Novice Germany traveler
 

Please help the novice. I am so confused about the German rail system. We fly into Frankfurt. Do we want to purchase a German Rail Pass for the time we will be in Germany (9 days) and we need to purchase that prior to leaving the US -- right? Do we need to reserve a seat to get from the airport to Trier and do we reserve it while in the US or once we get there? Is transporting luggage a problem -- is there a limit on number of pieces, etc.? Thanks in advance form your advice.

IF you need a railpass, you have to buy it here. Try your itinerary at www.railsaver.com to see what they suggest. Luggage is up to you to carry up the steep, narrow train steps- pack light. Reservations probably aren't necessary, but it depends on the day you're traveling.

Unless you have an itinerary that has you criss-crossing the country almost daily (and I recommend that NOT do that!) you may find that a pass saves you no money - - only ensures that you are motivated to ride the train more often than you otherwise might. My advice: see where you are more, move around less (advice I am not entirely taking for my trip next month).<BR>Try out any representative itinerary on www.railsaver.com - - you will likely find that individual point to point tickets are cheaper than any pass.<BR><BR>As for luggage, you can take onto a train whatever you can carry to your seat with you. There are overhead storage racks that are about 2-3 times what you typically find on the roomiest overhead space on a plane. But you have to hoist it up there.<BR><BR>See my oft-given advice about luggage on this thread:<BR><BR>http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessages.jsp?fid=2&tid=1401906<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

Christine,<BR><BR>Here is the website for the German railway system; www.bahn.de. It has a lot of information for you.<BR><BR>Don't worry about rail travel in Germany. It is very straight forward and easy to navigate. As you probably know, the Franfurt Airport has a train station right there.<BR><BR>Please, please heed Liz and Rex's advice about luggage. All you want to wrestle with is a 22" roller suitcase and a shoulder bag per person. Any more and you will be cursing yourself the whole trip.<BR><BR>Dick

Thank you so much for all your advice. This site is the BEST! I checked out www.railsaver.com and the itinerary feature -- awesome! Still confused about the "reservation" thing. It doesn't sound like you all think we need to worry about reservations? Thanks too for the advice on luggage. I'm sure I will hit you up with more questions soon.

I always look at the trips I plan on taking within a country or countries and add up the cost of each leg. If the total cost is the same or greater then the price of a pass, I get the pass. Then I don't need to hassle lines etc. Getting to Trier from Frankfurt, shouldn't require a reservation, (I've done it). You will likely need to change trains, probably in Koblenz, but maybe not depending on the time of day. The lighter and smaller your luggage for train travel, the better.

IF you buy a pass that will get you on the train, but on some trains it will NOT guarantee a seat. Certain trains, mainly the high speed and/or express types, require a seat reservation which must be purchased (the pass does not cover that cost). To keep it simple just ask at the station prior to travel if you need to reserve seats on the train you plan to take (maybe the night before you travel)and if so reserve one. Never fear, if you don't speak German most of the staff at the train stations will speak some English. If most of your train trips on the more local type trains most likely will not need reserved seats. And, as the rest have said, I can not stress enough to PACK LIGHT because whatever you pack you will be lugging around the whole trip.

topping<BR>

Here's the deal with reservations: with your ticket, you can board ANY train, and sit in any free seat. However, during peak travel times - ie. Fridays and Sundays in the evening - you MAY have difficulty in finding a free seat. So in a situation like that you'll have to stand somewhere (emphasis on somewhere, as the are obviously many people walking about the train). On smaller trains generally you can't make reservations, on InterRegio trains (IR) and above (IC, EC, ICE) you can. I would only suggest a reservation if you really really want to have a guaranteed seat. You can also make express reservations on most trains at the station right before boarding.

If you are only shuttling by train between Frankfurt Airport and Trier, you should not even consider a railpass. You can get from the Airport to Trier with up top 4 other family members for about 30 Euros total by riding the Rheinland-Pfalz regional trains on a daypass. Tell me what day of the week you're travelling (reply here- my e-mail's down) and I'll tell you how to do it.<BR><BR>A second "novice" post of yours mentions going to Munich. Do you plan to go there with your friends by train or by car? Trier to Munich is about 90 Euros each way by train for regular tickets, so if that's how you're going, and you're returning to Frankfurt or Trier, you would probably do well to get a 4-day German-Rail pass. These come in a "twinpass" version - for 2 people travelling together - at around $150 per person. Buy them here. There are 5- and 10-day passes available in Frankfurt, but they'll cost you more because of the VAT tax you must pay there.<BR><BR>I wouldn't bother with reservations for Trier. I've ridden German trains hundreds of times and never missed a train because it was too full.