I am coming to the forum with set hotel reservations & nearly set itinerary, requesting advice on 2nd Class daytime travel Rail Purchase for 2 adults, plus 8 year old, 6 year old, 3 year old.
I am thinking we will need to purchase some combination of travel passes for 12 days:
Eurail (<=12 days), Eurail France (<=6 days), Berner Oberland (<=5 days), Baden Wuerttemberg (<=2 days) ticket 37 euro per day for us as is the Rheinland Pfalz ticket (<=2 days) and also open to point to point individual purchases.
One of my blind spots is how the European Rail system handles a traveler moving across borders with without all advanced passes. Do some trains travel "non-stop" across borders or do we have time to jump out and buy the next ticket/pass before jumping back on a train?
(Unfortunately not the shortest segment to segment) Itinerary of at most 12 travel days that would benefit from a rail pass:
Thursday July 27 arrive at 4:40pm Lyon-Saint Exupery France airport LYS train to Arles France
(One day travel to Pont du Gard and Nimes -maybe on Monday but probably before due to time restrictions)
Monday Aug 3 Arles train to Macon France
Sunday Aug 9 Macon train to Interlaken Switzerland
Monday Aug 10 Berner Oberland transportation to Schynige Platte then stay in Gimmelwald
Tuesday Aug 11 Berner Oberland transportation to Wengen then Mannlichen (hikes, not Jungfrau) then stay in Gimmelwald
Wednesday Aug 12 Berner Oberland transportation to Murren & Allemund (hikes) perhaps Schilthorn then stay in Gimmelwald
Thursday Aug 13 Gimmelwald transportation [likely through Bern] to Kuppenheim (Rastatt) Baden Wuertt Germany
Sunday Aug 16 Kuppenheim train to Bacharach Germany
Monday Aug 17 Rhine River boat cruise and Marksburg Castle (perhaps on Milk Train)
Tuesday Aug 18 Bacharach train to Colmar France
Friday Aug 21 Colmar to Rothenburg ob der Tauber Germany
Monday Aug 24 Rothenburg to Trier Germany
Monday Aug 24 or Tuesday Aug 25 Trier to Lux (free public transportation in Luxembourg)
Wednesday Aug 26 LUX flight