We want to go to Venice from Bavaria for Thanksgiving. We have gotten advice about using a Bayern regional ticket to get to Salzburg and then getting a regional ticket there. I am not sure about the regional offers in Austria and Italy though. We are comfortable traveling the trains in Germany now using the regional tickets, but not sure about outside of Germany. Is the best thing to do to just skip the Bayern and get a ticket from Germany to Italy? Thanks.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19240 posts
Austria Rail (www.oebb.at) has a ticket similar to the Bayern-Ticket, called Einfach Raus, for €28, a pass valid for regional trains all day (only after 9 AM on workdays) throughout Austria. It is valid for 2-5 people; single travelers cannot use it.
As long as getting there (albeit slowly) is half the fun, you could use it from Salzburg to Villach. I don't know about the fares in Italy.
There is also something called a Europa-Spezial Italien fare, bookable online from the Bahn for €53 pP one-way, which would cover travel from Nuernberg to Muenchen via ICE and then the 11:00 EC direct to Venice via Innsbruck and Verona. That is a train-specific, non refundable fare. It would take about 8 hrs.
If you book both ways with the Bahn, you can get the same fares from Venice back to Nuernberg.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19240 posts
I don't know which city is more convenient for you, but that fare is also available from Regensburg to Venice.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
If you want more daylight hours for sightseeing, you could get from Grafenwoehr to Muenchen on either a Bayern-Ticket or Dauer-Spezial tickets and then take the direct night train from Muenchen to Venezia Santa Lucia. Do separate bookings ASAP at www.bahn.de to get the best Dauer-Spezial fares and the best fares on the night train.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19240 posts
If you take the night train to Venice, you have all day to get to Muenchen - might as well use regional trains and a Bayern-Ticket.
If you take the day train (€53 pP), you get to Venice at about 6 PM, just enough time to check into you hotel and have dinner before a night in an expensive Venice hotel.
If you take the night train, you get up the next morning in Venice, just like if you took the day train and spent the night there. If you book early enough you can get a std double sleeper (bathroom down the corridor) for €158 for two, only €52 more than the day train. That's the cheapest way, but it might not pay off if you can't sleep on the train. You will probably miss the scenery on Brenner Pass.