taking train in stuttgart

There is a train (S-Bahn) station at the Stuttgart airport. It used to be shown on the Bahn website as "Echterdingen". It's now shown as "Stuttgart Flughafen/Messe". From there you can take the S-Bahn into Stuttgart Hbf and take one of many trains from there to the Munich Hbf. From Munich Hbf there are multiple connections to Venice, most requiring a change of trains in Verona.

There is a direct train from Munich to Venice, but you have to be on the S-Bahn from Stuttgart airport by 8 AM to catch it in Munich.

Of course, you can purchase tickets online for the entire route on the Bahn website.

Go to http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en
Enter From: Stuttgart airport and To: Venice Santa Lucia, your travel dates, estimated departure times, number of travelers, then click on search. You will get your options and prices (total for all travelers) for a nonrefundable Saver fare bought today and the Flexpreis fare which you could buy at the station when you arrive.

Edit: Deutsche Bahn can only give you a price as far as Verona, but it is an 11 to 12 hour journey to Venice, maybe break it up with an overnight in Munich. There is one direct train every day from Munich.

I would not buy a non-refundable, train specific ticket to use right after arrival.

Why are you flying to Stuttgart if you want to go to Venice? There are more direct flights.

thank you so much. this helps a lot. This is our first time having to take a train in one country and travel to another.

"Can we purchase tickets online?"

Yes. And actually, there is a way to pre-purchase a saver fare without forfeiting your ticket due to a delay.

In the first place, landing and then taking a 10-hour train ride is pretty grueling. Let's assume you choose to stay overnight somewhere on the way and proceed to Venice the next morning...

The right strategy is to book your DB "saver fare" ticket with the REGIONAL trains for the first day's journey (which you can use at any hour you wish in case of a flight delay) and with LONG-DISTANCE trains for next morning's journey. Thus on Day 1, you could catch a train to Augsburg (maybe 2.5 hours from Stuttgart) or Munich (maybe 3.25 hours.) Then leave on Day 2 on your pre-scheduled train for Verona/Venice.

Please advise if you would be interested in this option. Providing your travel date and arrival time at STR would be helpful as well.

Russ, we should be arriving in Stuttgart at about 8:30am from Atlanta on the 22 of May. We fly standby and this is the best option so far to get to Italy. Delta only flies into Rome. I am pretty wary of the 10 hour train ride after an overnight flight. We might have to alter this by staying overnight somewhere. The plan would be to get into Venice, not the island, late at night, stay at the Holiday Inn, then take the train the next day to start our vacation in Venice. we have reservations on the island.

How confident are you of making the flight on standby. Are with comfortable with doing a night train to Venice? Are planning on using points at the Hoilday Inn? Would you settle for staying in Verona the first night?

So I see you as having 2 good options.

1. When you arrive, take the S-Bahn to Stuttgart Hbf, relax and then take the 12:53 IC train to Munich arriving at 15:11, then connect to the 15:35 EC train to Verona arriving 20:56. Get a hotel in Verona and continue to Venice in the morning, It is only about a 1 hour train ride. Option Continue from Verona on the 21:30 Freccia train to Venice Mestre arriving at 22:28 and then a cab to the Holiday Inn Marghera/Mestre. Walk-up price for the train to Verona is 250 EUR for two, train to Mestre is 54 EUR for two.

2. When you arrive, buy a Quer durchs Land ticket for 52 EUR (out of a vending machine or 2 EUR more from the ticket window). Take the S-Bahn to Stuttgart Hbf and catch one of the hourly IRE trains to Ulm and connect to an RE train to Munich. Stash bags in a locker and visit Munich for the day. At 23:35, there is a night train to Venice. you can get advance nonrefundable economy compartment with sink for 278 EUR or a luxury compartment with shower and toilet for 318 EUR. Those are the prices tonight, they may go up if you wait. You arrive in Venice Santa Lucia on the island at 8:24 the next morning.

There are DB fares from STR airport to Verona for about €80 each on 5/22 (arriving Verona on 5/23.) The saver fare ticket means just one ticket; it allows use of ANY regional trains of your choosing on 5/22 as far as Munich, and one specific long distance train the next day to Italy. You could leave Stuttgart's main station at 10:18 and arrive in Munich at 14:21 (changes in Stuttgart and Ulm, stay in a hotel near the station for convenience.) Or you could leave STR later if your plane were delayed and arrive later in Munich. Then on 5/23, leave Munich 7:34, arrive Verona 12:56 (direct EC train) and connect to Venice (or Mestre) from there on a separate ticket (Sam addressed this.)

To find this ticket/schedule at DB: For 5/22, enter a starting time of 10:00 from "STR Stuttgart Airport" to Verona and a 17-hour stopover in "München Hbf." Then under "Connections" click on "more means of transport" and de-select the ICE/ EC/ IC options for the first travel segment to Munich. Of course you also enter the number of adult passengers. Then hit "search" and when itineraries appear, click on "show details" to see connection times, platform numbers, etc. for the entire trip over both days to Verona.

The problem with this saver fare ticket however is your stand-by flight. Miss it and you're out the €80/each tickets for 5/22 and 23.

Also... is it not true that you must also RETURN to STR to fly home? How will you do that?

I know nothing about your itinerary within Italy. But if you can return to Stuttgart from VERONA or MILAN, you really should consider the GERMAN RAIL PASS. Why?

• The GRP is valid from these two Italian cities to Stuttgart (see the flyer link above.)
• A 3- or 4-day flexi twin-pass will cover two people on 3 travel days for €292 or 4 days for €314 - that is less than two round-trip saver fare tickets at €80.
• To reach Verona as outlined above, you would use two days of your GRP; with the GRP in hand you could use the high-speed trains at any hour you like between Stuttgart and Munich instead of the regional trains.
• The GRP pass completely solves the problem of forfeiting the saver fare ticket if you can't get on a plane on 5/22. You buy the GRP at a counter in Stuttgart's main station, NOT for a specific day... you can use it on any 3-4 days you like... You use it on ANY trains you like within Germany on those first two days and again when you return to Germany. You use it on eligible EC trains to Verona from Munich (and on those same trains when you return from Verona - OR perhaps on the DB's IC bus service from Milan back to Germany, maybe getting off in Memmingen and continuing by train to STR.)

(Note that between STR and Stuttgart's main station you will need to purchase an additional local transport ticket since you don't yet have a valid rail pass.)