Getting to Colmar, then Nuremburg

Since it will take a lot more time to change planes to get to Basel, only to still have to take a train, I'd just take the train from Frankfurt. But I'm curious why flying into Strasbourg is not an option? When I flew Lufthansa, I connected to a Lufthansa bus right from the Frankfurt airport to Strasbourg. The bus stops right at Strasbourg's train station. Since your family need to get to Colmar, not Strasbourg, I'm not sure if this helps you, but just in case, here's the information about this bus. The website says it can be used by passengers of any airline: http://tinyurl.com/bola9lf For Colmar to Nueremburg, look at http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en. Be sure to put in the ages of all the travelers; you may qualify for some family discount (I got a discount for 2 adults traveling together when buying a non-refundable ticket in advance; there was no discount for the full last minute fare). If you book a ticket online with Bahn, you print it out at home, then show both the printout and the credit card to the conductor.

Thanks for the information Harold. We can't fly into Strasbourg because the flights are being booked with frequent flyer miles. There aren't as many options and when I try looking at flights to Strasbourg it is routing from Toronto to Chicago, then 2 more flights for 13 to 14 hours travel time.

Kathy: Yes, that is a good reason! I just asked because many people assume, without checking. Glad you checked. My sister and her husband went to Venice by flying from New York to Copenhagen to Milan, then getting from the airport to the train station and taking a train to Venice. They did this because it was cheaper, but they were miserable by the time they arrived. Your proposed trip of YYZ to FRA to BLS then train to Colmar isn't quite as bad, but it's close. So, just have them fly YYZ to FRA, then train to Colmar (fewer transfers is almost always better, particularly in a jet-lagged state).

Kathy, Although it may not be preferable after a long flight, the quickest and easiest option will probably be to travel by train to Colmar. Presumably their jet lag won't be as bad as those of us travelling from the west coast. I haven't checked on flights from Frankfurt to Basel-Mulhouse, but suspect by the time you add waiting times, flight times, security and all the other annoyances, train will be a faster and less stressful option. There are two rail stations right at Frankfurt airport, so they can be on their way fairly quickly after landing. They'll need to use the Fernbahnhof (long distance trains). If they can connect with it, the easiest trips will be one of the departures with only one change and a travel time of about 4 hours. I assume your family will be spending a few days in Colmar, prior to going to Nuremburg. Otherwise it would be fairly easy for everybody to meet at (for example) Karlsruhe and then all head for Nuremburg together. Happy travels!

Yes,I would take the train from Frankfurt to Strasbourg (and then change for the last leg for the train to Colmar). Although if Lufthansa offers this bus service as Harold mentions, that is an interesting option too! Are you going for the Christmas markets? You'll have a wonderful time!

My husband and I are going to 16 days starting in Munich and eventually getting to Colmar where the kids (all adults) will join us. The Christmas markets are high on our lists as well as general touring of the areas. Together the 7 of us will stay 3 nights in Colmar, followed by 2 or 3 in Nuremburg as I'm tempted to stay in Regensburg one night. We'll then head for Salzburg for the last 3 nights. I've followed quite a few threads about Colmar vs Strausbourg and think I'd rather stay in Colmar but since it looks like coming down from Frankfurt, I should maybe rethink this. As for travel to Nuremburg, I followed Harold's link and it looks like it is going to be very expensive on the train for 5 people. My husband and I will already have a car and I'm now wondering whether it may make sense for a second car to be rented and drive to Nuremburg and stop at towns along our way so will investigate this option as well. Having said that, with Colmar being in France, I'm assuming a nasty drop off charge, so where would it be best to pick up a car?

Here is a way (round about way) get to Nuremburg inexpensively for 5 people. Travel to Strasbourg on local train. Then take the Ortenau S Bahn to Offenburg. Then get a Quer-durchs-Land ticket on DeutscheBahn. The total price for 5 people is 68 euro. You must travel after 9 am and only use local trains. This actually is not a whole lot longer than using ICE & IC trains to Nuremburg. Get the schedules on the D-B website by checking "local transport only" box.
Cost for 5 from Colmar to Offenburg is 100 euro.

Sam, this is really helpful information and way more affordable than when I had looked at bahns website travelling from Colmar or Strausbourg. I've used your links to go over the options and it looks like this is how we'll travel to Nuremburg. Thank you so much!