Hi folks, I have a train logistics question. I am planning my third trip in Germany and second time at Oktoberfest! There are 4 of us traveling together and I am having a tough time figuring out what combo of tickets we should go for, considering cost vs. travel time. Here's the basic itinerary - Flight from U.S. arrives in Frankfurt early Sat AM. - Train from Frankfurt (city or airport) to Cochem, spending Sat & Sun nights in - Cochem and exploring the Mosel. - Train from Cochem to Munich on Monday AM. We'd like to spend a few hours in Frankfurt either on arrival Sat AM or on Monday on our way to Munich. The bigger question is about tickets. I'd like to take advantage of the discount on group tickets (Länder-Tickets or Weekend Tickets) on regional trains but only if it is not adding too much time. With only two 'big' train days, I've ruled out a railpass. Saturday - Options for Frankfurt to Cochem 1. Weekend ticket, regional trains, €42, about 3 hours to Cochem 2. Savings Fare, booked online for specific express train & time, €49, 2 hours to Cochem Sunday - Any rail travel on while on the Mosel, we will use a VRM Minigroup day ticket (€21.20) purchased in Cochem. Monday - Options for Cochem to Munich 1. Quer-Durchs-Land-Ticket, regional trains, €62, 9 long hours to Munich 2. Savings Fare, booked online for specific express train, €249, 5.5-6.5 hours to Munich
3. VRM Minigroup day ticket to Koblenz €21.20, Koblenz to Munich savings Fare €129, about 5 hours. Note: Savings Fares from Cochem or Frankfurt to Munich start at €209 and go up, so starting the fare from Koblenz seems like a deal. So given all this, I am inclined to see Frankfurt on arrival and use option 2 for a Saturday afternoon trip to Cochem. Then for Monday, option 3 with no stopover. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Many thanks in advance!
Posted by
OP
Raleigh, NC, United States
24 posts
I should add - We leave on Sept 20 so I hope I still have time to receive the tickets if I purchase any reserve tickets online soon.
Posted by
Florida, USA
12172 posts
I expect Lee will chime in and give you full details. I fall short on knowing where the lands' (equivalent to states) borders fall so can't always give the best information on when one Lander ticket needs to be changed to another. I normally skip Frankfurt, head right to the train station at the airport, then on to my destination. On Sat AM you can buy a weekender (Schoenes Wochende) pass, take the first train to Koblenz then catch a connection to Cochem. Since Cochem is reached by regional train, there's no need to worry about advance reservations. You may save a little time by catching a faster train to Kochem, but it's not worth it to have to worry about advance tickets or reservations IMO. Buy your ticket from an automatic machine to save a little. The weekender pass does allow you to hop on/off as many times as you want, so stopping in Frankfurt would add time, but not expense to your day. Personally, I'd use my extra time on Saturday to go to Trier or Burg Eltz (walking from Moselkern) rather than stop in Franfurt - but that's just personal preference. On the way to Munich, you might as well think from Koblenz - again you take a regional to Koblenz from Cochem. You won't pick up speed until after Koblenz no matter how you plan it. One thing to keep in mind. I believe the weekday passes start after 9 or 9:30 (after the morning rush hour). Look into that before you count on leaving Cochem at 7 am on your way to Koblenz using a local daypass.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19109 posts
He's right that you can't use the Minigruppen Tageskarte before 9 AM on Monday, Sept 23. However, if you wanted to take the 8:58 RE from Cochem to Koblenz, you could purchase single trip tickets from Cochem to Treis-Karden for 3,55€/adult (14,20€ for 4 of you) as well as the Minigruppen ticket. The RE gets to Treis-Karden after 9 AM and the group ticket is valid from there to Koblenz. No need to change trains, just tickets. Right now, the 8:48 RE out of Cochem to Koblenz, EC to Mainz, ICE to Frankfurt, 2:41 min stopover in Frankfurt, ICE to Munich, arrive Munich 17:12, is 249€ for 4 with advance purchase Savings Fare. The same trains, booked as a Savings Fare from Koblenz, would be 219€, but the Bahn website says that is for 1st class, so it might be worth the extra few Euro to use the point-point ticket to Treis-Karden and the Minigruppen Tageskarte to Koblenz to get the 1st class fare to Munich.
Posted by
OP
Raleigh, NC, United States
24 posts
Thank you Brad and Lee. On Monday Sept 23 I think leaving Cochem after 9:00 AM will be OK. It's the 11:48AM from Koblenz to Munich that I would want to catch. For some reason, it is quite a bit cheaper than other options.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19109 posts
Right, it's 129€/4 adults right now. If you add the RE from Cochem to Koblenz it's 169€, 40€ more, but you can just use the MG ticket for Cochem to Koblenz for less. I'm surprised. Usually adding a regional train to get to the express trains with a Saving Fare ticket doesn't add much. Well, here it is just adding 10€/person, but that's more than the group day ticket. For a single person it would still be worth it to include the RE to Koblenz. I think the route you are choosing is less because it goes from Koblenz to Mannheim, avoiding Frankfurt, to Munich. That Frankfurt to Munich route is very popular, so Savings Fare sell out quickly.
Posted by
OP
Raleigh, NC, United States
24 posts
So I went with the Savings Fare from Koblenz, on the 11:48 first class to Munich for €179. It is totally worth the extra €12.50 per person for first class on those nice ICE trains. Prior to posting I searched and I know similar questions have been asked before, but I had a few particular twists here, and there are so many ways to go at this. I hope this info helps someone in the future. I just want to say thanks again Lee and Brad. A lot of people, me included, mostly lurk here for info. Guys like you are the unsung heroes of these forums and I wanted you to know it's appreciated.