I am arriving in Frankfurt on Nov.4 (Fri) 6:20am and will take a train straight to Cochem.
I figured that the best ticket for my trip would be the 3-day pass (which is only in flexi) and don't have enough time to get the ticket delivered to me. (flexi passes can't be pdf downloaded, from my understanding..)
this means I have to buy the pass when I arrive in Frankfurt.
will it be ok with no booking? am I going to be able to take the train right away?
I will also travel from Cochem to Rüdesheim the next day, and then Heidelberg, and then Berlin on Sunday (6th).
Posted by
Green Bay
20241 posts
You'll be fine, in fact a 3-day flex pass would be throwing money away. Use can use all regional trains and tickets will be inexpensive. Buy the Heidelberg-Berlin ticket now to get a Sparpreis nonrefundable ticket.
PS. How many are traveling together?
Posted by
OP
12 posts
thanks Sam. actually, I'm travelling with my wife and the twin flexi for 3 days seem slightly cheaper. (287 euro for twin).
the Heidelberg-Berlin savings fare is around 128 per person already, so i figured the flexi twin would be the way to go.
anyway, thanks for the info. i guess i dont need to worry about booking.
Posted by
Green Bay
20241 posts
If you do want to do the 3 day Flexipass, you can just buy it at the airport DB Reisezentrum. The trains to Cochem, Ruedsheim, and Heidelberg are mostly regional trains with no reservations anyway. You might want to go ahead and buy seat reservations for the Heidelberg-Berlin segment now. They only cost 4.50 EUR each.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19109 posts
So you land in Frankfurt and go immediately to Cochem, hopefully arriving before noon. So you will have the afternoon in Cochem (but you will be jetlagged).
The next morning you take the train from Cochem to Heidelberg via Rüdesheim. How long do you spend in Rüdesheim? One hour is hardly worth it. Two hours at least. If you leave Cochem at 8:42 and spend 2 hours in Rüdesheim, you'll get to Heidelberg after 3 PM.
You'll have just a short afternoon in Heidelberg, then off to Berlin the next morning.
This is a classic example of a "check list" tour. More time spent in trains then actually seeing things.
What is it about Cochem for you? I've been there. It's nice, but it's not worth all the travel time and effort for so little time there. Maybe just go to Rüdesheim and have some quality time there. That way you'll have more time in Heidelberg, too.
However, FRA to Rüdesheim is only 16,50€ for two with a local RMV ticket. Rüdesheim to Mannheim can be done with a 28€ Rheinland-Pfalz Ticket. Mannheim to Heidelberg is 11,20€ for two with a local VRM ticket. So that's 55,70€ for two from FRA to Rüdesheim to Heidelberg. I only found a few Savings Fare tickets for 128€/P. I found more at 110€/P and a fast connection at 9:10 for only 179.80€ for two people, so the entire trip would be 235.50€ for two, 50€ less than the pass. So you can do it for less than the pass, but I think you were really just trying to justify getting a pass.
BTW, if you had bought a SparPreis ticket a month ago, you might have gotten it for less than half the price.