Pre RS GAS Tour Touring

Hi Mike, Only suggestion is to note that the 14 day GAS also stops at Burg Eltz on day 2.

Thanks. I didn't notice that Burg Eltz was on the RS itinerary. Any other must see stops between Rothenburg and Trier that we wouldn't otherwise see.

Don't just make the "knee jerk" assumption that you have to rent a car ($$$). You are in one of the richest areas in Europe for public transportation. You'll save money and hassle with the train. You can arrive in FRA and buy a €7,30 pP ticket to Kahl and a €29 Bayern-Ticket to cover your trains to Rothenburg. The trip will take 4h15m ±30 min, and you won't have to spend time renting a car. This would be a good plan considering jet lag. For the next day, since you will already be in Germany and can make the first connection, book an online Sparpreis ticket for €49 from Rothenburg back to Trier. The trip takes about 6½ hours, but you can build in a 4 hour stopover in St Goar, see Rheinfels castle, then take the train to Bacharach and come back on the boat to St Goar and continue your trip to Trier, arriving before 8 PM.

Thanks Lee: Your comments are much appreciated. On our last RS Tour we flew to Rome and took a relaxing train ride up to Venice. We arrived at Venice refreshed and ready to go. It is a good way to beat jet lag and much safer than getting behind the steering wheel after an overnight flight. I will take a closer look at your suggestions and I might have a follow up question or two if you don't mind. Regards, Mike R

What I said above, about the Bayern-Ticket, works for weekdays. On weekends, you can use a Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket for €39 all the way by regional trains (S-Bahn to Frankfurt Hbf or Hanau, RE to Würzburg) and avoid the local ticket to Kahl. It would help to know what day of the week you arrive at FRA and what is your arrival time. UPDATE: I see those tours start on Saturdays, so you would plan on arriving FRA on Thursday. Bayern-Ticket it is. Actually, you could us a QdLT (Quer durchs Land Ticket = clear across the country ticket) for €48. That would cost €4,40 more but avoid the extra, local tickets.

I don't mind if you have more questions. I tried to give you an overview of your opportunities, but there are still details you need to know to use them. The Rothenburg to Trier leg would have to be booked well in advance (as much as 3 mo) to get that price. The nice thing about those Sparpreis tickets is that, although you would be committed to a specific express train from Würzburg to Mainz, the regional trains from St Goar to Trier are flexible. You can spend as long as you want in the St Goar area, as long as you finish the trip to Trier by 10 AM the following morning.

Lee: You are correct we plan to arrive in Frankfurt on Thursday morning. Haven't booked our flights yet but our preferred flight options will get us there by 7 am. I would like to spend Thursday night in Rothenburg since I have read it is a much better experience once the day trippers leave. The next day sounds doable but I wonder if we should plan to spend Friday night in St Goar since we don't have to be in Trier until late Saturday afternoon. That would give a bit of a time cushion and a chance to explore. Based on the limited reading I have done I am more than a little confused about the various fare classes. For instance in some places they indicate that the Sparpreis tickets must be purchased at least 3 days in advance but you must physically be in Germany to purchase them. It sounds like you have made a careful study of their ticket practices which is obviously a real benefit to those of us posting here.
Mike R.

You do have to purchase Sparpreis tickets at least 3 days in advance, but that is kind of mute, since the tickets are limited in quantity at each price level and sell out long before that. But you don't have to be in Germany to buy them. You can buy them online with a credit card (which you must have with you on the train as ID) and they send you a pdf file to print out on your home computer. You can also buy them at ticket automats in Germany. If you use personal assistance, at a ticket counter, they charge €5 extra for the service. Here is the image of a Sparpreis (then called Dauer Spezial) ticket I bought (online, from home) in 2008. 1. Go to the Bahn website http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en and find your route for a day more than 3 days in advance,
2. For a qualified route (must contain at least one leg by ICE/IC/EC) you should see a fare under "Savings Fare", 3. Click "Purchase" and follow the instructions. Pretty easy, right Frank.

Looking at the responses to my original post, I'm starting to think that travelling to Rothenburg on the "way" to Trier involves a lot of travel for what amounts to a half day of touring. What do you think about going directly from Frankfurt Airport on Thursday morning to the Rhine Valley instead. A day or two there to get over the jet lag and then on to Trier for Saturday afternoon. Is there enough to keep us occupied for two full days without repeating things we're going to do on the GAS tour? I don't mind visiting a castle or two and a boat cruise on the Rhine sounds great. Any thoughts?

You know, if you would like to visit or stay in a town that is like Rothenburg, but not so far away, consider going to Büdingen. It is only an hour on the train out of Frankfurt. This is an original walled town, completely filled with Fachwerk houses, a beautiful 13 sided schloss and some wonderful looking, cosy guesthouses and cafes. http://www.buedingen-touristik.de/en/home.html Or, if you just want to stay in a town that has some of the best Fachwerk houses I have ever seen, take a look at Idstein. Of all the Christmas Markets I went to this Dec. this was the best one. It is about a 45 min. ride outside of Frankfurt and is located in the Taunus mountains.

Jo On my last trrip to Frankfurt, my hosts took me to a festival in Dreieich- with an old town area and a ruined castle. didnt get to see much except the festival. is this town worth seeing on its own or did I see it all? (Name of town edited and corrected)

There is something wrong with that story. "Dreieck, meaning simply three corner, or triangle, is not, according to Meinestadt.de, the name of a German town, although some German towns have Dreieck in their name to distinguish them from other towns with similar names.

Looking at the itinerary for the GAS tour, it doesn't look like anywhere on the Rhine (Koblenz up to Bacharach or Bingen) is included. I spent five days in that area. You could spend one whole day just touring Bacharach, taking the boat down to St Goar, and exploring Rheinfels castle ruins. Another place to visit is Marksburg castle, in Braubach, across the river from Koblenz.

I think the name of the town is Dreieich and yes, it is a lovely town with lots of Fachwerk houses. They do a fest in the early fall, where they try and turn off all the lights and just have candles and lanterns. Wanted to go there last year, but didn't make it. It is quite close to Frankfurt and Darmstadt. http://www.dreieich.de/c498/default.html