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train tix -AMS to Munich (point to point, not railpass) tips?

train tix -AMS to Munich (point to point, not railpass) tips?

Old May 15th, 2003, 04:46 PM
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train tix -AMS to Munich (point to point, not railpass) tips?

We have a short trip, 3 nights Amsterdam and 3 nights Munich. Plan to take train Thurs 6/19 (3 of us)from Amsterdam to Munich, would like to spend a few hours in Koln to see sights by train station. Should we buy tix when we get to AMS on 6/16 or before we go? Is 1st class worth it...it's almost $600 for 3 tix, which seems steep. Should we buy AMS to Koln so we can spend more time there, then separate Koln to Munich tix-probably s/be in Munich by 8 pm? Is there any special fares available without a pass? Thanks!
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Old May 16th, 2003, 07:25 AM
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Hi,
for German rail there are special fares without having a pass (which is called Bahncard).
First thing: Any children up to the age of 14 travel for free when accompanied by parents/grandparents.
If you buy your ticket at least a week before you want to take the train they are going to take 40 % off the price. (3 days - 25 % off, 1 day - 10 % off)
The two persons travelling with you will have 50% off their ticket price (kind of a companon fare).

I personally think, you don't need to spend all that money for first class because you probably take faster/bigger/newer trains anyway (ICE, IC/EC).

The English version of the Bahn-www site can be found here:
http://www.bahn.de/pv/uebersicht/die...l_guests.shtml

Hope you will have a wonderful trip - Kascha from Cologne
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Old May 16th, 2003, 07:27 AM
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one correction: the 50% off for your companions will be taken off the already reduced price (you know, if you buy your tickets a week ahead).
Kascha
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Old May 16th, 2003, 10:51 AM
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First class is not worth the fifty percent extra cost: second is fine. The six of you will take a whole compartment. I think you should book your journey now, to get the reduced fares offer that Kascha in Cologne helpfully suggests. You can book with Euraide, who have offices in Florida and Germany: http://www.euraide.de/. Telephone in USA 1 941-480-1555. Fax 1 941-480-1522. E-mail [email protected]. When you book you can buy a through ticket Amsterdam, Cologne, Munich: it lets you stop as often as you like for two months. The reference library of a city near you may have the Thomas Cook European Timetable. This shows that possible trains are Amsterdam Central 0755, breakfast on the train, Cologne 1049, take a luggage trolley, go down by lift, leave luggage in left luggage lockers, walk in Cologne. Now a choice. The fast way is an InterCity Express (ICE) train from Cologne at 1554 to Munich at 2025. But this takes the new express route from Cologne over the hills to Frankfurt, and I think it worth while to have a good view of the Rhine thus: Cologne 1453 Mannheim cross-platform change 1720 to 1731, ICE, Munich 2025. Or a cheaper train takes an hour longer: Cologne 1453, Mainz 1640 to 1700, Munich 2134. All these day trains have buffet cars.

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Old May 16th, 2003, 12:28 PM
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A minor correction on the new (as of Dec 2002) German Rail discounts. You can only get a 25% discount if you buy a round trip. The 40% discount requires a round trip with a Saturday night stay. Also, even the 10% discount may not be of use to you as you have to pick specific trains. However, you can pick a route that includes a stop over.

Also, not sure where you got your prices, but I just got EUR 210 for all three people from Oberhausen (1st stop in Germany) to Munich on all ICE. I would guess around EUR 120 for Amsterdam to Oberhausen based on the fact that it's about the same time as Oberhausen to Frankfurt (2 hours), also in ICE. These prices are 2nd class for all three tickets for non-10% discount.

Enjoy your trip,
Paul
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Old May 16th, 2003, 10:01 PM
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Hi sanschag,
as far as I understand the original post they don't need a round (return) ticket but only one-way tickets.
Does that alter anything about the prices?
And dear Ben Haines, I'm afraid they'll have to book specific trains/times to get better fares. The Bagn has changed that at the end of last year.
Kascha
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Old May 17th, 2003, 02:00 AM
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The prices I posted were for the non-discount tickets. In the case of the OP, they would only be able to get the 10% (buy the day before) discount since they don't need a round-trip. However, the companion discount (50% off for the 2nd and 3rd tickets) still applies. (This is also true if you want a round-trip but don't want to commit to a specific train back which seems to be a common occurance for us.)

Paul
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Old May 17th, 2003, 02:41 AM
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Thanks for the clarification, Paul.

I was looking for information on guided tours (in English)in Cologne to suggest to mercury. But couldnyt come up with it.
But this is something like a self-guided tour: http://www.koeln.de/portrait/e/colognefoot3.html
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Old May 20th, 2003, 01:23 PM
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Thank you to all for your thoughtful responses. I wasn't able to find the companion fare at raileurope, railsaver, etc.

What Raileurope does have is a pretty straightforward process that I could follow...123-ICE to Cologne & 519 ICE to Munich, 3 adults for $477. The second class tix are $137 ea plus $11 reservation fee for each leg. But I called Rick Steves office and they said I would probably do better just to buy them in Amsterdam, and that I really could get by without reservations. So I think I'll do that. But if there is a companion fare that requires a 1 week advance purchase, I guess I would miss that since we'll arrive on the 16th, and will be taking the train on the 19th.

Thanks again...I used the info to do some research...but never did figure out ticketing Amsterdam to Oberhausen.
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Old May 21st, 2003, 06:03 AM
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I was curious how much the price from Deutsche Bahn would really be - so I went to the station and asked:
Amsterdam to Munich on all ICEs with a 3 hour stop-over in Cologne on the 19th of June for 3 adults costs 238 Euros plus 7,80 for the seat reservations.

You should be able to get this price if you buy your tickets in Amsterdam at least a day before your travel.
The only thing that could happen is that the 10 % reduction for buying early is not available anymore (the only have a certain quantity for each train).

Hope you have a great trip! Kascha
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