Hi. I'm about to sit down and do some calculations on rail costs for our upcoming trip. I thought I'd see if the Rick Steves' community had some suggestions, though, that would help me. We are travelling to Austria, Germany, and Switzerland in July. There will be 4 adults and a 13 year old. We are spending 3 nights in Vienna, 3 nights in Munich, 3 nights in Wengen, and 2 nights in Lucerne. I'm trying to decide if it makes more sense: 1) buy a 3 country pass with 5 days of travel. 2) buy individual tickets for the Vienna to Munich, Munich to Wengen, and Wengen to Lucerne; and then purchase a regional pass for the BO so we can travel between the mountain villages around Wengen (it sounds as if some of the cable cars and lifts to the mountain tops are fairly expensive).
3) Purchase individual ticket from Vienna to Munich and from Munich to the Swiss border and then get some form of Swiss pass for our time in Switzerland. We probably will take some day trips from Vienna and Munich (Dachau and Ludwig's Castles), but we may go with tours for these, which would include transportation. Anyway, all of this is a bit confusing and we want to make sure we choose the option that provides the most value for the $. Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Kevin
Posted by
Ojai, CA
591 posts
First of all, I like your itinerary but would change one thing - I'd cut 1 night in Vienna in order to have a night in Salzburg....you'll be glad you did. Except for Schönbrunn Palace, most of the popular Vienna sights are in the city center and you can see them in 1 day (with the help of a bus tour). Schönbrunn opens early (8:30) and you can tour the palace & grounds in one morning.
I can't help you with Switzerland rail travel, but just returned from a Germany / Austria trip that fits your plans. You have '5' people and that's the magic number to take advantage of a couple deals. Austrian trains (OBB) have a 'Mini - Maxi' ticket that gives a discount for small groups (up to 5 people); 1st person gets 10% off, 2nd gets 20% off, etc up to 5th person gets 50% off. You can use this for Vienna to Salzburg. From Salzburg to Munich you'll take a German train (DB) and can use a 'Bayern Ticket' which costs a flat € 29 that's good for 1 day for up to '5' people to anywhere in Bavaria (Salzburg is an end/starting point). You could also buy one for a day trip to the Royal Castles and another one to get you as far as Lindau en route to Switzerland.
Posted by
Myrtle Beach, USA
12313 posts
Germany has two great options for your group. Schoenes Wochende or Laender Passes. The Wochende pass (as the name implies) is good for weekend travel on Regional trains all over Germany. It's good for one day up to a group of five with unlimited hop-on, hop-off during the day. They're in the neighborhood of 35 euro (one ticket for the whole group). The Laender (A Laend is a state or province. Laender has an A with two dots over it, umlaut, rather than an E after the A) is for weekdays. It's similar to the Wochende pass but only good in one province, and isn't valid until after the morning rush hour (I think starts at 9:30) . Use the same regional trains, good for one day, up to five people. The prices vary a little but I think 35 euros is about right. These are great trains for touring because you can get on/off where you like. Many of the places you will want to stop are only served by the regional (local) trains. No reservations needed, just pick up your ticket at the station before you board.
Posted by
OP
Savoy, IL, US
2 posts
Thanks. I think we've decided to take your advice and do a night in Salzburg. The mini maxi ticket and bayern ticket will greatly reduce the cost of our train travel. Also great advice about the weekend and weekday daily tickets. How are these better than the Bayern ticket though? Is it that these are hop on hop off, while the Bayern is point to point? I do have a question about our travel from Munich to Wengen though. If we use a Bayern ticket to get to Lindau, would we then need a point to point ticket to the first station inside Switzerland where we could begin using a swiss pass of some kind? Thanks again for the advice. First time in the area, so we're trying to get familiar with all the transportation options before we arrive. Kevin