A group of 5 adults are traveling together, and are taking a day trip to Berchtesgaden from Munich. We are taking the Eagles Nest Tour that starts at 1pm in Berchtesgaden. We plan to take the train from Munich to Berchtesgaden, via Salzburg. We have railpasses for DB Bahn. I can make reservations for a train from Munich to Berchtesgaden, via Salzburg, as one complete reservation. But, if I want to make the reservation in separate legs (Munich to Salzburg only by train, then Salzburg to Berchtesgaden only by bus) so that we can spend a couple of hours in Salzburg before continuing on to Berchtesgaden, DB Bahn won't let me make reservations only for each leg. 1. Can we make a reservation for the train from Munich to Berchtesgaden, via Salzburg, and miss the bus leg of the reservation? This will give us 2 hours in Salzburg, and then catch a bus from Salzburg to Berchtesgaden to make our tour. 2. If we don't make reservations for the train, is there any chance of not getting on the train, and then missing our tour? 3. If we don't make reservations on the train, do we just validate our ticket and get on any train for the day? 4. Will our DB Bahn passes still work for the bus only leg from Salzburg to Berchtesgaden? 5. Anything we should know about on the trip from Berchtesgaden back to Munich after the 4 hour Eagles Nest Tour? Thanks for any help, info you can give.
Cathy
Posted by
Green Bay
21157 posts
What day of the week? If Saturday or Sunday, just buy a weekend ticket for 38 euro and you can come and go as you please using regional trains and it includes the bus. Weekdays, you need to travel after 9 am, so that nixes seeing Salzburg in the morning, but you could do it in the evening. You can save the rail pass days for another time.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
If you really have a German Rail (Bahn) pass, it will cover you from Munich to Salzburg, which is outside Germany, but a border station for the German Rail pass. This is not true for Eurail passes that include Germany but not Austria. The pass does not include most buses, like the one (RVO 840, Watzmann Express) from Salzburg to Berchtesgaden. (A German Rail pass is valid for the Bahn express buses from Nürnberg or Munich to Prague, but you do have to pay a supplement.) The train(s) from Salzburg to Berchtesgaden via Freilassing is a regional train. There are no reservations available for regional trains. You can use your German Rail pass for Salzburg to Berchtesgaden by train. The German Rail pass is not valid for the buses in Berchtesgaden, like the one from the Hbf to the base of the Eagles Nest mountain. If you use a Bayern-Ticket (38€ for 5) and regional trains, not only do you save a day of your passes, the Bayern-Ticket is also valid for all of the buses in Berchtesgaden (except the special mountain bus up to the Eagle Nest), but not for the Watzmann Express from Salzburg to the German border. If you do use your rail pass, you can go to Salzburg via an express train (RJ, IC, EC). You can reserve a seat on the Bahn website for one of these trains. The REs that run from Munich to Salzburg are not reservable. If you take an EC or RE, you can get off in Freilassing and go directly to Berchtesgaden. If you take an RJ, it will not stop in Freilassing. You will have to go to Salzburg Hbf and come back on the train through Freilassing to Berchtesgaden.