Passing through Austria; not on railpass

I dont know where Rorschach is but your german rail pass will cover you into Salzburg.

I'll basically be skirting around the eastern edge of Lake Constance. According to bahn.de, the border crossings are at Lindau and St. Margrethen. Would I then pre-purchase (in Munich) a Lindau-St.Margrethen ticket? Or would such a short jaunt through Austria even need a separate ticket? Anyone know for sure?

Ok... I think I just answered this myself. A 2nd class Lindau - St. Margrethen ticket is only a little over 5 Euros, so no big deal. Might even consider staying the night in Bregenz instead of Rorschach, just to be in another country a while!

I have an email from Eurail on this subject and they indicate that your pass must be valid on every country in which you travel. I would suggest showing your pass at the ticket window in Munich and asking them if there is any additional fares necessary for this particular train run. If there are any, I'm sure you can take care of it right there. Also, on a portion of your run, I see an ICE train. I believe that there is an additional fee on top of your Eurail pass for this premium train. Again, I think that this can be easily taken care of at the Munich train station. Just show them your pass when you buy your ticket.

Larry, I don't see any ICE trains on the path I plan to take, but according to the Eurail website, railpass holders do NOT pay supplements for ICE trains.

We did something similar a few years ago. We were traveling from Venice to a town just inside Germany where we could rent a car. The train traveled through Austria, and we DID have to have an additional ticket to the railpass. It was not very expensive. I had a travel agent get the tickets that year, so I'm not sure just how they were purchased. I do know that the conductor checked the pass AND the ticket and smiled when he saw the ticket. He said many people do not have the Austrian ticket, and there is a hefty fine for not having it.

Bethany,

I think what Larry is referring to is the reservation fee that is usually compulsory with the "faster" trains. This is not included with Railpasses, as has to be paid separately. A quotation from Rick's Rail Guide - "Railpasses cover 95% of all state-run trains in Europe, but don't cover reservation fees.

You might want to have a look at www.ricksteves.com/rail/usepass.htm for further information. Scroll down to the section on "Train Reservations".

Trust me, you don't want to be caught without a valid reservation on a train where this is compulsory, as you can be fined on the spot! The fine is often ~€50 or so.

If you have some idea on a particular ICE train you'll be using, check the route on the bahn.de website. If you click the arrow on the left to expand the description, it will show on the right side whether a reservation is compulsory.

Cheers!

Bethany,

Regarding your original question, this quote from Rick's free PDF Rail Pass guide:

"Be aware of your route. Passes are good for use only in the countries selected. If your train passes through a country not on your pass, you must buy a separate ticket for that stretch in advance, or pay a fine for purchasing the ticket on board. Examples: Crossing Austria on the Munich–Venice route costs about $40 additional in second class, making it worthwhile to add Austria to your pass. Crossing Switzerland on daytime connections from Paris to Italy (e.g. connecting in Basel, Geneve, or Lausanne) costs $60 or more, but direct Paris–Italy day and night trains are covered even without Switzerland on the pass.

That advice from "the Master" should clarify things somewhat.

Happy travels!

I agree that what you need is a standard ticket from the last stop in Germany to the first stop in Switzerland, OR ...

Going through that little bit of Austria is not the only way to get from Germany to Switzerland. You could go to Friedrichshafen, in Germany, and take the ferry across the Bodensee to Switzerland. Or, you could go to Stuttgart and take a train south to Schafhausen, Switzerland, and then to St. Gallen.

Oh, I know there's other ways, I just picked the fastest route. I don't mind the extra 5 euros. :) Actually, I just ended up booking a hotel in Bregenz instead of going straight into St. Gallen.

I've read Rick's rail guide and know about reservations, but I will re-read probably several more itmes before I leave!

"I just picked the fastest route".

Actually, there are two trains leaving Munich around 9:30. Each takes 4h19m. One leaves Munich at 9:19 and goes through Lindau to St. Margrethen, arriving at St. Gallen at 13:38. The other leaves Munich at 9:40, going across the Bodensee on the ferry from Friedrichshafen to Romanshorn, arriving in St. Gallen at 13:59.

However, if you had not so quickly jumped at a railpass, you could have booked a Europa-Spezial ticket from Munich to Zurich for €39. That train, a EuroCity, goes through St. Gallen after only 3h7m , and you could get off there. No one would ever know.

No quick jumping, just careful adding up of many journeys along the way. Anyway, it's figured out now. Thanks.

Bethany, just an FYI, the Eurail website has two very full pages of supplemental fees for domestic trains and for international trains. I can link them if you need them but it looks like you've got it taken care of. And, I do see an ICE train on one of the runs. I just don't know which run you would be on. I also see Eurocity (EC) trains on a few runs. They could also be subject to a reservation or supplemental fee. Just show your pass in Munich and all be be resolved there. As Ken states above, don't get caught onboard with a pass that is not valid where you are traveling.