We are ending a Viking Rhine cruise in Basel. We then have 5 days to explore and have narrowed things down to the above cities. We are at a loss as to how to get around...we were hoping to use trains, but I am baffled by some of the websites. Any recommendations???? We will be in Basel on Friday 10/18. Times a tick in' and I'm getting nervous!!!
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33840 posts
Don't sell Basel short - it is a lovely city. I don't know which websites have confused you on trains but the DBahn website, once you learn how to drive it is actually pretty straightforward. Part of the problem will be that Füssen is at the end of the line, and the line comes from Munich which is northeast of Füssen. And the whole shebang is north and east of Basel. So you have to overshoot and backtrack quite a bit to get there. There are a number of ways to plot the route and that may be why you see so many choices. Can I assume that you will have at least one overnight in Basel? A fairly reasonable journey could be from Basel Bad Bahnhof (the German train station in Basel) on Sat, 19.10.13 at 12:42 from platform 7 on IRE (Interregio-Express) 3357 to Ulm Hbf arriving at 15:53, platform 8. The transfer time is 24 min. Depart Ulm at 16:17 from platform 2 on ICE 597 to Augsburg Hbf, arriving at 16:55 on platform 4; transfer time 8 min. Depart at 17:03 from platform 8 Süd (8 south) on Regional train RB 57356 on the final leg to Füssen and arrive there at 18:56 on platform 3. The only tight bit will be the 8 minutes to find your train in Augsburg but that should be plenty of time. The first and last trains are regional so no possibility of reservations there. The middle one, the ICE, could be reserved for €4 per person but it is mid afternoon and only half an hour so if it we me I'd just pop on. The route from Füssen to Munich and Munich to Salzburg are easy.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33840 posts
BTW, Matthew. This is a public forum and anybody can see what is posted. By putting your full name and town in your signature, and sharing exact dates of your travel you may leave yourself open for problems. You can edit your profile and remove your last name.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
Get train schedule information for Germany on the German Rail (Bahn) website. I think four cities in 5 days is pushing it a bit. I'd maybe spend a day in Basel, then the rest of the time in Munich, with a side trip to Füssen. Basel to Munich will take most of a day - about 5 hours if you just take the fastest route, but I would suggest spending an extra hour or so and making the trip worthwhile. Go by regional trains along Lake Konstanz (Bodensee) and spend an hour in Lindau before heading to Munich. That leaves 3 days in Munich minus a day for Füssen. I would consider 2 days in Munich to be a bare minimum. Or, go from Basel to Füssen via Lindau, spend the day in Füssen, and then go to Munich that evening and spend the next two days there.