Family Trip to Germany, Switzerland and Austria for 3 weeks -- car vs train advice

Rail passes only cover travel in the countries listed (Munich to Salzburg is a notable exception). If you cross more of Austria with a Germany-Switzerland pass, then you must buy a separate ticket before boarding the train to cover the part within Austria (and within the Czech Republic, for the Vienna-Berlin example). The direction and order of travel makes a difference in comparing pass options, especially in this Berlin example.

Switzerland does not have age-based class restrictions; you must have misread something. On the German Pass, kids under 6 should not be listed as travelers; they just show up and travel, as do kids under 4 in most other countries.

Rail pass options are changing Jan. 1 and you can't buy a pass more than 6 months in advance, so review the details again later. The changes for Eurail-brand passes (all multi-country passes) will include:

• 1 child aged 4 - 11 travels free with each adult on the pass; under 4 still free everywhere. The German Pass (not a Eurail-brand product) will offer a similar deal for kids aged 6-11.
• All 2-country passes will offer a 2nd class option for adults, but the 4-country Select pass still will not. Most single-country passes already have this feature.

Hi, I'll answer a few of your questions.

Regarding train vs. a vehicle. We love traveling by train in Europe and feel like it's a great option for us to be relaxed & ready to go at the next location. But, a few considerations - how much do you pack, will you have strollers, and how mobile are your in-laws? At some stations, you will need to go up & down a stairway to board connecting trains. Looking at some of your itinerary, you would have some quick connections between trains.

I'm not sure where you heard Switzerland 2nd class trains are only 26 & below - not true. We were in Switzerland again this year and traveled by train in 2nd class, and we're in our 50's. If you take trains in Germany & to Salzburg, check out the Bayern ticket to save a lot of money.

Since traveling into & out of the Berner Oberland area will be your longest travel points, I would suggest this plan: Fly into Zurich & take train (or other) to Lauterbrunnen - to Bern - to Stuttgart - to Munich - to Salzburg - to Vienna. Fly home from Vienna. (Berlin is a long way from either Vienna or Munich. Save it for another trip?) That would give you ~3 days at each location.

You've selected some wonderful locations! Enjoy your trip!

The most serious concern I see with your trip is not the train/car or the grandparents - it's the kids. Being on the go as much as you plan to be, whether by train or by car, isn't going to dovetail with their elemental food/diaper etc. needs and your ability to meet them as you move about.

It would make enormous sense, IMO, to drop some of your destinations - probably Berlin and Vienna - and to rent an apartment (or two) in maybe 3 different areas that interest you for a week at a time. Having a home base for that long where you can prepare simple foods, wash clothes, and have a little extra room is surely much easier than the constant packing, unpacking, etc. If you select these areas thoughtfully, you can then head out on short day trips to places nearby that would interest you. Of course you want to see these places as a group, but if Kid A gets sick, someone can stay "home" and skip that outing. Fewer long-distance trips will make the entire travel routine much easier and cheaper too.

Based on your comments, I'd look into these areas for bases...
1.) The Berner Oberland (Lauterbrunnen or thereabouts? Bern is possible as a day trip from there, or as a daytime stop on the way.)

2.) Upper Bavaria (more specifically Munich and southeast - Prien - Salzburg - Berchtesgaden; Prien or thereabouts might be a good base town) and...
3.) Somewhere south of Stuttgart (Black Forest? Lake Constance? Lots of nice places for day trips here.)

We have traveled by train and rented a car, although have not done the car with our daughter. Unless we plan on traveling to small or out of the way places we have decided to go by train only. Not only can it save money but it will save some time, since there are bathrooms on board and you won't have to stop and unload everyone, the sanity of the drivers in not having to pay attention to other drivers or deal with traffic and it will be a new and fun experience for your kids. We have taken our daughter to Germany the past 3 years, starting at 9 months (she's 3 1/2 now) and she has riden the train for 2 of those trips and loved it! This year at 2 1/2 it helped in keeping her occupied, she loved to look outside and that we had a table that she can play on. Plus you don't need a carseat for it.

I am pretty sure that when I made our train reservations on the Deutsch Bahn website I did add her since I reserved seats but it didn't charge for her. I would highly suggest making reservations for seats, especially at least one with a table. Otherwise you may all sit in totally different areas. If you book early enough you might also be able to book a family compartment.
Pack as light as possible since you'll have stroller(s) and possibly a car seat for the youngest to use on the plane. Pack a collapsable cooler to put snacks and drinks in to consume on the train. We basically have a light picnic of meat, cheese, fruit, other snacks (pretzels and yogurt are great) and drinks. It saves money, train food is expensive, and we love to go to the grocery store to see what we can find. Believe me it will save you with the little ones too.
I haven't been to Switzerland or Vienna so I can't help with the passes but it sounds as if most of what you will see will be in those 2 places plus southern Germany so I might skip Berlin this time just to save time.

Thanks for the responses, everyone. They are quite helpful.

Regarding 1st vs 2nd class age restrictions -- you're absolutely right that Switzerland passes aren't age-restricted. Nor are Germany's. However, when I search on Rick's Germany-Switzerland pass page it only gives me a 2nd class option if all travelers are less than 26. Rick mentions that some rail passes restrict 2nd class:

With some rail passes, anyone age 26 or older must buy a first-class pass (youth passes, however, always have a second-class option)

I had already seen that Germany's rail passes don't have the age restriction and then searched for a Germany-Switzerland and saw the age restriction, and assumed it must be a Switzerland thing.

Given that neither Germany nor Switzerland have the age restriction, why does a joint Germany-Switzerland pass appear to have it? I'm thinking it may be better for us to buy the two county passes as separate purchases to be able to get 2nd class for all of it.

We'll consider eliminating Berlin and/or Vienna from our trip, although we've done this sort of trip with our kids before (We did Ireland and the UK in November 2012 for 3 weeks with our two oldest kids, and slept in 8 different cities on that trip).

To answer a few other questions:

• My in-laws are in good health and quite mobile. I'm not concerned about their ability to get on and off trains.
• We're pretty light packers -- when traveling with others they always express surprise for how light we pack.
• We plan to bring one light umbrella stroller (like this one).

Your trip will not be expensive by train if you can nail down and keep a schedule.

I checked DB (German Railways) for some sample advance-sale savings fares for point to point tickets with 4 adults covering some of your suggested/possible major travel legs about 3 months out from today (3 free kids, no tickets required for those ages):

Frankfurt Airport - Stuttgart: €49
Stuttgart - Bern: €116
Bern - Munich: €156
Munich - Berlin: €89

That's about €400, nowhere near the €3000+ you'll end up spending on the van + gas + parking, etc. How does €400 compare with your rail pass costs?

Finding these prices requires some internet diligence. Buy tickets for each travel date exactly 92 days in advance of each specific travel date - that's when tickets are first available. Prices rise as tickets sell.

You can check sample dates for the next 92 days yourself at the DB itinerary page.

Small trips like Munich - Salzburg can be accomplished with regional day passes, purchased as you go, like the BAYERN TICKET. Note that this ticket is good for transport within Munich on subways, trams etc. as well as on trains to Salzburg and back.

If you end up staying south of Stuttgart in the Black Forest, note that smaller outings by train in this area are completely free of charge for your whole group. The only "catch" is that you overnight in one of the 130 or so Black Forest villages that participate in the KONUS program.

You may also need a ticket or two from SBB (Swiss Railways) so check out their super saver fares. I believe they're available mostly within two weeks or so of your travel dates.

Myron,

The umbrella stroller works great, we've had one from Target the last 2 years and never had a problem with it. One thing I would suggest if you didn't have it before on your UK trip, buy the weather/rain cover for it. Something similar to this:
http://www.buybuybaby.com/store/product/cybex-stroller-rain-cover/1040747705?Keyword=stroller+weather+covers

You very well may not use it but its great to have in case it rains one day. Since we generally travel in March/April it has been the best $10-15 I've usually spent for our trip. 2013 is when we used it the most since we happened to be there during the winter vortex :)

I would choose the train over a car, even if it ends up costing more, for the comfort value. No one is strapped into a seat. Everyone can move around freely and use the travel time to do whatever they want. Taking a few taxis between lodgings and train stations is worth the added convenience. With a car, you'd have to deal with city traffic and parking, which can be expensive too.

As for the choice between train and plane, a 4-5 hour train ride (like Munich-Berlin) is equivalent to a flight, once you factor in the time to get to/from the airport and the time needed before flight for check-in and security and the time needed after flight waiting for luggage.

We've taken 5 trips in the past 3 years with first one and then two babies/toddlers (now 1.5 and 3.5). Most of our travel has been by car but we have taken the train a few times. I think your train vs. car decision really comes down to a personal choice on what you want to see and how you want to see it. Both train and car come with their good points and bad points when traveling with such young children. We prefer traveling in small towns and countryside, taking our time and finding random parks to stop and let the kids play. So a car is usually the better choice for us, even if it can be more expensive.

With the exception of your time in the Berner Oberland your list of places to visit is all cities. It's very likely you will find a train much more efficient for this trip than a car would be.

One thing I would suggest would be to pack a baby backpack/carrier (we take an Ergo) as well as the umbrella stroller. Being able to have our youngest on our backs made getting on and off planes, trains, busses, etc MUCH easier. It allowed me to have my hands free to hold on to our other little one or to help my husband manoeuvre our bags. We could visit museums without fear of her touching something she shouldn't or wandering off and she napped very comfortably on my back when she was in to, too. I think the additional space vs. the advantages of having it makes it well worth packing one.

I would also second the suggestion to take a collapsing cooler bag. We always travel with one with our kids and have a sippy cup or bottle of milk, a sandwich, and other snacks so we could feed the kids at a moment's notice.

Although it looks like it might not fit well with your plans, I encourage you to consider renting apartments at least a few times. Just one or two nights eating a familiar, homemade meal and being allowed to spread out and play as much as they want can have a hugely positive impact on your kids behaviour over the course of the whole trip.