German Rail Pass yes or no?

Amsterdam is not included in a German pass. Not only is it not on the German/Dutch border it is completely across the country, on the North Sea.

No, Amsterdam is as you say in a different country and therefore not included. A map showing the validity is here.
The boundary for Rail Passes is defined by the boundary between the railway companies' tracks. This may be one or two stations before or after the border, but never that far!

Thank you so much! I guess Amsterdam was on the guide just for reference rather than actually being included with the pass. Great and quick responses, thank you!

The RS map shows the price to Emmerich, which is the last station in Germany on the line to Amsterdam. It then shows the line continuing to Amsterdam presumably to show why such a non-tourist place like Emmerich is even on the map.

That makes a lot sense! I'll include Emmerich in my travels and get a new ticket there as that should help with getting a less expensive ticket to Amsterdam. :-)

The ICE trains from Germany to Amsterdam do not stop at Emmerich. It is merely the last DB (German Railways) station. You would need to get a ticket for Emmerich to Amsterdam before you got on the train. DB stations do not sell NS (Dutch Railways) internal tickets, only international tickets to Dutch destinations served directly by international trains. And the NS website ( www.ns.nl/en ) does not accept foreign credit or debit cards. I have been caught out like this before.

A DB ticket office may sell you a ticket Emmerich to Amsterdam, or perhaps from the last stop in Germany (Duisburg?), but that would cost slightly more. You would have to ask at a ticket office.

Oh wow! It looks like I've been going about my research the lazy way. Thank you for the additional tips and information. I will dig deeper, I truly appreciate the tip on foreign cards, I didn't consider that.

Let's have a look.

Hohenschwangau does not have a train station, and neither does Neuschwanstein (you didn't mention that one). They are both served by local trains from Munich to Fuessen.

OK, are you staying the night in or around Fuessen or returning the same day?

If the same day you can do all on a very inexpensive regional ticket that day.

Then train to Berlin from Munich?

Then train from Berlin to Amsterdam?

Is there any more train travel in Germany than the 2 long distance trains?

If not I have to believe advance purchase ticket from Berlin to Amsterdam would be much cheaper than a pass day. DB international special tickets can be pretty cheap.

The Munich to Berlin is also likely to be less than a pass-day.

Which is more important to you, D, price or convenience. Perhaps the Duchess is a hint?

Hi Nigel, I'm sorry, when I wrote Hohenschwangua, I meant that's the town I will be in but, yes, I will enter through Fussen. The routes I'm planning on taking are;

Lands in Munich from the states.
Munich - Fussen stay in Hohenschwangua for a couple of nights, more nights depends if I want to cross the boarder to Austria for a day.
Fussen - Munich stay there for about 3-4 nights.
Munich - Berlin stay there for about 3-4 nights.
Berlin - Amsterdam stay there for about 3-4 nights.
Then leave from Amsterdam to the states.

Everyone wants the cheapest route, however, whenever I travel more than 2 hours in any direction via train, I always purchase a 1st class ticket. Learned my lesson in Italy, my whole body was aching after all those rides. If I do the pass, it will be the 1st class pass as well. I rather spend more money on comfortable traveling than expensive dinners or souvenirs.

:-)

First class is worth the extra in Italy, especially as Italian trains are relatively cheap in either class.
Germany is different, trains are more expensive and more comfortable. Second class is perfectly adequate.

As Nigel says, Füssen is the nearest station to Hohenschwangau village and the two castles (Schloss Neuschwanstein and Schloss Hohenschwangau). If you are doing any searching on the internet, note the spelling, "Hohenschwangau", not how you spelt it.

Thank you Chris! If second class is better than Italian trains, there's no reason for the extra expense then. I don't know why I keep switching the a and u on Hohenschwangau o_O

"Hohenschwangua" sounds like the name of a long-lost attempt by China to colonize Germany.

Lol, I'd believe that history of the name, if I didn't know any better

A four day, 2nd class German Rail pass for an adult is $289 (from RailEurope). Full fare from Germany to Amsterdam looks like 38€ ($48), so using a rail pass will cost you $337.

Two Bayern-Tickets Singles (round trip on 2 separate days, Munich to Füssen) will cost approximately $30 (23€) each, so if you can get your other two legs for less than $277 (218€ today), you're better of with individual tickets V-V a rail pass. And the Bayern-Ticket includes the bus between Füssen and Hohenschwangau, which would cost extra with a rail pass. (Note: you're going in April '15. The cost of a Bayern-Ticket will probably be a little higher by then. With the euro dropping vs the dollar, rail passes *(from RailEurope) might be cheaper (in $) in the spring.*)

I can see advance purchase tickets 2½ months in advance from Munich to Berlin for 29€ and Berlin to Amsterdam for 39€ (68€ total). That's a difference of about 150€ or $190. Seems like a lot to pay to save a little planning.

@Lee.
"With the euro dropping vs the dollar, rail passes might be cheaper in the spring.". No, it makes no difference. The price is in Euro, and doesn't change with foreign exchange rates. Why should it?

@ Duchess...If you intend on taking the ICE to Amsterdam, get a separate ticket from Duisburg to Amsterdam, assuming you're using the Pass to reach Duisburg. If going from Emmerich, then get a ticket for Emmerich to Amsterdam. How long is this trip? Depending on the time length and the distances you're going, the point to point tickets may be better. It's a trade off.
Keep in mind that getting a discount ticket locks you in to a time/train specific , ie, sacrificing flexibility for savings. Your decison here. Are the savings worth it or is the flexibility factor more important as you take the trains?

@ Fred, thank you! I think flexibity is better as I may last minute decide to stay longer somewhere.

I really appreciate all of the comments, this information would not have been readiy available.

@Chris,

not sure if you know this, but we don't use euro in the United States. We use what are called US dollars. We get paid in them and everything we buy here is priced in US dollars, including rail passes from Rick, which are really from RailEurope. The relative value of the euro varies vs the dollar. Today a 2nd class German Rail pass from RailEurope is $289 (the equivalent of about 228€). RailEurope periodically adjusts the prices to reflect the $/€ exchabge rate. Depending on what has happened to the exchange rate since the last adjustment, passes are sometimes cheaper in dollars from RailEurope than in euro from German Rail. Right now, because the euro has dropped recently vs the dollar, passes from RailEurope are relatively high vs. the price from the Bahn converted to USD, so I'm expecting RailEurope might lower their prices before next year.

We can also purchase some German Rail passes directly from German Rail, with the price in euro converted by our credit card company to dollars, but I don't think most travelers from the States do that.