Train or Car for 4 days on Rhine
 

We (4 over 60's) are spending 3 nights in Bacharach, Germany after flying into Frankfurt this April. We plan on visiting the Koln Cathedral, several of the castles in the area, and perhaps the town of Cochem on the Mosel. I know the train offers very reasonable fares but I am having difficulty getting any definite costs. Does anyone know if the fares are the same if purchased in Germany as needed or if one is better off purchasing before leaving the states? All opinions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Definite cost: 28 Euros per day per group of 5 with a Rheinland-Pfalz (the region you're in) daypass for nearly unlimited travel on the regional trains. Buy the tickets once you arrive at a ticket machine (credit cards or cash, you specify the dates, so you could buy all from one machine upon arrival.) The pass covers you all through the region as far north as Bonn. Weekday travel is restricted to after 9 am.

You'll need individual tickets for any travel between Bonn and Cologne, or a NRW "Schöner Tag" group daypass - like the Rheinland Pfalz ticket for that region (35 Euros) which would probably be cheapest. The NRW ticket should be available at DB ticket machines in R-P too.

You can find out actual fares here:

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

Be sure to check "Fares and Offers" at the top (red background) to see if you can take advantage of regional offers.

For 4 people, a car will likely to be competitive. German train fares are on the more expensive side. The trains serving Bacharach are just commuter trains.

Thank you both for your quick responses. Do either of you know if the Frankfurt Airport is in the same region as Bacharach? The train fare I found for the leg from FRA to Bacharach was 62 Euros each way. Round trip from Bacharach to Koln was 98 Euros and the trip from B. to Cochem was 37 Euros. That is definitely less expensive than a car. Last time we rented a car in Germany, we were charged $1500 for replacing an already defective clutch! Anything would be cheaper than that! Thanks again.

"Do either of you know if the Frankfurt Airport is in the same region as Bacharach? The train fare I found for the leg from FRA to Bacharach was 62 Euros each way."

If you found a fare of 62 Euros, you're looking at
Rip-offraileurope, no doubt.

If you just want to go from FRA to Bacharach, the train fare is 10 Euros on the regional trains. Here's the website you need for the regional transit authority; you can verify this fare on your own. Just buy your tickets there:

http://www.rmv.de/coremedia/generato...__ART__en.html

"Round trip from Bacharach to Koln was 98 Euros and the trip from B. to Cochem was 37 Euros. That is definitely less expensive than a car."

It is possible to pay exorbitant prices if you look for them hard enough. To travel from Bacharach to Cologne cheaply, travel on the regional trains as I outlined in my previous post; use a R-P daypass (28 Euros for 2-5 people) + individual tickets (probably under 20 Euros for 2) for a total of 48 Euros for two. The Bonn-Cologne tickets can be bought at a ticket machine in FRA or in Bacharach.

You can read about the regional daypasses here:

http://www.bahn.com/i/view/USA/en/pr...r-ticket.shtml

Russ - You da man for the Deutsche Bahn info!

You just went into my Internet Rolodex

For a trip from the Frankfurt airport to Bacharach, the ticket Russ described is truly the best, all you need is the connecting ticket to cover the area in Hessen from the airport to Wiesbaden. This group ticket will cost 23.60 €. So you have a total for your group of 4 people on your first day of travel - 51.60 €. Your other days of travel will just be 28 € and you can get on and off the train as much as you like. There are trains going directly to Bacharach, so you don't need to change trains in Wiesbaden.

If you have a car, the driver will miss half the scenery. All the little towns along the Rhein are clustered next to the river and the train runs along both sides of the river. For a closer look, use Google Earth to follow the train routes and to see the towns you are planning on visiting.

Almost forgot, if you are arriving on Sat. or Sun. you can use the Schöne Wochenende (Happy Weekend) ticket for 37 €. This will cover all of your group from the airport to Bacharach. (it is valid for up to 5 people)

Russ - we'll be in Koeln for 3 weeks, and have a 5 day German rail pass, which after (from Australia) Frankfurt to Berlin, Berlin to Koeln and leaving one to get back to Frankfurt, leaves us two days of extra train travel. I'd like to be able to supplement this with the Schoener Tag Pass, and appreciate the site you gave above.

But I'd like a site to browse what is available in NRW train destinations. Most want you to specify where you want to go - I'd like to see where I CAN go! Can you help here please?

Am also wondering on the possibility of travel on the last day back to Frankfurt from Koeln (KDH?) on the river to Mainz, then by train, with a roll-on suitcase each. Too hard? Thanks

@ Carrabella - Why address your question to just one person on this forum?

I can't speak for Carabella, but I don't take "specific name" questions personally when they refer back to something already in the post; I look at a post as sort of a running conversation, between a lot of people. Citing the name helps fill in the blanks. I find it helps me quickly go back to the direct source if I am confused about discussion or information presented.

For people who specifically title a post wiith one specific Fodorite's name....that's a whole other topic that could end up being discussed ad nauseum and end up taking away from this thread, so I won't go there.

Carrabella: I agree with Mainhattan girl that 1) the towns are clustered along the river and the driver will have to pay attention to the road if by car, where he/she can enjoy the scenery as well by train.

2) Driving/parking in these small, adorable towns can be a nightmare. Sometimes you end up having to park on the outskirts and walk into the pedestrian zone anyway, so the "savings" on feet fatigue and time a person thought a car would provide just isn't there- imo.

We've used these suggested group specials (you only get one ticket regardless the # of people in your group so you must stay together on the train) and they are great savings for the minor inconvenience of some time restrictions/specific train restrictions as outlined above.

"Russ ...I'd like a site to browse what is available in NRW train destinations. Most want you to specify where you want to go - I'd like to see where I CAN go! Can you help here please?"

You don't have to stipulate destinations on these daypasses as you might with the German railpass. Here's a map of NRW (Nordrhein-Westfalen) train lines. NRW border is defined by a broken green line. Notice that the pass is good also to Osnabrück, however.

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

Here's a site with some info on the Münsterland (area around Münster) region:

http://www.muensterland-tourismus.de/MTZen/index.html

"Am also wondering on the possibility of travel on the last day back to Frankfurt from Koeln (KDH?) on the river to Mainz, then by train, with a roll-on suitcase each. Too hard?"

I always travel with the smallest of backpacks, so I haven't tried that, and I don't think I would. For a good day, it's best to be unencumbered, especially if the boats are crowded or if you want to amble across cobblestones. The smaller towns have no lockers. You'd probably do best to stow bags in lockers at the Koblenz station, then do your cruising, returning to Koblenz for your bags later and for the last stretch to FRA.

I'd suggest starting your cruise south of Koblenz. Take the train from Koblenz south to Bacharach and cruise north from there to Braubach (it's just 2 hours going that direction, 3.5 hours in the opposite direction because of the current.) Take a tour of Marksburg Castle there - the best of the few tourable castles in the area:

www.marksburg.de

Then catch a train to Koblenz.