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Prague - Munich - Frankfurt

Those are my only "knowns" but traveling by train from Prague in mid-July with two kids. We would like to see a bit of Munich, a castle, the luge near Fussen, Rothenburg area, Rhine and the fly out of Frankfurt. We leave Prague on a Sunday and fly out of Frankfurt on Friday. Some have suggested Dachau, Neuschwantstein, Garmisch-Paretnekirchen, Chiemsee, etc. I just want to not overprogram and the things they said they really want to see is a grand castle, castles along the Rhine, luge, and Munich.

Open to suggestions of activities, route, and accommodations for 3 people in safe areas. Thanks!

I'm convinced trains rather than cars just due to ease for me and want my kids to experience it and I don't want to hassle with figuring out routes, parking, etc. and want to be able to enjoy sites. I love the ease of the Eurail passes b/c you only have to find the train you want and hop on but I know others have said they are a lot more expensive. With traveling with two kids by myself, I want it to be easy to get tickets, etc. Each time I've been in a foreign metro station, it seems so confusing what type of ticket to buy.

Thanks!

Posted by
16895 posts

The German Pass is one of the cheapest rail passes known to Europe, starting at $225 per person for yourself and your 14-year-old and about $142 for the 10-year-old (not free), and there is no need to reserve most trains. However, most sights on your list are also quite close together. Your kids under 15 both travel free with you when you buy point-to-point train tickets in Germany, or regional tickets such as the Bayern/Bavaria Ticket. If you do choose to buy tickets point-to-point, then consider booking ahead through DB to get an advance discount on a couple of longer trips, such as Prague-Munich and Munich-Rhine.

Posted by
19276 posts

"I know others have said they (Eurail passes) are a lot more expensive."

How old are you kids? With most kind of tickets in Germany, kids under 15 are free when they're listed on their parent's ticket. So, you'll be buying Eurail passes for kids who would otherwise be free.

Posted by
7083 posts

"With traveling with two kids by myself, I want it to be easy to get tickets, etc."
I think this is a very wise consideration. It is indeed pretty easy to use ticket machines or to buy tickets at a counter (English skills are commonplace among DB customer service agents) in Germany IF you know what tickets you are looking for. Railpasses simplify things as well - but the expenses do add up.

"We leave Prague on a Sunday and fly out of Frankfurt on Friday."

The trip from Prague to Munich is typically accomplished by IC Bus these days:

http://www.bahn.com/i/view/USA/en/trains/overview/ic-bus-prague.shtml

This cuts roughly an hour off the travel time, but it's still nearly 5 hours to Munich.

That means you will have a few hours on Sunday to check in and see a little of Munich - and then 4 days to see a little more of Munich, to travel to Füssen and do the luge (again nearly 5 hours round trip travel time to Neuschwanstein, which is NOT a castle,) to travel to and visit Rothenburg (3-3.5 hours on the train,) to travel to and visit the Rhine (4.5 hours to St. Goar) and then make a final train journey to the airport. I do NOT see how these places are "quite close together" - IMO far too much of your time will be spent in transit and unpacking/packing/checking as you zoom from one overtouristed super-high-name-recognition destination to another, and you'll be shelling out a lot of € for too little feet-on-the-ground time and contact with everyday Germany.

I would instead suggest a more direct route between Prague through northern Bavaria and then on to the Frankfurt/Rhine area. PRAGUE - NUREMBERG/ROTHENBURG - RHINE. Trimming your travel time and expenses does NOT have to mean trimming your activities or your cultural exposure.

1.) Summer luge runs exist all over the place. There's a new one atop the Loreley cliffs on the Rhine, the LORELEY-BOB.

2.) Nazi atrocities can be thoroughly explored at the Dokumentationszentrum and you can tour the Nazi Rally grounds - right in Nuremberg. Nuremberg has the KAISERBURG castle and a fine OLD TOWN zone as well - not to mentions all sorts of beer halls. Check out the sightseeing options HERE. And Nuremberg can be navigated on foot.

3.) Day trips from Nuremberg are exceptionally easy. Take your choice. Visit the Residenz Palace in Würzburg (something you might also do on the way to the Rhine.) Day trip to Rothenburg. Day trip to Bamberg. Day trip to the amazing Franconian Freilandmuseum, a collection of 400-600-year-old buildings from rural northern Bavaria. Cheap daypasses (€17.50/day for your family) get you everywhere.

A trip like this would mean only TWO major travel legs that could be accomplished inexpensively through pre-purchase of point to point tickets and/or by daypass on the regional trains. Yet you'd have your hands absolutely full of possible activities.

Posted by
19276 posts

The IC bus is the fastest connection from Prague to Munich and potentially the least expensive if you purchase far enough in advance. Because your children are under 15, they travel with you free if you book the ticket including them, and the lowest priced advance purchase Savings Fare ticket is 29€. However, the ticket is "bus specific", that is, it is only valid for the bus at that time and on that date. It is worthless for any other bus. Also, 29€ is the starting price and the number of tickets at that price is limited. When tickets at that price sell out, the price goes up.

If the specific bus commitment worries you, or if you can't get the lowest priced advance purchase bus tickets, you might want to consider the train.

There are three direct regional trains per day from Prague. They take about an hour longer and the ticket is more than the lowest priced Savings Fare tickets, but there is no train commitment. A ticket for your family (1 adult with 2 children) from Prague to Pilsen will cost 195 Czech Koruna (Kc), about 7€. For Pilsen to Munich, if you can figure out the German, you can purchase a Bayern-Böhmen ticket from the Bahn Shop for 26€. So that is about 33€, total.

If you can't figure out the Bahn Shop, you can always purchase a regular Bayern-Ticket online from the Bahn website (much simpler), for 23€, which will cover you and your children from Furth im Wald, the first stop in Germany by the train from Prague, to anywhere in Bavaria. A Czech ticket from Prague to Furth will cost 782 Kc or about 28€. So it is worth figuring out the Bahn Shop.

The Bayern-Ticket (or Bayern-Böhmen Ticket) is an all day pass (after 9 AM workdays) for regional trains in Bavaria as well as all forms of transport in the Munich metro (MVV) district. So it will cover your travel to the station or bus stop nearest your hotel and any other travel in Munich that day after you check in. If you specify it when booking the bus, the ticket will also cover you to your hotel, but if you want to go out sightseeing in Munich, you will have to pay extra for your transportation after you arrive at the station listed on the ticket.

Posted by
223 posts

Lee - is the Bahn Shop the online DB ticketing or something at the station? You have convinced me to look at point to point rather than Rail pass. I feel adept at ordering online tickets.

Posted by
19276 posts

This is a link to the Bahn ticket shop. It's in German, but, I think, pretty self-explanatory. Hint, Warenkorb is "shopping cart". When you use the ticket, you will need to have with you for identification the credit card you use for the purchase.

Posted by
223 posts

Thanks so much. Lee - I really appreciate your help with trains and I love everyone's ideas. Russ - great advice.