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Eurorail pass questions

We are planning a trip this fall to Europe. Here's the itinerary of train travel.
Fly into Munich and take the train to Salzburg same day. (1)
Train from Salzburg back to Munich (2)
Train from Munich to Zurich (3)
Train from Zurich to Lucerne (4)
Train back from Lucerne to Zurich (5)
Train from Zurich to Paris (6)
Train from Paris to Munich (7)

This is over several days, of course, but considering this many train rides, would a 4 country Eurorail pass be worth it? Can I make all these journeys with the pass? This traveling will occur over a 16 day span. I have done a lot of reading about the pass, but I know real people who have actually done it will be so helpful! Thanks for any insight.
Beth

Posted by
19654 posts

I would not get a rail pass but that is just me. I have a few questions.

Are you staying in Zurich any time between the Munich-Zurich and Zurich-Luzern legs?
Any reason you are returning all the way to Munich for the flight home? You can fly home just as well from Paris and not waste a vacation day on the train.
You can go Luzern to Paris by way of Basel and not go back to Zurich.

As for why not to get a railpass.

You can use a Bayern Ticket costing 31 EUR for 2 to go from Munich airport to Salzburg. Same thing on the return to Munich. Leave after 9 am M-F and it will also include all public transport in Munich for the rest of the day.
Munich to Zurich can be done by buying advance purchase nonrefundable tickets for about 29 EUR per person.
Swiss tickets are the same price all the time. Any plans for extra trips while in Luzern?
Basel to Paris can be with advance purchase nonrefundable tickets for 25 to 50 EUR per person. If you use a railpass, you still have to buy seat reservations to ride the train, and you may be subject to railpass quotas on that train.
Ditto Paris to Munich, but see about flying home from Paris.

Posted by
32521 posts

you don't say how many travel days this is over, I don't think, or what you might be doing at each of the destinations. You give helpful numbers of what train trip it is but nothing about how many are on each day. If you get the overpriced railpass you get so many travel days not so many trips. If you want to you can ride from first train of the day to the last without stopping for the same price as just going one stop a day or vice versa.

The overpriced pass is based on paying off if you take really long train trips each pass day, and that you are unable or unwilling to plan in advance. It also assumes that you don't mind paying a substantial additional cost for using fast trains in France, and are willing to travel on a later French train if the passholder quota is full.

A little help from folk here can save you lots of money....

Posted by
196 posts

These things are just what I needed to know! The reason we are traveling back to Munich is that we can get a direct flight from Munich to Charlotte, NC. After a European trip where British Air lost ALL our luggage, I will climb any mountain to avoid connecting flights. I spent a vacation in the Mediterranean with a khaki skirt, a black tank top, and $1000 worth of Disney t-shirts and shorts!

I'm actually looking forward to the train rides and I'm a BIG planner, so these tips about specific tickets are extremely helpful.
Thank you.

Posted by
8889 posts

I agree with Sam, it would be useful to know how many nights you are staying in each location.

Train from Munich to Zurich (3)
Train from Zurich to Lucerne (4)

Is that overnight in Zürich? (how many nights?), or Munich to Luzern in one day - in which it counts as one rail trip, not two. I would recommend not staying overnight in Zürich, but continuing to Luzern.

Train back from Lucerne to Zurich (5)
Train from Zurich to Paris (6)

Is that overnight in Zürich? (again?), or Luzern to Paris in one day - in which it counts as one rail trip, AND there is no need to go via Zürich, there is a shorter route via Basel.

When looking up train routes and times, use the DB website ( https://www.bahn.com/en/view/index.shtml ). There is no need to second guess the route and trains needed. If you want to get from A to B, just lookup A to B, and the website will find the quickest route and tell you how many trains are needed.

As to a Eurail pass - almost certainly not.

  • Munich to Salzburg day trip is cheap with a Bayern Länder ticket, which gives extra savings for groups.
  • Munich to Luzern, you get discounts for advance purchase. I looked at a random date in May and saw tickets from €39.90, a lot cheaper than a pass.
  • Luzern to Paris, also discounts for advance purchase.
  • Paris to Munich, I saw tickets for €39, a lot cheaper than a pass.

What train or boat trips will you be doing from Luzern? It may be worth getting a local pass to cover these day trips, called a "Tell Pass". Details here: http://www.tellpass.ch/en/summer/

Posted by
14482 posts

At most I would get a two country pass, however, with your itinerary, I would hesitate getting even a two country pass. You are not over there long enough, ie not with 16 days.

If you don't want to be locked in by the discount tickets to a specific departure date and time of departure, ie preserve some degree of flexibility, then I would suggest a two country pass, Germany and Switzerland.

I always get a two country rail pass but for 10 days with usually a month or more of traveling, a few rides are locked in by the discount tickets.

Posted by
196 posts

Here's the day by day breakdown:
Fly into Munich and take the train to Salzburg same day. (1)-- 2 nights in Salzburg
Train from Salzburg back to Munich (2): 4 nights in Munich
Train from Munich to Zurich (3): 2 nights in Zurich with day trip to Lucerne
Train from Zurich to Lucerne (4)
Train back from Lucerne to Zurich (5)
Train from Zurich to Paris (6): 5 nights in Paris
Train from Paris to Munich (7): 1 night before flight out

Sounds like it will cheaper to book beforehand for individual train trips. I've read a couple of reports of baggage being stolen on trains. Is that something I should worry about?

Posted by
19654 posts

"Baggage stolen from trains." Rumors. Not common. Thieves don't have much use for other people's dirty, unfashionable laundry.

Unless you have important TTD in Zurich, keep going to Luzern.
Buy advance ticket Luzern to Paris, bypassing Zurich.
There is a nonstop Paris to CLT, unfortunately on American Airlines, not Lufthansa like the Munich flight. But connecting flight in Munich from Paris is possible, I've done it (returning to Chicago). A lot easier than a day on a train, and probably cheaper, and certainly faster.