We are travelling to Germany in July. We will have 7 people in our group including our German friend. She lives west of Stuttgart. We plan on taking a trip to Dachau/Munich then to Salzburg, and Berchtesgaden. From there we will head west to Fussen to tour Neuschwanstein and the Zugspitze. From there we will head home. I have looked the train routes up and if we go the train route it will add more time to our trip. I realize in Munich and Salzburg that we will leave the car outside the city and take the train. The train pass and car rental is similar in cost. I guess for me it makes more sense to make a loop with a car than taking the train. What am I missing.

We are looking at a full size van or two smaller vehicles.

Don't know how you found or figured train prices or what ages you have. Train daypass prices for 7 adults on regional trains are below (may be less if you have kids.)

Stuttgart-Munich: 114€, or 80€ if traveling on Sat or Sun.
Munich-Salzburg, Berchtesgaden-Füssen, Füssen-Garmisch (Zugspitze), Garmisch-MUC: 68€ per leg. Same price for Salzburg-B'gaden if you use the trains, not sure if you take the bus.

If interested repost and I'll pass on more specific information.

Since you are traveling from Salzburg to Fuessen via Berchtesgaden IMO you are MUCH better off using a car/van since there is little, if any east-west train service; you would, in some cases, end up going all the way back to Munich.

There is some bus service but i think in this case you've made the correct decision

"We plan on taking a trip to Dachau/Munich then to Salzburg, and Berchtesgaden. From there we will head west to Fussen to tour Neuschwanstein and the Zugspitze."

If using trains, it might be wiser to reschedule Füssen and Garmisch since the train trip is close to 5 hours. Keep your Munich lodgings longer prior to Salzburg and just do daytrips to Füssen and Garmisch. Garmisch is just 1.5 hours from Munich. I don't personally think the 30-minute tour you get of N'stein is worth the trip, for a number of reasons. If you're interested in castles, you'll find several real castles in/near Salzburg, including one with a free-flight falconry show. And you can see one of Ludwig's palaces (Herrenchiemsee) half way between Munich and Salzburg in Prien, on an island in Chiemsee Lake. The Prien station has lockers to stow bags.

http://www.salzburg-burgen.at/en/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/leidorf/6139253776/
http://www.herrenchiemsee.de/englisc...lace/index.htm

Russ, I had looked at getting the railpasses. The reason being is I liked the flexibility of the pass versus buying individual tickets. We would buy two twin tickets for the adults and two youth tickets. The Twins are $478.00 each and the youth tickets are $222.00 each for a total of $1400.00. That was for 10 day passes.

We will actually be in Germany 11 days. We could get by with less days and utilize their family van to go on short trips around their area.

I looked at the Garmisch and Fussen trip again and see your point about them.

I had not originally thought of staying long in Munich as the only thing on our itinerary there was Dachau and Marienplatz. I guess by basing there and daytripping out from there we could eliminate some of the moving and extra time. I would assume for the Salzburg trip that I should figure on leaving Munich and renting a hotel in Salzburg and leave for the trip back to Stuttgart from there.

I live in the middle of nowhere so trains are a foreign mode of transportation to me. I appreciate everyones comments.

Hi Kstate90,

I'll give some more considerations for using the trains, some things that go beyond simple schedules and price comparisons --

First, using the trains is more green. We don't often have the opportunity to travel with a low carbon footprint, so when the chance comes up, it's wise to grab it.

Secondly, using the trains is more adventurous and gives more of a European flavor to your travel. You can take a road trip practically anywhere, but using the trains is becoming more and more rare and unique. As you say, it's a foreign mode of transportation, and that will give you more fun and adventure as you travel!

Third, using the trains is just a whole lot of fun. You get to mingle with locals and other travellers instead of being shut up inside a private bubble. It's prime people-watching: you can see how folks relate to each other, how they dress, how they spend free time, how they travel, etc. You'll be watching grandmoms returning from a visit to the city to see grandkids, a group of matrons returning from a visit to a museum or a long hike, a few fashionistas with their shopping bags returning from a major shopping trip, schoolkids on a day-trip, elderly couples with their hiking poles going out for a day in the country . . . it's a wonderful way to spend your time.

More fun on the train -- buy a gourmet picnic (fresh breads and pastries, local smoked ham, local cheeses, some yogurt, water, even wine or beer if you want), and share a fun meal as you enjoy the pretty scenery slipping by.

* * *

Oh, and the "passes" that Russ mentioned above are not (I think) the Raileurope passes. I think he is talking about the German rail products where groups of folks can travel on regional trains for one day for a set price, such as 33 or 38 Euro -- these are called Länder tickets. Here's an overview of them:

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

Have fun as you plan!

s

Rail passes don't make sense if you're travelling in one German state mostly (Bavaria). As Russ stated (and swandav realised) the day passes for regional transportation are much cheaper. Please have a closer look at the link swandav gave above! The Bavaria (Länder) ticket gives you full flexibility for the day, is valid on regional trains, and buses also. You don't have to pre-purchase, they do not sell out.

For travelling between Salzburg and Berchtesgaden you can use even cheaper local offers.

Regional trains and buses usually run every hour.

I have a little more time now.

Railpasses: "The Twins are $478.00 each and the youth tickets are $222.00 each for a total of $1400.00. That was for 10 day passes."

At most, it seems you have only 5 or 6 travel days. Although you'll be there 10 days, a 10-day railpass is overkill. And the price is exorbitant given the alternatives (group daypasses) which should come in at under $600 total for everyone, I'm pretty sure.

Group Daypasses: The one Länder Ticket that concerns you is the Bayern (Bavaria) Ticket; see swandav2000's link. It covers you on all your travel days after Day 1 (I'm assuming you are flying home from Munich, right?)

The first travel leg (Stuttgart to Munich) involves inter-state travel, so the Bayern Ticket isn't enough; use the "Quer Durchs Land Ticket" on weekdays:
http://www.bahn.com/i/view/USA/en/pr...d-ticket.shtml
On Sat or Sun, use the Happy Weekend for (Schönes Wochenende) Ticket for Stuttgart-Munich: http://www.bahn.com/i/view/USA/en/pr...d_ticket.shtml

Your group might need only one of these tickets per day if your group includes kids, which would mean a much lower price. The $600 estimate is for 2 tickets covering 7 adults.

You can buy all these daypasses on the spot at a station ticket machine using a credit card. They do not sell out. No reservations are required or needed. You have complete flexibility to change your travel plans as you go - stay longer somewhere and just hop on the next train. The only hours restriction is on weekdays - the passes are good starting at 9 am and can be used until the wee hours of the next morning (2 or 3 am.)

The railpasses would save you a small amount of travel time on some of the legs since they permit travel on the fastest trains (the daypasses put you on the regional trains) but trips to Berchtesgaden, Garmisch and Füssen are only possible by regional train anyway. To find your precise travel connections on the regional trains, specify "only local transport" under "means of transport" at the DB itinerary page:

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

Thanks for the help everyone. I looked up the Laender tickets and found that it is cheaper than the rail passes I was looking at. I skyped this morning with our exchange student we are going to visit. She said the train is the better way and she looked up the tickets this morning and double checked what I had researched. She told me that we didn't want to drive that far. We will just stay another day in Munich and do the Zugspitze before going to Salzburg. Today is D-30. Kind of excited and at the same time realizing I only have 30 days to get everything done.

tag