How far will the KONUS card take me?
Is it better to go through Freiburg and Breisach?
Will I be able to use the KONUS card all the way?
How can I look up train schedules for Breisach to Colmar?
What is the website for the French trains?
After Colmar we will go to Staufen?
Any help given will be greatly appreciated.
The website for French trains is sncf-connect.com
For Germany it is int.bahn.de
Here is how you solve this issue:
KONUS has a handy map here: https://www.schwarzwald-tourismus.info/_Resources/Persistent/e25fc03a0aa9455761c22c7267070dd891cbb35a/KONUS%20Flyer_PDF%20Download.jpg
Thius map even mentions what the last station on each line is where the card is valid. So this tells you that your KONUS card is valid till Kehl. So you will need to add a ticket Kehl - Colmar.
That ticket you can buy on www.sncf-connect.com
Then yust hop on your train in Gengenbach, then change trains in Offenburg for Strasbourg. In Kehl you can just stay on the train. Splitting the ticket does not mean you need to get off. Then in Strasbourg you change for Colmar.
Going via Breissach involves taking a bus, and since it is a French bus it will have a schedule that will be designed for maximum inconvenience.
Will I be able to use the KONUS card all the way?
How can I look up train schedules for Breisach to Colmar?
If you prefer using the KONUS card as far as possible... It will be a BUS ride from Breisach to Colmar.
I provided this information previously:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/konus-card
After Colmar we will go to Staufen?
Then you will use that same bus for Colmar > Breisach and the trains from Breisach to Staufen (without the KONUS Card, of course.) This train trip falls within Freiburg's transit authority zone (The RVF) and should cost less than 5 Euros each, with tickets available via the app:
Also use bahn.de for Colmar to Staufen. Best (infrequent) route; Colmar to Basel, onto Bad Krozingen, bus or train from Bad Krozingen to Staufen. Konus covers Basel to Staufen. ICE trains not covered.
If you haven't booked accommodations yet, Staufen and Freiburg can both be reached easily from Gengenbach. You can spend a day in Freiburg. If you fancy a pleasant, easy stroll, you can make a day of Staufen: get off at Bad Krozingen, walk along the creek which leads to Staufen (about an hour) and further to Munstertal.
The long train ride to Freiburg via Donaueschingen (change) is supposed to be scenic.
Direct train from Gengenbach to Konstanz. Konus covers most of it.
Joy, just an FYI, I was on the SNCF site the other day because I'm heading to Germany and Strasbourg in early December to visit the Christmas markets. When I checked on the SNCF site for tickets from Kehl to Strasbourg, there was this note:
The German authorities are introducing border controls at Kehl station, the first station
after the German border. As a result, the journey will take around 15 minutes longer.
Please have your identity documents ready.
It's no big deal (you just show them your passport) and I know more and more countries are doing this, but thought I would give you a heads up that it might happen.
We will be LEAVING Germany at the Kehl station, not entering it. So this should not apply to us.
If we go from Colmar to Staufen by way of Basel do you think we will encounter a similar situation?
I don't know if it matters if you're leaving or not, Joy. It popped up after I checked on a ticket from Kehl to Strasbourg so they could be checking in both directions. As I said, it's not a big deal. It happened to me when I was taking the train from Germany into Denmark. They just come by and look at your passport and that's it.
And it may not even happen. From what I understand, this was supposed to run through part of 2026, so it may have stopped by the time you get there. Regardless, I wouldn't worry about it
If we go from Colmar to Staufen by way of Basel do you think we will encounter a similar situation?
Maybe. Maybe entering Switzerland as well. Just be prepared to show your passport, that's all.
People have been asked to show their passports at borders since the dawn of international travel. These border checks were dropped in many places at some point after the EU came into existence, but even then, I've seen federal agents on trains checking in places where I didn't expect them. We were on our way into Denmark from Germany once and watched a whole passportless family get removed from the train. They didn't have the proper paperwork. But if you have a valid US passport, then you do. No big deal. Maybe the officials will even put a souvenir stamp in your passport when you cross.
So just cross back into Germany at Kehl or at Breisach.
