German Rail Pass Question

You should be able to validate the rail pass, without using a day of the pass, at the ReiseZentrum in the Regionalbhf at the airport on Saturday. Validating the pass starts the one month period, but as long as you won't be using it for that long, no problem. To use the pass, fill in the date in the first box on the pass. Note the difference in Germany between a one (looks like a droopy 7, and a seven, which has a "crossbar" through the middle.

You best ticket to Bacharach is an 11,20€ point-point ticket for one person from the local transit district, the RMV. For up to 5 people, there is a Gruppentageskarte (all day pass) for 31,90€.

When you collect your regional pass(?)(not a ticket?)(which regional pass?) at Frankfurt airport station on arrival, just go over to the window and ask the helpful person sitting behind it to validate your German Pass. Validation does not use a day of the pass, only starting to use it does.

"I will be purchasing a regional rail day pass to get me to Bacharach. The following day I want to use the German rail pass for a river cruise on the KD Line."

Hmmm. Are you staying a second night in Bacharach? You probably are if you plan to tour any of the areas castles, villages and other sights. If so, the cruise + the train rides you'll need will use one railpass day - and you will probably pay more for that railpass day than for the passage and the train tickets involved. Let's say you do a healthy 1.5 hour cruise from Bingen to St. Goar through the most scenic part.

Train ticket to Bingen from Bacharach: €4.10
Cruise Bacharach - St. Goar: €19 but subtract €3.80 as a discount because you showed your train ticket at the KD kiosk = €15.20
Train ticket from St. Goar to Bacharach: €3.60
Total: €22.90

What would the extra railpass day cost you?

Extra days on a German Twin pass cost $15-20 per person, and for a single adult they cost about $25 in 2nd class. That can also be a convenience over stopping to buy various tickets. Sounds like the pass has already been purchased.

I would plan to get the pass activated for the one-month travel period (but don't fill in the first travel-date box) at Frankfurt airport station. However, if you don't do that and don't find staff at Bacharach, then look for a conductor onboard your first train and ask him or her to do it.

Thank you for your help.

The cost of a railpass day varies depending on the # of days and who you buy it from.

Here are the costs of German railpasses at DB:

5 days: €222.00 ($302) 6 days: €245.00 ($334) 7 days: €269.00 ($366)

If r-pappy's DB railpass is 5 or 6 days, the price of an extra railpass day is actually $32.

If r-pappy gets the more expensive Rick Steves/Raileurope railpass, the costs are...

5 days: $324 6 days: $357 7 days: $392

That's a jump of $33 and $35 respectively for extra days.

So using the suggested cruisse, if r-pappy is traveling solo on a 5 or 6-day railpass, an extra railpass day is slightly more expensive than the options available to walk-up customers with no railpass.

If r-pappy takes only the 40-minute cruise that Rick often recommends between Bacharach and St. Goar, then the railpass day option is significantly more expensive; the train + discounted cruise fare is €13.60 ($18.50) - nearly half the cost of the additional railpass day.