Question About Train Travel
 

We are traveling to Germany in September and will be traveling by train. Our itinerary is Munich to Rothenburg to Heidelberg to Bacharach to Cologne. We have decided to purchase tickets as we go possibly taking advantage of Lander Tickets and Happy Weekend Tickets when possible. Am I correct in assuming we can just show up at the station and but tickets as we go? We will be traveling second class. Also, we will be traveling from Cologne to Paris on a Wednesday on the final leg of our trip. There are direct Thalys trains from Cologne to Paris which we would like to take. The price on bahn.de is 85,50 euros. Would it be better to buy these tickets before we leave the States or buy them when we get to Germany?. Also, are the Happy Weekend Tickets good all day or just from Noon on? Thanks.

For thalys best fares i'd go to www.thalys.com or www.voyages-sncf.com, the latter the French rail website that may have special offers for Thalys. Usually fares in the US are a bit higher, though at times, like thru the end of Aug, 2006 RailEurope is having a 50% off sale (though doesn't apply this time to Cologne services) and is even offering a $16 Paris-amsterdam fare - a great deal if actually bookable. For info on prices in US i always refer folks to BETS (800-441-2387) who in my experience give great service - that said i think you'd be better off online or even waiting until Munich, where you could buy them at the station.
You of course can just show up at the station and buy tickets as you go or even buy them all at once in one station.

just checked RailEurope site and $150 is the cheapest (per person) Cologne to Paris so the 86 euro fare is much better.

The Länder tickets are not limited. You can just show up at the station and buy them.

Certainly, the Bayern ticket will be ideal for your trip from Munich to Rothenburg - just as long as you don't want to leave before 9 AM on a weekday. If you absolutely, positively have to leave before 9, there is a 7:50 train to Augsburg. Fare on that train is €10 each person. The connecting train leaves after 9, so you could use the Bayern ticket the rest of the way.

The rest of your routes cross state borders, so use of the Land tickets gets a bit more complicated. If you can do Rothenburg to Heidelburg or Bacharach to Köln on a weekend day, you can use a Schönes Wochenende ticket. That ticket, by the way, is valid from midnight in the morning, all day until 3 AM the following day.

The trip from Heidelberg to Bacharach, if on a weekday, is not so complicated, because the Rheinland-Pfalz ticket is valid between Mannheim Hbf and Ludwigshafen, across the river in Rheinland-Pfalz. Take the S-bahn from Heidelberg to Mannheim Hbf (€4,50 pP), then buy a Rheinland-Pfalz ticket for €23. You may not be able to buy it from a ticket counter, but you should be able to from any of the red, multi-lingual, touch screen Fernverkehr automats.

What about those other two legs? Do you plan on doing any of them on a weekday?

The point Larry's making is that on Sat or Sun the Happy Weekend ticket will take you across state borders at any time of day, which makes your ticket purchasing a lot simpler and probably cheaper. Just buy the H-W tickets in Germany.

For weekday travel:

Munich-R'burg: Bayern Ticket

R'burg-H'berg (crosses state border): You'll need to get either point-to-point tickets + Baden-Wuerttemberg ticket, or Bayern Ticket + B-W ticket. You can buy the p-2-p tickets or Bayern Ticket in R'burg or Munich, but the B-W ticket can't be bought in Germany before you actually reach the state of B-W, so buy it online before you go.

H'berg-Bacharach: Do as Larry explained, but buy your Rheinland-Pfalz ticket in advance online too so that you don't have to purchase it in Mannheim beetween train connections.

Bacharach-Cologne (also crosses state border): Another Rheinland-Pfalz ticket (buy it in Bacharach from a machine or in advance online) will get you all the way to Bonn, but you need p-2-p tickets or a NRW ticket for Bonn-Cologne, whichever is cheaper. The NRW ticket should be bought in advance online; the p-2-p tickets can be bought in advance in Munich or wherever (Bacharach doesn't have a manned station, may be trickier for you to use machine for these.)

Happy Weekend tickets are good for 1 full day from midnight until 2 or 3 a.m. of the following day.

Russ, you said, "the B-W ticket can't be bought in Germany before you actually reach the state of B-W, so buy it online before you go."

That used to be the case with Länder tickets, but it is no longer true (hooray). Note, from the DB website, "You can also purchase the Länder-Tickets on all DB-ticket automats or for 2 EUR more in all DB travel centers or DB agencies." By DB-ticket automats they mean the red, multilingual, touch screen machines. You will find these machines in stations served by the long distance trains (ICE, IC, EC) of the Fernverkehr, which would include Munich and Heidelberg.

I am reluctant to tell people to buy these tickets online, because the Bahn Ticket-shop is only in German. Also, you buy the Land ticket online for a specific date, and if you decide you want to travel on a different date, you can't just go to a ticket counter and exchange it. Tickets purchased online have to be refunded by mail and you have to send them in with a form that you find SOMEWHERE on the Bahn website.

Buying a Land ticket from a ticket automat is too simple not to do it that way.

Also, Länder tickets are not the best way to go for the Rothenburg to Heidelberg and Bacharach to Köln legs. The least expensive way to go is with multiple point-point tickets and a Verkehrsverbund day ticket. Exactly how this works is a little more complicated. I didn't want to explain it unless Jim said he was going to do one or both legs during the week, without a Schönes Wochenende ticket.

Larry - if the out-of-state purchase of Laender tix is now possible, my apologies for complicating your advice to Jim. And you're right that the Laender tix are only available in German - I'd forgotten that. And you're also right that the Verkehrsverbund options will often save a bit on this route or that over the Laender tix, but I've found it's terribly difficult to try to get that info across to someone and for them to use it.

So where's Jim??

"Also, Länder tickets are not the best way to go for the Rothenburg to Heidelberg and Bacharach to Köln legs. The least expensive way to go is with multiple point-point tickets and a Verkehrsverbund day ticket. Exactly how this works is a little more complicated. I didn't want to explain it unless Jim said he was going to do one or both legs during the week, without a Schönes Wochenende ticket."

This is the reason that I am happy to pay the ticket agent 2 euros over the machine purchase price when I am not sure what the best fare will be.

Regards, Gary

We're going to Germany the end of Aug and bought a Twinsaver ticket or some such name. Because we /or take a fast train (ICE) we chose this option.

Russ, like you I remember the days when you could not purchase a Land ticket outside of the Land. Even when the online tickets first appeared, a Land ticket could only be sent to an address within that Land.

However, things have changed for the better. First I noticed that Land tickets could be purchased online from the Ticket Shop and self printed. Later I noticed that the Bahn website said they could be purchased at any DB automat in Germany. I called German Rail just to confirm it. However, as I said, they cannot be purchased from a Nahverkehr (blue/white) automat outside the Land, only from a red DB automat.

The advantage of this new Land ticket purchase policy is that, for instance, you can purchase a Bayern ticket while you are in Frankfurt.

If two arrive at FRA and want to go to Rothenburg that day, you can purchase a Bayern ticket in the airport for €25 and two point to point RMV tickets to Kahl am Main for €6,25 each, so the total fare to Rothenburg would be €37,50. That compares to two full fare tickets for €72. If you are a group of four, it costs €50 vs. €144. It will take less than one hour longer; the savings are worth it.

You can even go all the way to Munich (or Salzburg) for that same €37,50.

Two things:

1) In Germany, you can save a lot by taking slower trains. At www.bahn.de, select "without IC/ICE" and note the difference - twice the travel time, half the fare. Hey, you're on vacation, what's the hurry? Besides, down the Rhine from Mainz to Koblenz and Köln you get a good long view of the castles if you travel on the slow regional trains.

2) From Köln you can fly Germanwings to Paris, dirt cheap at times, it cost me 25 bucks in May, USD including fees etc.

Gary,

in this case I would caution about putting too much faith in using ticket agents. This is a case where some homework is essential.

I think if you were to go to the counter in Rothenburg and ask for train tickets to Heidelberg, the best they could do with Länder tickets would be to sell you a Bayern ticket for €27. Since they are probably only a regional counter, not a DB Reisebüro, they wouldn't be able to sell you the B-W ticket. They might advise you to buy it at the red DB Automat on the platform for €25 (€52 total). However, the best option at the counter for Rothenburg to Heidelberg would probably be two full fare regional tickets at €30,50/P (€61,00 total), the price shown on the DB website.

However, the route to Heidelberg goes through Würzburg; the fare from Rothenburg to Würzburg is €10 per person. If you look on the Bahn website for the fare from Würzburg to Heidelberg, nothing is shown. That is because the "connection is served by a transit agency", and tickets cannot be purchased from DB online for a transit agency. In fact, I think these tickets can only be purchased locally, i.e., inside the transit district.

Most of the trip from Würzburg to Heidelberg is within the Rhein-Neckar transit district (VRN, www.vrn.de). Würzburg is actually in the Mainfranken district (VVM), but the area up to Würzburg is shared between the districts. Therefore, you can buy, in Würzburg, VRN tickets for Würzburg to Heidelberg for €7,20 per person. That makes the trip from Rothenburg to Heidelberg €17,20 per person, €34,40 for two. That's much less than what it would cost from the counter. I think the best you could get from the counter would be the same advice I just gave you.

As for Bacharach, I've been there. It is an unmanned station. The only tickets you can buy are from the blue/white Nahverkehr automat. The machine does sell the Rheinland-Pfalz ticket.

Larry has a totally mind-boggling incredible grasp of German trains and fares! Totally amazing - Fodorites are so lucky to have him as a resource.

PalQ,

wow, I will assume you are sincere and, as I consider you aknowledgeable contributer to this site, I will take that as an extreme complement. Maybe my homework has paid off.

Really, it is questions like this the get me to dig and, as I do, I learn more.

It seems that the pricing structure in Germany has change over the years. Five years ago, all the fares could be found on bahn.de. Then they started to diversify their operation, and pricing was made the responsibility of the local fare disctricts. Now the bahn only says that the fares are within a tariff district, and you have to try to find the district. I wish they would publish a complete map of the fare districts. Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Main (www.vrm.de), which includes Frankfurt, the airport, and Mainz, has a list of "Andere Verkehrsräume" (other transit areas) under Service > Infos, with links to all the transit districts, but there is no roadmap, it is more or less hit and miss.

I have been slowly compiling a map of the districts. Maybe someday I will start a website with more direction on how to find this information.

Larryincolorado - you definitely are THE man to talk to when it comes to train travel in Germany. And I mean that with all sincerity. Would you mind sending me an email so that I will have your email address? I have several questions to ask you that don't necessarily need to be posted on this forum. Thanks... Ben ([email protected])

Larry: Yes you should create a continuing thread with all the regional passes, bahn.de specials, Schones Wochenende Tickets, etc. Similar to MorganB's superb guide to SNCF - but Germany with all its Lander Tageskarte is much more Byzantine as to pricing when travel is concentrated in a small area. Then when answering questions on rail travel we could simply give the URL of the thread for folks benefitting from what are some of the great bargains in European trains through your intense research.
Interesting enough Today's Railways, a UK rail mag on Continental travel in the June 2006 issue published details of nine Lander Tageskarte (regional day passes) and 25 Verkehrsverbund Passes (tariff unions for cities and areas around them and, unlike Lander Tickets which are good i think basically on rail lines, these passes are good on all public transport in the local area; smaller area but comprehensive coverage of not only S-Bahns but U-bahns, buses, etc).
Interesting enough it says the Bayern Ticket is 17 e for a single and 24 e for a group - maybe they are a bit behind with their prices - they add that this pass is even valid on the Kempten-Reutte in Tirol-Garmisch line running thru Austria (this line was threatened with closure - the cross border part Reutte-Kempten but has now been refurbished and kept open).
A 'New Weekly Pass' they highlight is the Brandenburg Ticket called the 7 Tage Gesamtnetz which covers the whole of Brandenburg and Berlin - 1st class 67.90 euro, 2nd 57.90 euros.
I have studied and written about European train for decades but i know relatively little about online pricing, the Lander Cards, except they exist, etc so appreciate your sharing knowledge of these. Similar to MorganB in France and the now departed to slowtravel.com GAC in Italy...and others too.
I usually have a pan-European railpass when i travel on typically wide-ranging train travels so have never really had to study the local options, even though like last December i spent several days just taking trains around the Darmstadt-Frankfurt-Geissen-Koblenz-Black Forest area and probably could have saved some days on my Eurailpass and used Lander tickets instead.
any way as they say in Germany, have a Gut Fahrt - good ride on your next trip!
P.S. You may enjoy reading Today's Railways if you don't already - US subscription agent 760-603-9766 or direct from UK: Today's Railways Europe (Dept T), Platform 5 Publishing ph- 44 (0) 114 255 8000-
regularly covers German trains and each country each month.

PalQ,

is MorganB's guide to SNCF a thread on Fodor's? Can you give me a link to it?

How do you keep others from "contributing" to the thread?

As far as I know, the Länder tickets are normally valid for all modes of transport in the Verkehrsverbünden (Metro districts) in that Land. I think there may be one or two VV that don't honor the ticket for some transport, but that is unusual. I know also that several VV in Baden-Württemberg (Karlsruhe, KVV and Donau-Iller, DING) straddle a Land border. There the ticket is good in the part of the VV within B-W, as well as specified stretches in neighboring Land. All this is explained pretty well on the DB site, although maybe only in German. Also, each of the Länder has its own website, with a better description of the area of validity, sometimes even maps, but these also are often only in German.

MorganB's French Rail SNCF Booking guide version 2
Larry: I'm so computer illiterate i don't know how to get the URL or whatever that long thing folks give that you click on and the thread pops up. This is the title of MorganB's 2nd version of SNCF ticketing - his first one grew into a long informative posting so i think he's distilled it in number 2.
No i don't think there's anyway to keep others from posting and the only solution to keep it pure so to say, not that others wouldn't often contribute valuable things, would be to recopy and make a new posting, deleting what you didn't want.
As for the Lander coverage i was only quoting the mag and they at times have given incorrect info on passes that i knew to be not accurate. But here's how they describe the Lander Tageskarte:
"All German Lander (regions) now have a Tageskarte (day railpass) with similar conditions, being available in 2nd class Mondays-Sundays. The weekday "after 09:00 has been abolished. Group tickets (usually called Gruppenkarte) are valid for up to five people traveling together on S-Bahn, IRE, RB, RE and Se locals trains run by DB Regio. Some passes cover several Lander. The pass may allow travel in private railway services funded by the Lander, but holders are highly recommended to check before boarding. Several Lander now have a single person at a reduced rate. All cost 2 euros more if bought from a manned ticket office. Users of day railpasses, such as the Schones Wochemende and lander passes must now write the names of all users on the passes. Photo ID may also be requested to prove that the correct people are using them."
Thus i construed it didn't cover municipal U-Bahns, trams, buses, etc. because it didn't mention them, but again they are at times wrong in my experience.

Just for the record, www.bayern-takt.de has an excellant explanation of the validity of the Bayern ticket. You can choose to read the site in English.

It says, "Both [Bayern and Bayern single] tickets are valid from Monday to Friday from 9 am to 3 am on the following day, and on Saturdays and Sundays and all days that are holidays in the whole of Bavaria from midnight right through to 3 am the following day.

You can travel on the ticket second class on all regional trains, i.e. DB Regio AG, Bayerische Oberlandbahn [BOB], ALEX [Allgäu Express], Erfurter Bahn, Hessische Landesbahn and Länderbahn on Bavarian lines, as well as all the means of transport provided by MVV [Munich], AVV [Augsburg], VVM [Mainfranken, Würzburg], RVV [Regensburg], VAB [Bayerischen Untermain] and VGN [Nürnberg](S-Bahn, underground, tram and bus) and the regional buses from OVF, RBO, RVO, RVA, KOB and RBS. Please ask your bus driver for details.

Both tickets are valid to Ulm, Kufstein and Salzburg and on the entire route of the Außerfernbahn from Garmisch-Partenkirchen via Reutte (Tirol) to Kempten (Allgäu) and from Memmingen to Lindau via Kißlegg (Baden-Württemberg)."

Comments in [] were mine. RVO and RVA are Regional Verkehr Oberbayern and RV Allgäu, which together run all the buses along the Alps on the southern border of Bavaria. You could use the train from Munich to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, then the bus to Linderhof, all with a Bayern Ticket.

So far every Land Nahverkehr website I have checked has had a list of all the local transit district that accept the Land ticket for all means of transport including U-bahn and trams (if they have them) and buses. The list seems pretty complete, but I have not done an exhaustive search for exceptions. Baden-Württemberg does say that their ticket is accepted in MOST transit districts. B-W also says that in the Kalsruhe VV (KVV), the Rhein-Nectar VV (VRN), and the Donau-Iller VV (DING), the B-W ticket is only valid within the part of the VV that lies in B-W. Parts of KVV and VRN, for example, lie across the Rhein in Rhineland-Pfalz. The B-W ticket is not valid there, except for the short stretch from Mannheim to Karlsruhe on the left bank through Ludwigshafen, Germersheim, and Wörth.

However, the DB website does NOT specifically say that the Schönes-wochenende ticket is valid in transit districts. The full explanation is on the German language side. My best translation is,

"The tickets is valid for as many trips as you like in trains of the product class C (IRE, RE, RB, S, with the exception of the InterRegio), as well as trips that don’t take place exclusively in the network of a transport/tariff district or a transport company. Inside of transport/tariff districts and transport companies and in trains of other enterprises that do not belong to the Deutsche Bahn, the Schönes-Wochenende Ticket is only valid then, when it is recognized by the particular transport/tariff district, the transport company, or the concerned enterprise."

Thus, you can travel across German and pass through or into a VV, but for travel entirely inside the VV, you can only use the S-W ticket if the distict accepts it.

Maybe that is why the magazine declined to say the ticket was accepted for U-bahn, trans, and buses of the VVs.

I have checked a few transit districts, like Munich VV, and so far they all accept the S-W ticket.

Sorry it took me so long to get back into the discussion. I greatly appreciate the wealth of information that you have all provided especially Larry and Russ. To clarify our itinerary there are 3 adults in our party and we are traveling as follows:
Thursday - Munich to Rothenburg
Saturday - Rothenburg to Heidelberg
Sunday - Heidelberg to Bacharach
Tuesday - Bacharach to Cologne
Wednesday - Cologne to Paris
Based on the information you have provided we should be able to use the Happy Weekend ticket for the Rothenburg to Heidelberg and Heidelberg to Bacharach legs. When we go from Munich to Rothenburg we are actually going from Munich to Fussen to tour Neuschwanstein Castle and then from Fussen to Rothenburg. I think we will want to start early that day so rather than wait till 9:00 we may just buy p-2-p tickets from Munich to Fussen and then use the Lander ticket from Fussen to Rothenburg. For the Bacharach to Cologne leg we will use the Lander ticket from Bacharach to Bonn and then buy p-2-p tickets from Bonn to Cologne. We are taking the Thalys train from Cologne to Paris. This is all great information which will result in some significant savings for us.
I do have a couple of other questions. I checked on bahn.de and it says the Happy Weekend tickets for the Saturday and Sunday legs are available and I can order them. I am thinking primarily about the Rothenburg to Heidelberg leg. I am pretty sure we would like to take the 9:00 train. Is there any reason to order them online or would you buy then at Rothenburg or possibly Munich? Also, do you have any advice or recommendation about purchasing seat reservations for any of these trips.
Thanks again for all the great information.

In the first place, Schönes-Wochenende and Länder tickets are only valid on regional trains, and regional trains don't have reserved seats, so that should solve that question.

Depending on how early you want to leave Munich, you might not have to buy p-2-p tickets all the way to Fuessen, only to the first stop the train makes after 9:00 AM. After that the Bayern ticket will be valid. If you leave on the 8:52 train, you only need tickets to Geltendorf, which is the all zones, partner MVV day ticket for 17 EUR for everyone.

PalQ,

I found MorgenB's posting. It was done all at once followed by a lot of comments. However, when I post on German travel, I want something that I can work on over a period of time, revise as I want, and not have it fragmented.

So, I have taken out a GeoCities website which I will devote to getting the best deals (or just surviving) traveling in Germany. I don't want to release it until I have a major part of the work done, but I will let you know.

LarryC - thanks for update. You could work on the GeoCities thing and then copy and paste appropriate parts of it when postings warrant it here - an impressive endeavor that i know you enjoy, much like i do when talking about train travel in general. Good luck and many are appreciative.

Hi there,
I'm leaving tomorrow night and just wanted to say that this was a really helpful thread (expecially the tip about buying the Bavarian Lander Ticket at the FRA airport and then two one-way tickets to Kahl--genius).

I jsut wanted to clarify: when you buy these Lander tickets from the machine, do they have anything to do with the destination? Most tickets say where you're leaving from and where you're going. Is it just a pass you show to the conductor once you get on the train? Also, do you need to validate them in the machines (I can't remember if Germany has the same validation system that France does). If so, do I need to get off the train at Kahl to validate the Bavarian ticket, or can I do it in Frankfut? Similar question for using it to ride the Munich public transit system---what do you do with it? Is it like Berlin and Vienna where there are no turnstiles, only occasional policeman?

Thanks!

>I jsut wanted to clarify: when you buy these Lander tickets from the machine, do they have anything to do with the destination?

No, only with the area of validity (Bavaria, RLP et cetera). The ticket machines usually have a separate button for a Länder ticket and for the SW ticket.

>Most tickets say where you're leaving from and where you're going. Is it just a pass you show to the conductor once you get on the train?

Yes.

>Also, do you need to validate them in the machines (I can't remember if Germany has the same validation system that France does).

No to both. The local transit systems (trams, subways etc) require you to validate the tickets, but not the railways. If you buy the Länder or SW tickets from the machines of the local transit and not from the DB machines you will need to validate them.

>If so, do I need to get off the train at Kahl to validate the Bavarian ticket, or can I do it in Frankfut?

As you won't be able to buy a Bavaria ticket from the local transit machine in Frankfurt (only from the DB machine) it will already come out validated. No need to get out in Kahl.

> Similar question for using it to ride the Munich public transit system---what do you do with it? Is it like Berlin and Vienna where there are no turnstiles, only occasional policeman?

Exactly the same. You make sure beforehand that you have a ticket by the time you enter the tram/bus/subway, and just go on in.

In a station in Frankfurt, in addition to the RMV ticket machines, you should see two kinds of Bahn ticket machines (http://www.bahn.de/-S:PtVOR9:eia7ztN.../nta/nta.shtml). The blue and white machines are for the local transport (Nahverkehr) in the state of Hesse. You should be able to purchase the tickets to Kahl at one of these machines. On the left side is a list of stations followed by a 4 digit code. First, press one of the buttons in the two columns (lower right) for a single adult ticket. I think it is the top, left button. Then you enter the code on the keypad and it should show you the price of a ticket for one person. You put the money in the slots and it prints a ticket. You can do that two times for two tickets, or when it first shows you the price, you can press the green '+' button and enter the code again. Then it will show you the price for two people and print a ticket for two. There is no longer a price advantage for two people traveling together on point-point tickets, so it doesn't matter how you do it. You can just as easily purchase these tickets at a counter.

You can also purchase a Hes3en Ticket, the Land ticket for Hesse, at one of these Nahverkehr machines, but I don't think it will offer a Bayern Ticket. For that you need to find one of the red/white/blue Bahn machines. These machines are touch screen and can be switched to English by touching the British flag on the screen. The opening screen should have a touch pad (third down, right column, I believe) for Länder tickets. I assume when you touch it, it will switch to a screen with buttons for the individual Länder. It will ask you for the date. Remember, the Bayern ticket can be used anytime on weekends, but only after 9 AM on weekdays.

When purchasing a ticket from a machine using a credit card (if they still take American cards. You will need a PIN), if you put the card in right away, it will be returned. No problem. You have to wait until it displays the ticket price before it will take your card. The machine will print two items, first a receipt for the CC, then the ticket. Don't forget the ticket.

You can also purchase a Bayern Ticket at the ticket counter, but they charge you an extra €2.

The ticket will say nothing about destination, but it is date specific. It will probably have a place for you to sign, so that you cannot sell it to someone else when you are through with it. It should not have to be cancelled (entwerten), just keep it until a conductor asks to see it.

In the Munich metro system, most tickets must be cancelled before boarding the conveyance. You can identify those tickets that have to be cancelled by the words "Hier entwerten" on one edge along with an arrow pointing to how the ticket is inserted into the machine. Best policy: whenever you see "Hier Entwerten" on a ticket, look for a machine to cancell it. Make sure the words are facing up when you cancell it. There are cancelling machines in the U/S-Bahn stations as you go to the platform and on the streetcars. The driver will handle that on the buses.

After reading on the webpage I gave you the description for using the local ticket machine, I think you might enter the destination code first, then press the button for ticket type (Einzelfahrkarte is a single trip ticket).

The easiest thing to do is to call BudgetEuropeTravel.com. They are extremely knowledgeable and helpful, and will patiently answer your questions at no charge. If you purchase tickets/passes through them, it's with a minimal Shipping and Handling fee to get paper tickets mailed to you. I highly recommend them.
:)>-

>The driver will handle that on the buses.

Actually not, at least not on city buses (unless something changed in the last year or two). There are cancelling machines in the bus, just like in trams. On U- and S-Bahn the same cancelling machines are positioned right in the entrance to the platform.

I know that at least in Munich, the regulations require that you enter the bus by the front door and show the driver your ticket. It seems to me that I have had to do that other places as well. If you buy a ticket from a driver, it comes per-stamped.

Munich does this so they don't have to have transit police check tickets on the bus.

I have seen buses with side doors, but they seem to only open for exit. I guess it is possible for the side door to open for entrance and there to be a cancelling machine at the door; I've just never seen one.

Thanks, everyone. I've printed out your answers so I can do everything correctly when I get there.

Oh wait, one last question.

I was just a bit confused about the Schones Wochenende tickets. Are they good for only one full day, or does the same ticket cover both Saturday and Sunday? (when people say 3am the next day, I'm never sure exactly which day that means).

My itinerary (with my mom) is to get to the Frankfurt airport Saturday morning, immediately take the train to Wurzburg, spend the rest of Saturday there, then take a day trip to Rothenburg on Sunday, and leave for Bamberg Monday afternoon. So, should I do the Saturday Bayern Ticket plus two one-way FRA--Kahl, and a Sunday Lander ticket (a one-way from Wurzburg to Ro'burg costs 10 euros, which would add up to 40 euros for the day)? Or, does a Schones Wochenende ticket cover the entire thing?

Sorry if I'm a little slow. German trains are mind-boggling, yet great.

Also (I'm on a roll here), I know France has an under 26 discount. Does Germany have that? And if so, does that throw a spanner into the whole works?

get a rail pass it'll save you money

If you buy a Schönes-Wochenende Ticket on Friday for Saturday, it is valid from midnight, Saturday morning, all day Saturday, until 3 AM Sunday morning. Likewise, a S-W Ticket purchased for Sunday would be valid until 3 AM on Monday morning.

If you are going to Rothenburg odT for a day trip, your best bet is another Bayern Ticket for €25. One S-W Ticket does not cover both weekend days.

A one way ticket to Bamberg costs €15,50 pP, so, again, a €25 Bayern Ticket will save you a few Euro on Monday.

Except for the German Rail Youth pass, I don't think there are under 26 deals anywhere in Germany. However, in most cases all children under 15 travel free with their parents. I don't think any other country does that.

Thanks again, Larry. Now I think I'm all clear. The only thing I'm worrying about now is the rain, but there's nothing I can do about that.

Off to the airport soon...