Train help--Austria and in general (swandav2000 and others, please)
 

We are starting to use more train transport for our European travels and I'm a bit mystified by all of the options for saving costs on them. This February we will be traveling from Zurich to St. Anton to Kitzbuhel to Garmisch and home from Munich with some day trips in between. We are two seniors and one adult. I've done enough reading and computing to recognize that a Eurail pass or even a two country pass will probably not be worth the cost even with the convenience. For one thing we have a very early flight out of Munich and will feel better taking a car transfer from Garmisch for that ride.

Since the majority of our train travel will therefore be in Austria I'm concentrating on the Vorteilscard Senior for my husband and myself since we'll always be traveling together. (Son will simply need to pay full price on all tickets as far as I can tell) So my questions deal primarily with the VorteilScard Senior discount card.

I assume but cannot find confirmation on-line that this card is not limited to Austrian citizens and that we can get one--provided we have photo id and a picture for the card. True?

Can we be issued a card immediately upon payment of the fee and submission of our pictures, etc. AND be issued that card at the Zurich Flughafen railstation? I can see that Vorteils rates apply to a trip from there to St. Anton but I don't know if I can be issued a card outside of Austria. Can we?

Do they issue the cards for only First or Second class travel or do they simply discount whatever class of travel you take on individual trains?

Is use of the cards limited in any way, e.g. can it be used for travel between points in general or is it limited to tickets for a specific date and time?

Anything else I should know about the Vorteils card?

On train travel in general. If I book a ticket to Z and X and Y are stops on the route to Z, if I have a non-timed ticket can I get off at either/both intermediate stops, look around and get back on a later train to Z with the ticket I booked to Z? Is there generally some limit on amount of "stop time" you can use at intermediate stops?

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Hi JV!

Unfortunately, I don't know anything about this VorteilsSenior Card; I looked it up online but didn't see anything more than what you posted here.

I will say that I think the best deals are the ones you purchase in advance from the national railways. The best fares go on sale about 90 days out, but it's worthwhile checking to see what's still available. For instance, the fare from St. Anton to Kitzbuehl is 34 Euro per person for mid-February. And the fares from Kitzbuehl to Garmisch are as low as 19 Euro.

I got those fares from the Austrian rail site,

www.oebb.at

but I think you already know that site. The only problem with buying the tickets in advance is that you will be tied to that particular train on that day.

In general, I'm not sure if you can stop off in towns while enroute on your journey. You can in Switzerland. If you travel in Bavaria using the Bavaria Ticket, you have unlimited travel all day. But if you buy a point-point ticket at a discount, you will have to travel on specific trains that you've chosen. Of course, you can always break up your journey and travel to "X" and then to "Y" and buy specific tickets for that.

Sorry I can't help more!

s

Can you read German, or do you know how to use Google translate? It's pretty much all here:

http://www.oebb.at/static/tarife/agb...13_/index.html

www.oebb.at/static/tarife/index.html

If traveling several times on trains on an Austrian Saverpass, 2nd class it can be as cheap as $35 a day or about 25 euros a dau p.p. and you can hop on any off any Austrian train I believe - first class is not that much higher. Just another thing to enter into the mix - and is brainless as you just need to show up for the train - no advance questions, availability, etc. Not sure how cheap the discounts are as did not wade thru the above but just to enter into the mix. Details and lots of stuff on Austrian trains:

http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id33.html; www.ricksteves.com and www.seat61.com.

Most folks find 2nd class on Austrian trains just fine - as good as first class IME as other countries.

Thanks folks. I'll be checking these out tomorrow. Looks better than the Vorseil tickets i was thinking about. I may be back with more questions but I appreciate the info and will start working on some comparisons.

If you travel in Bavaria using the Bavaria Ticket, you have unlimited travel all day.>

but only on regional trains - not any faster trains.

Thanks PalenQ, We will be making day trips in Bavaria so I will check that out and we can probably use the regional trains. Looking at Garmisch to Seefeld, to Overammergau, possibly to Murnau, Hallin Tyrol and Benediktbeuern. I assume all those destinations would be considered Bavaria.

most rail destinations in Bavaria, southern Bavaria only use regional trains and Bavarian Lander tickets are also valid I understand on trains between Garmisch and Reutte, Austria, from where it is a short bus or taxi ride to Fussen and the castles. This is because those are also German run trains going from Garmisch to Kempten thru Austria - kind of like the Austrian 'corridor zug' trains between Salzburg and Innsbruck that go largely thru Germany but are Austrian trains.

Yes, the card is available to non-Austrians. I arranged for my Mother and her SO to get them.

I believe they filled out a simple form I downloaded for them, and think they needed some passport style photos. They mailed cards to her US home long after the trip, but the paper version they were given at the train station worked well.

~Liz

Thanks. I think I'll take my pix with me and see if the train station in Zurich will issue the passes. If not, we'll just wait and do it in St. Anton. I really need to get smarter about trains since we're likely to be traveling strictly by train soon. Thanks again.

I would imagine only an Austrian station would be able to provide an Öbb pass.

Vorteilscard is a great bargain for many.

You must purchase them a train ticket counter in Austria.
As mentioned above a short application to complete. 2 photos and proof of ID( passport) this card available for non Austrians also.

A temporary paper card issued immediately. The plastic card printed with your photo is sent to your home address.
The card is valid for one year.

Allows about a 50 % discount on regular fares within Austria and about 25 % on international fares that begin in Austria.
Great if you plan any amount of train travel.

The Bayern pass is the way to go but you have to use regional trains and wait till after 9 am. I so wanted to get on the fast train to Nurnberg but it was very pricey so we stuck with our pass. There are slow trains and slower trains so check times.
We had an early flight this trip but the Delta counter didn't even open till seven am. We had left Garmisch and had a hotel in Munich and I wanted to make sure we got there in time. We waited on them so don't be super rushed. It is about a two hour trip by train from Garmisch and that would not work with the Bayern pass unless you left before 6 am I think! I would try and get a hotel the night before if I were you.

On weekends I believe you can use the Bavarian Lander Pass anytime before 9 am.

Thanks again, for all the useful info. I'm factoring it into our plans.

My husband just confirmed that PalenQ but the price has gone up a little 31 euro for the three now.

the Bavarian Card also comes in first class - IME regional trains can be very crowded at times - especially during rush hour in afternoon (morning too but you are restricted to travel after 9 am then on these passes) - these trains act IME as school buses at times - zillions of hyper kids of all ages swarming on for a few stops - I am always glad to have a first-class pass in that case. OTOH regional trains may be sparsely fill many times but check out the difference for that pass for first class and if not much different go first class IME.

PalenQ, thanks for the warning on the school bus syndrome. I keep thinking that first class may not be worth the extra money but I can definitely see the benefits in this case. Thanks.

I did not mean that that would be the case all the time but it has happened to me several times - the kids are only aboard a short time too but still...

My husband just confirmed that PalenQ but the price has gone up a little 31 euro for the three now>

It used to be I believe the Lander Cards on weekends were good for the whole weekend - guess that has changed as well? Curious about that. And certainly on weekends unlikely to see school kids swarm aboard.