurt in late April and I'll be heading to Aachen. I need to know what the best option is in order to get around Germany to see some sight seeing. I'll only be there for about a week but would like to check out a few sights. Would a car or taking the train, be the best idea for me? Also, if there are any deals or specials out there that would help make things cheaper when getting around, please let me know. Thank you.

Welcome to Fodor's wcguy27. In order for posters here to give you valuable advice they probably need a bit more information from you. Will you be travelling alone? Will you be returning to Aachen? What are your interests? ... Berlin, Black Forest, Spas, Hamburg, hiking, castles, Rhine cruise?

There are so many people on Fodor's who have done so much, that if they all start telling you what they like to do, you may lose direction on what you want - then it becomes someone else's trip, not yours.

Tell us your interests. If you have no defined ideas yet, use the internet or library to get some ideas about the options for sites in Germany, then the advice here may be more useful. Travel books available in book stores will give you a good overview (you don't have to buy them - just look).

It is great that you are planning so far in advance. This will help ensure you have the greatest value for your time away. Hope to hear back from you soon.

tC

www.bahn.de is the German railways web site with schedules and fares - including online advance good discounts over just showing up and there are also things like Lander Cards - Regional passes good for a wide radius around main cities and for Germany's Lander - the equivalent of our states.

so go to www.bahn.de and put in Frankfurt Flughafen (sp?) and Aachen and a date to get all the train schedules - which pretty much do not change significantly from month to month, in case your future date is not yet loaded. And you can see the regular, walk up fare, and any discounted (non-changeable I think) fare displayed, if available.

Probably from Frankfurt Airport you take the bullet train to Cologne and change to a fast train to Aachen - taking about two hours or so I would think with lots and lots of departures. If traveling long-distance trains enough then investigate the German Railpass -a Twin Pass if traveling with another person at all times.

For loads on German trains, including passes, etc. I always highlight these Wunderbar sites - www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com; www.seat61.com

a problem with booking discounted and therefore I believe at least non-changeable tickets after landing is you do not really know when the plane will land and when you will get thru customs, etc and to the airport train station - so leave lots of fudge factor time or plan on paying full price (in which the German Pass may come into play, depending on what other rail trips you may take, of course.

You have 7 days, and 1 or 2 at a minimum will be spent in Aachen, so getting "around Germany" seems pretty unrealistic. You can get around Aachen for 3 days with a "Welcome ticket" (13 Euro) that gives you unfettered access to the transit system. Get one on a bus or at the Peterstr. 17 AVV customer service center. 1-day passes cost 6.45. You can get around the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen for 25 Euros per day on a "Schöner Tag Single" ticket (daypass) to visit Düsseldorf, Cologne, Bonn, and more distant places too; buy it at any train station.

http://www.bahn.de/regional/view/mdb...n_nrw_2010.pdf

This page gives you info on NRW and all similar daypasses for the German states (Länder):

http://www.bahn.de/i/view/USA/en/pri...r-ticket.shtml

the Lander tickets are great deals but keep in mind that they cannot be used on faster trains such as ICE - just keep that in mind and for short trips the regional trains that they do cover will be just fine and only a few minutes slower.

A car would by OK. Head to the Cochem on the Mosel river for three days and explore that area. A day trip to Trier and other lovely towns on the Mosel. Then North to Aachen is only a few hours drive. While there, you could visit one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands, Maastricht, very near Aachen. Also a WW2 American cemetery, between Aachen and Maastricht. A little information. Richard http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/maastricht http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cochem http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/trier www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries/ne.php

Then North to Aachen is only a few hours drive. While there, you could visit one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands, Maastricht, very near Aachen>

No Aachen and Masstricht are not in any stretch of the mind, even a Dutch strecht of the midn in a very tiny country, but are at direct opposite of each other - Aachen in the far west and Maastricht in the far west.

No Masstrict is NOT very near Aachen - misinformation.

Let me apolgoize right now for my own brain fahrt - iris 745 is indeed right - Aachen is really close to Maastricht and I realized my mistake - an awful mistake as soon as I hit the post key - so please accept my apology as I suptidly mixed up cities I have been to several times.