We are meeting our son in Berlin to travel by train with him and are considering this loop. Berlin to Dresden, Prague, Rothenburg, Rhine and end up in Cologne where our son will return to Berlin and we will take the high speed train to Paris. We will be in Germany/Prague for 13 days. We will not be going to Munich or Austria since we have been there recently and would like to spend more time in the North. Should we get railpasses? Also the leg from Prague to Rothenburg doesn't seem very direct. And should we go to Dresden on the way to Prague or from Prague to Rothenburg? Any ideas about that? Thanks
Posted by
Paradise
6637 posts
"Should we get railpasses?"
Sounds like a nice trip. Did you use the Rick Steves time/cost map to approximate costs for the German legs of your trip? That's a start, but I'd look at the exact cost of your 4 major legs within Germany: Berlin-Dresden, Dresden-Rothenburg, Rothenburg-Koblenz (any Rhine town will do for this comparison), Koblenz-Cologne using the page below:
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe
Costs are in Euros, of course.
Then compare results to the 4-day German railpass costs Rick quotes.
If you also plan to do shorter outings by train from, say, Rothenburg or Koblenz (or Bacharach or wherever) you don't need extra railpass days - buy a Länder Ticket at ticket machines in Germany instead (this is a daypass, 26-27 Euros, good for 2-5 people traveling together.)
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19092 posts
Claire,
I don't think you would find a railpass to be cost effective. For the little travel you have in the CR, I don't think a railpass including it would be worthwhile. Railfares are really cheap in the CR.
If you book well in advance, online, from German Rail, you can get Berlin to Dresden for all three of you for as little as €69 (€23 pP).
Similarly, you can go from Dresden to Prague for as little as €57 (for all three) with a Europa-Spezial fare from the Bahn.
Coming back from Prague to Rothenburg, a Czech Rail ticket to the German Border is about €6 (in Czech Koruna). If you buy a Bayern-Ticket in Dresden before you go to Prague, you can use it from the German Border to Rothenburg. It's €27 for all three of you. Take one of the direct or 1 change trains from Praque to Nürnberg. It will take you a couple of regional trains from Nürnberg to Rothenburg.
Use another €27 (for all three, €9 each) Bayern-Ticket to get from Rothenburg to Kahl am Main, the last stop in Bavaria. Purchase p2p tickets from Kahl to Mainz in advance (so you don't have to get off the train in Kahl to purchase it there) and from Mainz to the Middle Rhine use a €26 (again for all three) Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket.
Unless your son qualifies for a youth (under 26) pass, the German Rail passes would be problematic. There is a lower cost twin pass, but it is just for two adults. Someone would have to purchase a more expensive single adult pass.
Posted by
OP
Sacramento, CA
45 posts
Thank you for your comments. This helps a great deal. Our son is 20 and will be studying in Berlin and will have a Bahncard so I am sure he will be able to take advantage of some discounts. Do you know anything about the Thalys train from Cologne to Paris. It seems pricey but much less so with a railpass.
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
If you book early enough on the internet (bahn.de) you can get second-class Thalys tickets from Koln to Paris for as low as 25 Euro. I don't think adding a day to a railpass can beat that. You can register for the "ticketless" solution, or simply have the tickets mailed to your son in Berlin. However, they are non-refundable and non-changeable.