My husband has a business trip first in Darmstadt Germany and then in Blois France. I'm joining him, we're leaving early, flying into Munich, then off to Salzburg, Fussen, and then the romantic road up through Rothenberg and onto Darmstadt. After Darmstadt, we have 4 days, 5 nights and want to go to the Swiss Alps. (I had a forum question earlier this summer but thought the trip wasn't going to work so stopped planning.) However, we now have our flights so we will be in Europe in less than 4 wks. My issue is transportation. I've rented a car for the Munich to Darmstadt portion of the trip. However, we'll be crossing borders for the remainder of the trip so was planning to use trains. I've been researching but am struggling to find reasonably priced options from Darmstadt to Murren to Blois. We'll be leaving Darmstadt on Friday evening, September 20th, I have reservations in Murren for two nights on the 21st and 22nd, and must be in Blois on the evening of the 24rd. (Maybe a Friday night, 9/20 stay in Colmar?) From a $ and time standpoint, can anyone offer suggestions? I was trying to use Germany's BAHN website and France's website but the options don't seem great. Are there regional or country passes that would be better? Maybe get to the border of Germany and Switzerland on a German pass and then switch to a Switzerland pass? Or should we just rent a car and pay the exorbitant drop fee. Also, I read something about toll fees in Switzerland that sound really high, in addition to the cost of the rental, gas, insurance. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
9220 posts
Darmstadt is so close to Frankfurt, that I think you might have better luck looking for a train that leaves from there. The Deutsche Bahn website will give you the most accurate information.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
"Also, I read something about toll fees in Switzerland that sound really high, in addition to the cost of the rental, gas, insurance." There are no tolls between Darmstadt and Mürren, but if you take a car into Switzerland, you will need to buy a Swiss vignette sticket near the border. It costs about €42. The quickest method to get from Darmstadt to Mürren would be to ride one of the regular direct ICE trains to Interlaken. I don't remember where the train originates, but I know it stops in nearby Mannheim. Whatever price you see listed on Deutsche Bahn now is the cheapest you will find. The price only goes up the longer you wait. You haven't budgeted too much time for travel, so a regional pass isn't going to allow you to travel fast enough to reach your destination in time. There's quite a lot to see and do in and around Darmstadt, although most English-language guidebooks barely mention the area. Don't overlook it. Look up the Wikipedia article for the "Odenwald", which is a mountainous region just to the south of Darmstadt filled with castles and the types of small towns that most Rick Steves fans claim to love but would never visit because they're not written up in the Blue Books... Also read the article on the "Bergstrasse". One of dozens of untouristy alternatives to the Romantic Road, and unlike the Romantic Road, it actually provides quite a scenic drive.
Posted by
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
2779 posts
Well, obviously there is a lot to see between Darmstadt and Switzerland. There is the Black Forrest, there is Baden-Baden, Heidelberg, the Tuscany of the North (German Wine Road), Freiburg im Breisgau... If you want to skip all that you might want to take a train from Darmstadt via Mannheim to Basel SBB station on Friday evening. Stay over in Basel, it's a beautiful city. You could then pick up a Swiss rental car and do your Switzerland portion of the trip and drop off in Geneva from where the is good train access into France.