Travel Frankfurt-Prague-Vienna-Munich-Frankfurt
 

My question is with 2 adults and 3 teenagers would I be better off renting a car rather than going by train? It also provides freedome to not have to carry luggage everywhere? Will it be that much more expensive?

ttt

It is a matter of taste and money.

With five persons, a rental car can be more economical. Make sure to rent a minivan.

The destinations have good train connections. Travelling time will be pretty much same for car and train.

With a car, you are more flexible and you can do some side trips into the countryside and small towns. The train, however, arrives directly in the city centers and you don't have any hassle with finding your way in downtown areas, finding a place for parking, traffic congestions etc.

Regarding luggage: You have direct train connections between these cities - so no trouble with carrying luggage when changing trains. The most trouble will be carrying the luggage to the train stations - it is often wise to take a taxi from the hotel to train station rather than public transport when you have to carry luggage.

TAveller1959,

Thank you for your post. It really is a toss-up, especially if the price is about hte same. Not sure what I will do.

Is there an issue taking a car into the Czech Republic? If you have not already bought the plane tickets you might want to consider open-jaw tickets where you fly into one place and out of another

For the train trip consider the Germany-Austria railpass, which has a low youth price for those under 26 and saverpass prices for two adults. This would be what you would spend total - the price of the pass plus the cheap Czech Republic portion which would not be covered. (For details i'd call BETS 800-441-2387 who i always recommend for their expertise and service; ask for their free European Planning & Rail Guide which is a great primer on train travel in these countries for novices with separate chapters on Germany, Czech R and Austria.) I'm not saying the train would be cheaper or better but if going by train strongly consider this pass. I will say trains in these countries are topnotch and you'll have no problem. 3 teens should be able to carry their own luggage and they may like the freedom of the train rather than having 5 bodies sardined into one car. Trains also great way to meet locals.

I think it depends whether you are using the car only as a method to get from A to B (then C etc.). If you are spending most of your time in the cities, parking costs may negate any savings. Also, there used to be a problem renting a car in Germany and taking it into the Czech Republic. Perhaps that is no longer the case, but I would definitely verify first.

We just returned from 8 nights in Berlin and Prague and used the train to get between the two, stopping for 6 hours in Dresden on the way back. The price for 2 adults and 2 children (under 10) was only 102 euro return. We travelled with carry ons only, and left them in the luggage lockers at the train station for the day. It was both pleasant and convenient (and inexpensive).

ttt train vs car? still think 3 teens and two adults in small European cars would be too much for me.

Traveling by train, I

o don't have to make sure my liability insurance covers train wrecks

o don't have to abstain from having a beer with my sandwich

o don't have to keep in touch with road services to avoid detours

o don't have to worry about the train breaking down

o don't have to schedule potty breaks for 5 people

o don't stress over leaving luggage unguarded for hours at a time

o don't have to find parking places and ways to get from them to sights

o don't have to trust to luck that the rental agent won't pad my charges

o don't have to refuel every few hours - and deal with off-hours availability

- - - uh, what was the question?

If the travel is meant to be point-to-point, the train is probably better. If the traveling is a goal in itself-- stopping in small towns, visiting a castle (Karstein?)--then a car may be a better solution.

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. It seems to be train, ny a nose. If I still feel I will be going off the beaten path often, I will rent a car.

JY

Excellent plan, methinks (since it's what we've been doing for years)! :))

If you find that passes (either Länder or national) work for you, don't overlook the fact that they're generally valid for public transit in the big cities. We make it a rule to ask the U- or S-bahn ticket agent or bus driver if our ride will be covered. Oftentimes we get a nice surprise.