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Germany Flexipass?

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I will arriving in Frankfurt on August 15th for a two-week tour of Germany and Prague, exclusively by rail. My itinerary is as follows:
August 15th: Travel from Frankfurt by train to Weinheim to visit Sichtungsgarten Hermannshof and then travel back to Goettingen that same afternoon. I will either visit the University of Gottingen botanical gardens in the early evening or the following morning.
August 16th: Leave Goettingen about 10 AM for Erfurt and spend the remainder of the day visiting Erfurt and Egapark. Overnight in Erfurt
August 17th: Take the train from Erfurt to Potsdam and visit the Karl Foerster Garden as well as the University of Potsdam Botanical Garden and the Sanssouci gardens, and then continue into Berlin for three nights.

The only side trip while I'm in Berlin that might not use the S-bahn system or local buses would be a trip to the Forest Botanical Garden Eberswalde on Sunday, August 19th. I will plan to use day passes for all of my other transportation needs in Berlin.
August 20th: Travel by train from Berlin to Prague with a 4-hour stop in Dresden. With a German Rail flexipass, would this be a good time to use one of my days? Do I need to purchase a separate ticket from the German border to Prague?
I will be spending three nights in Prague.
August 23rd: Take the bus from Prague to Nuremberg, store my luggage at the station, and then take a train to Erlangen for lunch and a visit to the Erlangen Botanical Garden. Then return to Nuremberg, do a walking tour of the city, and then continue by train the same day to Munich for three nights. Can I use the flexipass for the round trip to Erlangen?
August 24th: Purchase an entire network single day ticket to visit the Sichtungsgarten Weihenstephan in Freising.
August 25th: Purchase another entire network single day ticket to visit the Munich Botanical Garden, the Nymphenburg Palace grounds, the Andechs Monastery for lunch, and WestPark in the afternoon.
August 26th: Take the train from Munich to Bamberg for the tail end of the Sandkerwa Bavarian Folk Festival and overnight in Bamberg.
August 27th: Take the train from Bamberg to Wurzburg and spend two nights in Wurzburg.
August 28th: Make a day trip to Rothenburg.
August 29th: Take the train from Wurzburg to Frankfurt, visit the Palmengarten, and then continue on to Frankfurt airport for the return trip home.

Which of these of rail travel does it make sense to use a German Rail flexipass? Certainly the first day, yes? For the trip from Goettingen to Erfurt, German Rail offers a Regio 120plus Ticket for 22 Euros. Is this an advance purchase ticket only? Does it make sense to use a flexipass day for this trip?
There is a Sparpreis ticket available for the Erfurt to Potsdam trip for 29.90 Euros, but I will only have been in Germany for two days at this point and I understand that this type of ticket requires at least a three day advance purchase. Is this another good day to use the flexipass?
I think the next day I might consider using the flexipass would be the day I travel from Berlin to Prague, but only if the fare from Berlin to the Czech border is significant enough? Is it?
I will definitely use the flexipass for the bus trip from Prague to Nuremberg, and I understand that I will need a seat reservation for this.

The Sparpreis train ticket from Munich to Bamberg priced out at 33.90 Euros, so does it make sense to use a flexipass day here?
And the round trip from Wurzburg to Rothenburg priced out at 31.4 Euros at the Flexpreis rate, so does it make sense to use a flexipass day here as well?
So I think I'm looking at either a 5- or 7-day flexipass, with point-to-point purchases for Bamberg to Wurzburg, Wurzburg to Frankfurt airport, and possibly one or two other smaller trips.
Thanks.

Posted by
21192 posts

The Regio120 Ticket for Goettingen to Erfurt does not need to be bought in advance. Actually you buy out of a vending machine. Just travel after 9 am and use regional trains only, so it will take a couple of connections.

Munich to Bamberg can be done with a Bayern Ticket for 25 EUR. Same deal as with the Regio120 Ticket. Change trains in Nuermberg.
Bamberg to Wuerzburg can be done with a Regio Franken-Thueringen Ticket for 22 EUR. Same deal as Bayern Ticket, or anytime with a 23.20 EUR Flex Ticket.
Wuerzburg to Rothenburg day trip can be done with Bayern ticket for 25 EUR.

Might as well buy a Sparpreis Ticket for Berlin to Prague, since the GRP only covers it partially.

So I see a 3-day GRP Flex pass as all you need.

Edit - with a 7-day pass, you a paying 40 EUR per travel day, with a 5-day, 46 EUR/d, and a 3-day 67 EUR/d.
So any time you can get a ticket for less than 40 EUR/d, you can shorten the length of the pass. If you do add a few extra days, a few will save some time and number of changes by allowing you to take IC/ICE trains. Your call there. Others, like Bamberg to Wuerzburg and day trip to Rothenburg are all on regional trains, so why use a pass day.

Posted by
7078 posts

3 nights in Berlin, but only 2 days really... and one of those out in Eberwalde?

It appears you are also shortchanging Bamberg and Nuremberg, maybe other places too. Day 1 looks mighty hectic as well. Whatever your core purpose for this trip, you are likely driving yourself way too hard.

As for your rail pass choices... I don't wish to get into the weeds with an itinerary this needy of change. But with a 4-day flexi-pass at €215 and a 7-day pass at €280, your additional cost per day for each of the 3 extra days is only €21.60. Would a rail pass cover your needs for 3 additional days? If so, would you pay less or more for alternative tickets or day passes for those 3 days? Even if you'd pay less, there's a certain advantage for the rail pass, you know - no pre-purchase, no locked-in departure times, no "off-limits" periods during the day, no restriction against the use of high-speed trains.

Regio 120plus Ticket: Regional trains only, any hour on weekends, after 9 am on weekdays. Buy from any ticket machine on day of travel - no pre-purchase required.

Posted by
14990 posts

Hi,

Part of Neues Palais now serves as a campus for the University of Potsdam, I saw that last summer and some of the international students, some Americans too, Which part of it are you going to? Good that you're going to Goettingen, a famous university town. In 1987 I spent few nights at the hostel there while visiting that city.

Posted by
29 posts

The only trains I see between Munich and Bamberg on Sunday, August 26th involve at least one ICE train, and I thought ICE trains were excluded from Bayern tickets.

Posted by
29 posts

You quote a cost 215 Euros for a 4-day flexipass and 280 Euros for a 7-day flexipass, but by the time you add postage and packing charges it amounts to 283 US dollars and 369 US dollars, respectively. That puts the daily cost of a 4-day pass at 70 dollars and a 7-day pass at almost 53 dollars. Is it really worthwhile to buy a flexipass at all for the seven days of rail travel I will doing within Germany. I'm not counting the trip from Berlin to Prague because I understand that I cannot use the flexipass for this leg of my journey.

Posted by
21192 posts

If you click on the box "only local transport" then it will show a connection with regional trains. For Munich to Bamberg, that is a train change in Nuremberg. Ice trains can do it in 1 hour and 40 odd minutes. With regional trains, it can be done in 2 hours and 50 minutes.

Russ makes a good point of looking at the marginal cost of increasing the number of days on a GRP Flex. 3-day is 200 EUR, 4-day is 215, 5-day is 230. So going from a 3-day to a 4-day is only 15 more EUR. Ditto going from 4-day to 5-day. You can't buy any local tickets for less then 22 EUR on your itinerary, so it looks like a 5-day pass is a sweet spot. Extending to a 7-day pass is 25 EUR per day, but at least one of your journeys is less than 25 EUR outright. Bamberg to Wuerzburg is 23.60 EUR. And keep in mind with a Bayern Ticket, although restricted to use after 9 am, it also gives free use of all public transport, like buses, trams, U-Bahns until 3 am the next day.

You do not have to buy a GRP in advance and pay mailing costs. You can buy it at the airport train station after you land.

Posted by
7078 posts

You quote a cost 215 Euros for a 4-day flexipass and 280 Euros for a
7-day flexipass, but by the time you add postage and packing charges
it amounts to 283 US dollars and 369 US dollars, respectively.
That puts the daily cost of a 4-day pass at 70 dollars and a 7-day
pass at almost 53 dollars.

In dollars then... but you can't discuss shipping costs when you don't say what your source is. Look around and see what's available. Here are 3 rail pass providers' current (and different) prices for the 4 / 7 day options...

Germanrailpasses.com: $261 / $339 with free shipping

Raileurope.com: $250 / $356 (???shipping??? I have no idea about RE prices)

Deutsche Bahn €215 ($252 at current rates) / €280 ($329) + €5 shipping (I think. That's what I paid for shipping in February.)

Buying the pass upon arrival in Germany at a DB counter is possible as well, as Sam points out. Saves you €5. And you can refine your travel plans over the next few weeks for a more doable trip - without the pressure to get all your plans in concrete NOW so that they fit your rail pass decision... like I said before, I think your itinerary is probably unduly rushed right now. Who knows? You might find it necessary or desirable to make changes that would alter your rail pass decision altogether.

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