Bayern Ticket

Yes, the Bayern ticket will be good for all those trips.

My understanding is that the Bayern Ticket will work.

However it is for 2nd class. So, if you want 1st class train seating, you will need to pay for the upgrade.

Not quite sure what you mean by "would the Bayern ticket get us to all these places". Regional trains DO go to all these places. A Bayern-Ticket is valid for an entire day (from midnight weekends, 9 AM weekdays, until 3 AM the following morning), so essentially, you need more than "a" Bayern-Ticket. You need one for each day of travel.

Be sure to use only regional trains (RB & RE) - no express trains (EC, IC, or ICE). That shouldn't be a problem. There are only regional trains to Füssen. You can take an express on the way to Rothenburg if you go through Nürnberg, but it will likely take longer. For Berchtesgaden, a regional train will only take about 1/2 hour longer to Freilassing than will the express. It's only regional trains from there to Berchtesgaden.

Lastly, there is no "upgrade" to 1st class on a Bayern-Ticket. If you want 1st class (totally unnecessary, in my opinion), you have to pay full 1st class fare for each leg.

For up to 5 persons traveling together or for parents (or one parent or grandparent) traveling with any number of their children or grandchildren under 15. The ticket is only valid for one day in 2nd class.

It can be used on all local trains (Interregio-Express, Regional-Express, Regionalbahn, S-Bahn) and the entire transport system of the Verkehrsverbünde. In some Bundesländer you can buy a supplement of EUR 13 to be able to take IR- or D-trains.

Bayern Ticket Single (19 EUR, valid for one person) and Bayern Ticket (27 EUR, valid for up to five people).

I think this is just about the best deal in Europe. You can buy online - it's in German, but easy enough to figure out, or buy at any DB kiosk.

"In some Bundesländer you can buy a supplement of EUR 13 to be able to take IR- or D-trains."

Chris, I thought I had researched the subject of Länder-Tickets fairly thoroughly, but, although I know of some Verkehrverbünde that offer 1st class upgrades to their "time tickets", I do not know of ANY Bundesland that offers a 1st class upgrade to their Länder-Tickets. Please enlighten me as to what Länder do this and include references.

Be aware that, if you buy the Bayern-Ticket at a DB counter, you will be charged an extra €2 (€29) for "personal assistance". You can, however, buy the Bayern-Ticket at any DB automat (also MVV automats) for €27. On local ticket automats, push the button for "Bayern-Ticket". Then the screen will give you a choice of a Bayern-Ticket, for up to 5, Bayern-Ticket-Single, or Bayern-Ticket-Nacht (night), followed by a screen that will give you a choice of dates. Also be aware that the name of someone in the group must be printed by hand on the ticket.

Lee -

Thank you, I misspoke, that info is on the Länder-Ticket, which would be another option - either Bayern Ticket or Länder-Ticket should do the job.

Hi Lee,

Only some of the Lander tickets offer the higher speed upgrade - it takes some digging on the DB site (http://www.bahn.de/international/view/en/prices/germany/laender_tickets.shtml) - not all.

Here is one example:

Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket (Rhineland-Palatinate-Ticket)
Saarland Ticket
Package price: 26 EUR if you buy your ticket online or at the ticket machine. 29 EUR if you purchase your ticket at the Reisezentrum.
This ticket is valid from Monday to Sunday for one day of your choice from 9 a.m. until 3 a.m. of the following day (on bank holidays for the whole day). It can be used on all local trains (Regional-Express, Regionalbahn, S-Bahn) and the entire transport system Rheinland-Pfalz and Saarland and many local trains and busses. A supplement of 13 EUR applies for IR- or D-trains.

The €13 supplement applies to an upgrade to IR (Inter-Regio), the lowest level of express trains, but still in 2nd class, not to 1st class. However, I have not seen an IR listed in years. The IRs all seem to have be replaced by ICs, for which the upgrade does not apply, or to REs (Regional Expess).

I did find an upgrade to 1st class for single trip tickets on RMV (Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund, www.rmv.de).

The last time I rode on an IR was in Aug, 2002, from Stuttgart to Ansbach on my way to Rothenburg. This route was the only one during the day that was by IR; the rest of the connections were via RE. I wanted to use the Baden-Württemberg-Ticket, but there was no upgrade to IR at that time. I could have waited for the next train and used the Ba-Wü-Ticket, but I was jet-lagged, having just arrived on a trans-Atlantic flight, and I wanted to get to Rothenburg ASAP, so I just paid the regular fare. I can no longer find IRs for that route or any others in Germany, for that matter.

Does anyone know if the Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket can be used on a Trans Regio train? I see this train type going from Koblenz to Bacharach.