Hello everyone,
My wife and I will be in Europe for 5 weeks in May and June for a BUDGET vacation. We have enough hotel points to stay about 15 nights for free in various places. We will be buying the E-rail global pass for the entire trip. Due to the limitations being based out of only a few cites, what are some good day trips to take on the train from Munich and Vienna.
Posted by
Germany
135 posts
Short trips from Munich
to Lake Tegernsee (Bad Wiessee, Rottach Egern ,Tegernsee)
https://www.tegernsee.com/
and/or
Lake Chiemsee(Prien) 1hr each
https://www.chiemsee-alpenland.de/entdecken/chiemsee
or to
Salzburg 2hrs
https://www.salzburg.info/en
or
Regensburg 1,5 hrs
https://tourismus.regensburg.de/en/
see www.bahn.de for direct connections
Posted by
Schaumburg, IL
267 posts
Munich to Fussen-2 hrs for the castles…
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8158 posts
Munich to Innsbruck--2 hrs. The Alps are simply incredible there.
Munich to Salzburg
Vienna to Bratislava (just 39 mi.)
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
5615 posts
Have you priced out point to point rail tickets? In Bavaria, there is a BAYERN ticket which is perfect for budget travelers. There are specific conditions for it, but we found it easy to use and ridiculously inexpensive. It actually would cover trips between Munich and Salzburg. For Austria, you can buy tickets in advance for a savings. When I was there about 4 years ago, I used Westbahn between Vienna and Salzburg which was less expensive.
Posted by
Irving
2965 posts
There’s also the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial that’s a 15m direct train ride from the München Hbf station.
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
8398 posts
Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a great place to visit. Zugspitze (highest mountain in Germany), an interesting town, the gorge to explore. I think it makes a great trip from Munich and gets you to the Alps.
Have you explored the possibility of using a D ticket instead a the E-rail global pass since you will be predominately in Munich and going on local trips for an extended period. I feel that this could save you significant money for your budget.
Posted by
San Francisco
14532 posts
Hi,
Good that you have 5 weeks and have the Eurail Global Pass. I do the same.
However, I do not suggest using that Pass for short trips especially if they are not round trip. I use the Pass for long distance rides on the ICE and above all, the OBB Night Jet rides, doing few of those the Pass is just about paid for.
Posted by
Paradise
6657 posts
Pick up a copy of Day Trips in Bavaria by Earl Steinbicker to find what you asked about.
Please heed the advice you have received about looking into the alternative ticketing options (Bayern Ticket, Deutschland-Ticket, advance-sale saver fare tickets in Austria and in Germany, and the Westbahn options.) The Global Eurailpass is not a budget-trip option.
Your post raises a lot of questions.
Are the free hotel points for 15 of your 35 nights only for Munich and Vienna?
What other cities / parts of Europe do you plan to visit? Accommodation prices vary a lot, and they tend to be higher in major cities as a rule.
Are you interested in FREE day trips by train? There are places in Germany where free travel comes with your room reservation. In others, like the Nuremberg travel zone, a couple can travel from place to place for €23 over an entire weekend.
Posted by
Augsburg, Bavaria
2335 posts
In others, like the Nuremberg travel zone,
Which, btw, from January 1 will cover the entire districts of Middle Franconia and Upper Franconia, approx. 250 km north-south (including, e.g., Coburg), and approx. 175 km west-east.
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
5615 posts
Free train travel? Sounds like another great reason to visit Germany! Or is it just Bavaria? Is there a good resource on this?
Posted by
Paradise
6657 posts
Sources for free transport and other freebies/discounts that I've either used previously or bookmarked for future use... Most of these are paid for by a local tax that is charged as part of your room rate - whether you use the freebies or not - as well as subsidies from other sources. This is not a comprehensive list for all of Germany by any means.
https://www.vrminfo.de/en/tickets/tickets/leisure-tickets/vrm-guest-ticket/
https://www.gapa-tourismus.de/guest-card
https://www.berchtesgaden.de/en/general-information/guest-card
https://prospektbestellung.toubiz.de/media/prospekt/file/5736289_KONUS_GB_2022.pdf
https://www.german-wineroute.com/planning-booking/pfalzcard
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32813 posts
the KONUS Guestcard covers all of the entire state of Baden-Württemberg and is available to guests staying in most localities except the largest. https://www.schwarzwald-tourismus.info/planen-buchen/konus-gaestekarte/
Posted by
San Francisco
14532 posts
Re: a day trip from Munich.....how about going in the other direction?
I suggest Ulm. Ulm has one Germany's famous cathedrals, das Ulmer Münster.
Posted by
7683 posts
Salzburg and nearby Berchtesgaden deserves 3-4 days. Much to see in Salzburg as well as the Eagle's Nest in Bertchesgaden.
Garmish and Fussen deserve 2-3 days with all the castles, Zugspitze.
Don't do these on day trips.