Backpacking Help!

"Start in Prague (4) > Rothenburg (2) (and any other easily accessible, nearby cool towns) > Salzburg (3), with perhaps a stop in Munich (1?) " Look on a map. It doesn't make too much sense to go from Prague to Rothenburg then back to Salzburg. Others may disagree, but I find Rothenburg overrated. Pretty, yes, but not as unique as touted. There are hundreds of towns throughout Germany with intact historical centers, although Rothenburg's is bigger than most. A railpass probably won't be economical for this trip- they rarely are nowadays. Go to the Deutsche Bahn and other relevant national rail websites and check out the rates there. You can usually save a significant amount of money if you buy your tickets far in advanced. Lee from Colorado will probably chime in on this topic... As for safety... same common sense rules that should apply anywhere.

Thanks for your quick reply, Tom. Obviously I have looked at the map, I'm not overly concerned about about doing a little back and forth. I am also not married to Rothenburg, but I am a big fan of walled cities and I would like to experience the quaintness of a half-timbered town, even if it is a bit overrated. Do you have other suggestions to fill that need that might "make a little more sense?" Thanks! :-)

Also I have been looking into the Bayern Ticket and so far am having a bit of trouble understanding the DB Bahn website. Can anyone provide a quick answer to whether or not the Bayern will get me from Prague to Rothenburg, or at least Nuremberg? And then perhaps from there (or Munich) to Salzburg? I thought I read it would but when I looked into booking a one-way from Prague to Nuremberg was over 300 euro. I'm guessing that wasn't the Bayern...

I never use the Länder tickets, so I'm not familiar with how they work. When Lee in Colorado wakes up, I'm sure he can provide a full explanation for you.

"I read it would but when I looked into booking a one-way from Prague to Nuremberg was over 300 euro." Where are you getting that price from? Even without any of the special discounts, on the Deutsche Bahn website, I'm seeing a ticket from Prague to Nürnberg from €50 to 93.

Haha I don't know how I got that number I swear I did! I am searching now and getting results €29 discounted price. Makes much more sense. :-)

It would probably make more sense to go from Prauge to Salzberg to Munich to Rothenburg (or a closer, quaint town - guidebooks and Lee can help you out with that I'm sure) then back to Munich and on to Italy. A bayern ticket is only good in the state of Bavaria/Bayern and only on slower regional trains. You probably won't want to use one to go long distances, although if you do go from Munich to Rothenburg it's only accessable by regional train anyway so it might make sense for that. Plug it all into the bahn.com website! ICE and ICE sprinters are the trains you cannot take with a bayern ticket. Everything else is fine. But again, it is only valid WITHIN Bavaria so make sure you pay attention to those borders. If you can buy a Bayern ticket in advance through bahn.com (I don't know, I've never tried) you could buy a ticket from Salzberg to the next German border town and then you'd be good to go. But you couldn't take an ICE or an OBB train. I have no idea what the travel time is from Salzburg to Munich on a regional train. I can't speak to Italy but you will feel extremely safe traveling alone in that part of Germany (or really any part of Germany.) It's safe to walk alone in Munich at night (at least I've done it and never felt like I was in danger, even around the Hauptbahnhof and neighboring strip clubs and such). I imagine New Orleans is probably more dangerous than just about any place you're going except maybe Rome, probably not even then. The biggest risk for you is pickpockets, particularly in Rome, so don't leave your purse hanging behind you on a chair at an outdoor restaurant, make sure you always have your hand over your purse so people can't just grab it off your shoulder. Some people will recommend a moneybelt, but I think if you are aware and hang onto your bag properly you don't really need one.

The Bayern-Ticket is valid on regional trains everywhere in Bavaria and also to a few "border" stations - Ulm, Kufstein, and SALZBURG - outside of, but adjacent to, Bavaria. There should be DB ticket automats on the platform in Salzburg from which you can purchase the Bayern-Ticket. You can also purchase it online just like any other ticket. If you put in Salzburg Hbf to Munich Hbf on the date you want to travel (after 9 AM weekdays), it will show up under Savings Fares as €21 (for a single) after a Regional Express (RE). It will give you the option to print it out online. Make sure you get the date right as the ticket is date specific and non-exchangeable/non-refundable. You use a specific train to make the purchase, but it is actually valid for regional trains all over Bavaria. By regional train, the trip to Munich Hbf takes just over 2 hrs, about ½ hr longer than by more expensive express trains. As for Prague to Rothenburg, if you can get the advance purchase €29 fare for the express bus, it's worth it. The Savings Fare ticket will be only for the bus (date and time) and any express trains specified. If your route includes the bus from Ansbach to Rothenburg, you will have to pay for that separately. However, you can take any regional trains from Nuernberg Hbf to Rothenburg, as long as you get to Rothenburg by 10 AM the next morning.

"I am sure the Select Eurail pass for 4 countries is the best deal." I doubt it. See Lee's comments for Germany and Prague. I notice there are currently rail tickets at www.bahn.de for 59€ direct train leaving 11:31, Munich to Venice, on 4/9 and 10, 49€ on 4/11. Scoop one fast if you want one. Maybe then you'd just need an Italy pass - or maybe p2p tix would cost less than the pass. Check fares for legs at www.trenitalia.com

Thanks Sarah, Lee and Russ! Things are starting to make a little more sense and I may actually end up going to Prague then Salzburg then exploring SE Bavaria, maybe even bypassing Rothenburg. I really want to see it, but as I've been looking into other Bavarian towns there are many half-timbers that seem just as quaint. I also want to the Ludwig Castles. Maybe it's even worth sacrificing a day or two in Italy or Praque to go to Italy via Switzerland for a couple of nights? Originally I had limited myself to just the 4 countries because a) I don't want to spread myself too thin as I only have 3 weeks (and Italy is HUGE) and b) I was looking at Rail Passes which go up in price the more countries you add. But now that it looks like I won't be going that route, perhaps Switzerland is doable. Any good recommendations on that, and on going from Germany to Switzerland to either the Italian Riviera or Venice? Or another option would be to still skip Switzerland and go from Salzburg to Innsbruck and take a day trip to the castles and perhaps Mittenwald??

"Any good recommendations on .... going from Germany to Switzerland". Yes. The Bahn website has some discount offers called "Europa-Spezial Schweiz" for travel between anywhere in Germany and Switzerland. You'll find these under Savings Fares on the German Rail (Bahn) website. They require at least 3 days, up to 92 days, advance purchase online. The price of the tickets is "tiered". Fares start at €39; when those sell out, the tickets go up to €49 and so on. The lowest priced tickets sell out quickly, so it pays to purchase as soon as you can commit. There is a Eurocity train leaving Munich for Zürich and it has the Europa-Spezial fares. You can use any number of regional trains to get to that EC and still get the fare. In most countries a route with that fare would end at the first change of trains in that country, in Zürich. However, in Switzerland you can continue on with that fare as long, I think, as you are using express trains, eg ICs. So, if you put in Rothenburg to Interlaken with a stopover in Munich, you would get a route with three regional trains to get you to Munich, then the EC from Munich to Zürich, then two ICs from Zürich to Interlaken. I just found such a fare leaving Rothenburg at 15:06 on Apr 23 and getting to Interlaken at 59 min past midnight. Not a popular time, but the fares do exist. If you don't specify Munich as a stopover, it will route you through Mannheim or Karlsruhe. (Possible a better route but doesn't illustrate the use of regional trains in Germany and express trains in Switzerland as well as the Munich example.)

Thanks for the correction Lee, I had no idea the Bayern ticket was that flexible with regard to Ulm and Salzburg. Makes it an even better deal. Now I'm frantically doing research to find out if a Baden-Wurttemberg ticket can get me to Basel.

There is no benefit to buying the Bayern-ticket in advance. Just get it at the machine at the train station. Not all the trains that you can take with the ticket are slow. Regional express (but not IC and ICE) trains are included.

"I also want to the Ludwig Castles. Maybe it's even worth sacrificing a day or two in Italy or Praque to go to Italy via Switzerland for a couple of nights?" I wouldn't rob time from either Italy or Switzerland for the Füssen "castles." From Munich it's about 2.5 hours each way to the "castles". N'stein isn't a real castle but a late 19th-century structure built as his home and lived in for only 6 months; it's handsome from outside but the tour is pretty worthless. Hohenschwangau is a knock-off palace of Ludwig's. It will save you some time and trouble to see Ludwig's Herrenchiemsee Palace on the way between Munich and Salzburg; it's on an island - the larger one in the background here - and a boat takes you there from Prien: http://i.ittvoltam.hu/p/00/03/48/84/11923a.jpg http://www.herren-chiemsee.de/englisch/tourist/index.htm Prien is a station right on the Munich-Salzburg line. There are lockers for your bags at the Prien station. Once in Salzburg, check out some real castles - one in town, some just a short ride away; Hohenwerfen has a falconry exhibition: http://www.salzburg-burgen.at/en/

The only information I have on Dubrovnik is below. Croatia The illusion that you are somewhere expensive, is what you'll find in Croatia. You can get the glam without the price tag, unlike Europe. Then you are all set if you are backpacking Croatia. Bars, inexpensive restaurants and hostels are in large supply. Don't spend money on pricey hotels. You can still see all the great sites and stay in a comfortable hostel with other backpackers. Make sure you get over to Dubrovnik if you are planning to visit this summer. Going on the entire month of July is a large summer festival. For other ideas for backpacking in Europe, check out this page: http://www.backpack-and-gear.com/best-cheap-backpacking-in-europe.html