Drive or Train to Salzburg from Landstuhl

"Will rental companies allow us to take the car out of Germany?" Yes, but if you want to drive on the Austrian autobahn network, you must purchase a vignette sticker at the border. "Also, how do we apply for something I have seen in the forum called (I think) a "chip and pin" card?"AKA, IC or EMV smartcard, as it is more properly known. Despite the impression some of the posters give on this website, as a tourist, you don't need one in Germany. Unless, of course, the purpose of your trip is to purchase bulk items from stores like Ikea...

Tom, Thank you for such a quick response! Yes, some of the posts I have read have said that you have to have either cash or the card to purchase gasoline and groceries, that neither accept American issued credit cards. With limited withdrawal amounts per day allowed from an ATM, we were wondering if we should get one. We might travel to another country later in our visit to Germany, so should we be prepared, just in case?

For groceries, it depends on the store, or even, the knowledge of the clerk. For fuel, a US credit card will work fine. You only need an IC card for unattended, pay-at-the-pump stations, and these do not exist in Germany ... I'm pretty certain they don't have them in Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg or the Netherlands either. France might be a different story, though.

This is a relief to know. So, we won't bother with getting the card. Thank you, Tom. You have been very helpful.

It is a long haul either way. It is 6.5 - 7 hours by train and 5+ hours by car. You might arrive more refreshed by train. I was stationed in Landstuhl years ago. I spent one Christmas in Salzburg traveling from Landstuhl. Salzburg is a beautiful city. The driving route passes Stuttgart. I used to hate that drive; the autobahn could easily turn into a parking lot. It was always busy when I drove it. That was years ago, perhaps someone has a different recent experience.

" I used to hate that drive;" I still hate it. Gary, it probably hasn't improved since you were here. That stretch of A8 east of Stuttgart where it splits and twists up the mountain, before entering the tunnel? One of the most scenic areas in the whole autobahn network... and you have plenty of time to see everything, because traffic has been damned-near stationary a few times when I have driven it!

Seconding that you won't really need the chip & pin card. You'll be in Germany/Austria - just get out cash. You should be able to pay for sit-down meals in many places with your card, as well as your hotel unless you stay at a tiny privatzimmer or something, so use your card when you can and take out plenty of cash. I live here, this is what I did for over 6 months including some serious travel during that time and never had a problem. Can't help you on the drive, I've only taken the train from Stuttgart to Muinch then Salzburg and back. It's a very pleasant ride though, especially on the Austrian Rail Jet.

Would the train ride be as scenic as driving to Salzburg? Sarah, I haven't heard of the Austrian Express. All I know about is the Bahn network. How do I find out about options on trains and which one is the best one to take? Would the German Rail Pass include that one? I'm so confused about the trains. I've perused the Bahn site for hours and don't see any direct routes (no train changes). Does such a thing exist?

"I've perused the Bahn site for hours and don't see any direct routes (no train changes). Does such a thing exist?" Between major cities, yes. From a minor regional station like Landstuhl to a distant city, no.

Tom, So we might be better off to train to Frankfurt and go from there?

More likely, Mannheim will be the closest major rail hub. I didn't think there would be any direct trains from there to Salzburg, but lo-and-behold, after checking the Deutsche Bahn website, there are a few every day.

Trips into and out of Salzburg are covered in the German Rail Pass on DeutscheBahn trains, but not ÖBB trains because the German Rail Pass is a DeutscheBahn product. So you could take a DeutscheBahn ICE or regional train from Salzburg but not any ÖBB trains including the RailJet. It's a little confusing because you have the national train systems themselves (Germany = Deutschebahn, Austria =ÖBB, France = SNCF) and then they all give their high-speed train systems a name. ICE is Germany's, RailJet is Austria's, TGV is France's, etc. Those are all products of their respective national train systems, as in an ICE train is a TYPE of DeutscheBahn train, as is an IC (InterCity), an RB (Regional Train) or RBE (Regional Train Express). Hopefully that clears it up a little for you? The best resource for learning how to navigate all European rail travel is seat61.com. But you can use bahn.com to generally see almost all schedules for any trains in Europe, but you are restricted to buying tickets that begin or end in Germany. Which works out fine for your trip if you decide to take the train. You wouldn't need a German RailPass anyway unless you have other destinations in Germany a good ways out from Landstuhl. You'll be best off in that case buying a ticket as early in advance as possible directly from Bahn.com. Can't comment on the scenery of train versus driving, but you have some nice scenery from Salzburg for about an hour as you head towards Munich on the train. After that it's generally the typical German fields interspersed with forests and low mountains as you go past Ulm towards Stuttgart. As you get towards Heidelberg there's some nice scenery too, you can see some castles from the train.

IF you do decide to do this trip by train - and I don't think it's a trip that really has a significant advantage between train or car unless you wanted to stop and see stuff along the way (which would make for a pretty long day), your best bet is one of the EuroCity trains that leaves directly from Salzburg and has just one connection, either in Heidelberg or Mannheim depending on which train you take. That's a pretty easy trip. I haven't ever rode on an EuroCity train before, but they are a high speed international train operated by yet another rail operator, and supposed to be quite nice. You can purchase tickets for them at bahn.com as well. Hope that helps!

Sarah, since we are staying at the Villa Von Trapp, which is a bit out of town, and would like to do the Sound of Music tour on our own, and go through Bavaria on our way back to Landstuhl, it seems to our advantage to drive. Maybe if we hit Stuttgart around noon or before, the traffic won't be so bad. Tom, is that possible? Gary, thank you for the information regarding training from Mannheim. That's a short drive from Landstuhl, so our daughter-in-law could take us there, should we decide to do that. Thank you for all your help everyone. You have clarified so many things for me.

You're definitely best off avoiding rush hour in and out of Stuttgart, but I'm guessing the traffic that the others are referring to is the kind that is often due to never ending road work and seems to bunch up no matter what time of day. But aiming to be going through Stuttgart around noon is your best strategy, I think. I wish I could give you specifics but I've never driven that way before! Since you're staying somewhat outside of town though, a car does seem to make sense for you.