Eurail pass questions

First, buses are not included (unless something has changed very recently). Second, your pass has to be validated on any day that you use a train (which includes the S-Bahn).

In the RS Germany 2010, pg 607 at the bottom states: "railpass travelers should know what extras are covered by their pass: for example, travel on any German buses marked 'Deutsche Bahn' or 'DB' (run by th train company) & travel on city S-bahn systems (excpet Berlin). Railpasses also cover or discount boats on the Rhine...." etc Which i thought was very handy sounding as we were kicking around doing the Rhine boat tour on a non-train travel day, as well..... ? am i misunderstanding that info? --quite possible I am :)
Thanks

You should read this on this site. "All cover KD Line boats on the Rhine and Mosel Rivers (starts use of a travel day, same as a rail trip). Buses are only covered when operated by Deutsche Bahn (German Rail). Bonuses include 20% off the private Romantic Road Bus (discounts do not use a flexipass travel day)." Your rail pass has to be validated for that day to use it on the k-d boats. You can also use trains that day, but you can't use the Rhein boats without using a day of your railpass. I have been on a lot of buses in Germany, but never on one run by the Bahn. In fact I know of only one, the bus from Nürnberg to Prague, and that bus requires an additional supplement to use.

ahhhh, i understand a little better now...just trying to make sure our pass covers what we need it to in order to make the most of our $$, since whilst we're not shoestring budget travelers, we certainly arent loaded with cash! i suppose if necessary, we could pay for one or 2 of the less expensive train trips (ie. Fussen to Munich) out of pocket and use the pass for the other high Euro ones!

Ashley, very good idea. You can ride regional trains (that's all there are) from Füssen to Munich (about 2 hrs) using a Bayern-Ticket, €29 for two people, and it will cover all of your local travel (S/U-Bahn, trams, buses) in Munich once you get there.

because i am suffering from travel guide book reading overload...I'll ask for the quick & dirty: i am assuming we can buy the Bayern-Ticket at the Fussen train station the day we travel to Munich from Fussen ? Does it have a time limit on using it for free local transport (trams, s-bahn)? we'll be in Munich 3 full days....also would it cover transport out to Dachau if we go there?
thanks a ton for your info

You can probably use a variety of regional passes and purchase ahead discount ticket for your travel in and out of Germany. For instance, Frankfurt (assuming it's not the airport) to Köln could be an advance purchase Sparpreis ticket for €29 for both of you. Köln to Füssen could be as low as €49 for two with an advance purchase ticket. As I already said, Füssen to Munich would be €29 for two. Munich to Vienna, €29 per person. I can't advise you too much on the rest, except Austria Rail, www.oebb.at, has some advance purchase specials for Austria to outside Austria. Vienna to CK could be around €29-€39 per person.

hmmmmm... stuff to think on. let me get my travel buddy in on this and see what they want to do --not just MY trip after all! :) But again, thanks for the great info...might need to contact you about other stuff in our planning over the next month or so (trip is in March), and thanks for the quick responses!

I don't think you will find the things I'll tell you in any travel book. I've spent months in Bavaria. Yes, you can purchase the Bayern-Ticket at the Füssen Bahnhof. It's available from the automat any time. It's one of the buttons on the two vertical columns on the right. When you press the button the display will give you three options, 1) Bayern-Ticket (yes), 2) Bayern-Ticket-Single (one person, no), and 3) Bayern-Ticket-Nacht (No). Then it will show you a calender to the date (you could buy it in advance). Or, if you are really challenged, you can pay €2 more at the counter for personal service. On weekends, it's good from midnight. On weekday, after 9 AM. All days until 3 AM the next day. In Munich, you will probably want to use a Partner Tageskarte (Day ticket) for all modes of transport in Munich - Innenraum (inner zone), €9,80 (up to 5 people, - XXL (inner two zones), €12,80). Virtually every thing in Munich is in the Innenraum except Dachau. The XXL Tageskarte will cover both of you RT on the S-Bahn to Dachau station plus on the bus RT to the memorial.