My husband and I are arriving in Frankfurt on Friday Nov 24 and these are the trips we would like to take but I’m not sure if a rail pass would be that helpful compared to some day/regional passes. We plan to use local trains for the day trips when able to. Would a 3 day rail pass for the longer trips be a value? We don’t mind traveling 2nd class. I don’t have any train travel booked yet. Thank you for any help.
Nov 24 Frankfurt to Cologne. Hotel in Cologne 4 nights.
Nov 26 Cologne to Bonn and back
Nov 27 Cologne to Düsseldorf and back
Nov 28 Cologne to Siegen for 2 nights to visit friend
Nov 30 Siegen to Nuremberg with a few hour stop in Wurtzberg
Dec 2 Nuremberg to Rothenburg ob der Tauber and back
Dec 3 Nuremberg to Heidelberg
Dec 4 Heidelberg to Frankfurt.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
The advantage of a railpass is flexibility. For instance, if you have a rail pass, it doesn't matter if your flight into Frankfurt is two hours late, you just take the next ICE to Köln. But the downside is that if you can commit to some train connections in advance, you can save money vs a pass.
I see three long travel days on you agenda, Frankfurt to Köln, Siegen to Nürnberg, and Nürnberg to Heidelberg. I wouldn't try to go from Frankfurt to Köln on the day of arrival with a Saver Fare ticket. I found the no risk, fully flexible, standard fare for Frankfurt to Köln to be 76,60€/P, Once in Germany, you should be able to commit to a specific train for Siegen to Nürnberg and for Nürnberg to Heidelberg. I found Saver Fare tickets two month in advance for 40,90€ and 30,90€ respectively.
So, I found advance purchase tickets for those three legs, combined, for just under 150€/person. A German Rail Twin ticket for three days is 414€ ($388). If you can get advance purchase tickets for those three legs for less than about 200€/P, then a rail pass would not pay.
The rest of your travel, the local trips around Köln and Heidelberg to Frankfurt would be less expensive as VRS 24 hour passes or local tickets, and the round trip from Nürnberg to Rothenburg odT should be less expensive as a VGN pass,
Posted by
Seattle, WA
334 posts
I have an additional saving possibility for you. I’m thinking that you’re flying in and out of Frankfurt. If your airline participates in Deutsche Bahn‘s Rail&Fly program you should be able to purchase discounted tickets for your arrival day (Frankfurt to Köln) and possibly your return.
We‘ve used this program twice in the last year - once with Lufthansa and once with Condor. A 2nd class ticket to any German station is €30.
You book the discounted tickets through your airline as an extension of your airline ticket.
Here’s a link to a list of partner airlines.
https://assets.static-bahn.de/dam/jcr:eb32951b-3636-4b79-b5c9-6af1464db07c/202309_Rail&Fly%20Airline%20Partner.pdf
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you so much!
Posted by
Paradise
7072 posts
If you are figuring prices in Euros... that $388 rail pass which Lee suggests is actually cheaper by about €50 than stated... €363 at the current rate of exchange.
When checking schedules at DB, be cautious with spelling. There is no "t" in Würz-, no "e" in -burg. You CAN spell Würz- "Wuerz" if you need to, an alternative German spelling which the DB site will recognize.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33852 posts
Do you know what you are after seeing in Würzburg? Because a short stop will leave out things... like the Dom (the roadworks around it for the relaying of the tram tracks may be finished), the old bridge and associated restaurant, the Residenz, the Fortress....
Also if you turn right at Würzburg and go quite a short distance you get to Rothenburg ob der Tauber without backtracking from Nürnberg....
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
Russ, you're right, I multiplied the conversion rate ($/€) instead of dividing it.
As for -berg vs -burg, Americans apparently don't think there is a difference. We pronounce both like the "berg" in iceberg or the "burg" in Pittsburg (Calif.).
Burg, which is the name for a castle (Rothenburg ob der Tauber used to have a castle on the point above the river), is pronounced almost like the failed Supreme Court nominee, Bork. Berg, which is the name for a hill or mountain, is pronounced bairk.
The Austrian town, Salzburg, across the river from Freilassing, Germany, is named for the castle protecting the salt trade route. The mountain town, where the top Nazis had vacation homes in the Berchtesgaden area, is Salzberg.
So, learn to correctly spell the names, or you might end up in the wrong place.