Hi, I'm planning my first trip to Germany. I have planned to visit important cities like Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt etc. Is train travel best within Germany?

If your plan is to visit cities, then yes train travel is the best.

Check www.bahn.de for schedules, fares and special deals, etc.

Best way to travel is a heavy car in the later evening on the autobahn! Trains are never on time.

I also recommend trains. Traffic on the Autobahn is heavy, and you won't want to try to find your hotel or a place to park in most cities. I've encountered a lot of road construction on the Autobahn the last times I've driven in Germany.

The trains are great in Germany as I discovered last year. I'm going back this year for a few days and plan to see small towns using the train system.

The earlier you book your tickets the better the prices. When you book on line you need to bring the same credit card you used to buy your ticket so the conductor can verify that you are the original purchaser.

logos999 is jerking the chain before you stand up. The trains are the best with your itinerary, by far. See http://tinyurl.com/eym5b for an illustrated introduction.

The German train system is kaput. Nothing works properly anymore, train are delyed for a zillion reasons and every few days another of the unions are on strike. If you need to be somewhere at a definite time and rely on trains you may have a problem.

logos - We had the trip from *ell on a weekend in September Bruges/Bruxelles/Bad Kreuznach. Same for a group of friends in the wintertime Basel/Allgäu. In both cases the delays were extreme with missed connections, couldn't get to our reserved seats due to the crowds and had to stand for a good part of the way. We were wondering what on earth has happened. This is really sad.

Hi all,

I travel the trains an average of:

Long distance (to Switzerland, France, or Austria) six/eight times a year.

Local (to Murnau, München, Weilheim, Mittenwald, Innsbruck) once or twice a month.

Love the trains!! I don't have a car and am happy as a clam! Trains may **occasionally** be 5-10 minutes late, but I enjoy the extra people-watching time or the time for a sit-down cup of coffee at the station. It's a relaxing way to go.

And, yes, there are usually traffic jams on the highways that will delay you as well.

Have fun!

s

Gee, I ride trains in Germany ALL the time and find them to be a treat and almost always on time. Much better than sitting in a 30 km. traffic jam on the autobahn for 6 hours, or taking 8 hours to travel a route that should only take 4 hours. I would much rather be able to walk around, be able to go get a coffee and have restroom facilities. Besides, I like looking at the scenery. If I had a steering wheel in my hand, I would have to look at the road.

Have no idea what logos is going on about, other than he likes to rant about the train system.

The car industry took over in the 90s, supplying all the CEOs for the Bahn. With the help of politicians, their published aim was to privatize the Bahn which was canceled during the financial crisis. They minimized maintenance, sold older hardware and were tough on unions.
The bahn still has customers, because not all people can afford to drive. There are still a few non lobbyist politicians in parliament who want to change the situation, but that's a minority. The unions go on strike where it hurts most, short notice and unpredictable.

Some of those occasional users may so far not have noticed the planned demolition of the Bahn as you see in some of the answers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae4LqA7HbOg

Search youtube for Bahn and chaos