DB Bahn Site Help

FRANK - Only originating? What about Paris-Frankfurt? I could have sworn I'd bought 'ends in DB zone' tickets on DB.

Thanks a lot! Here is my itinerary train-wise:

Overnight train from Amsterdam to Rothenburg; Rothenburg to Fussen; Fussen to Munich; Overnight train from Munich to Rome; Rome to Naples to Pompeii and back; Overnight train from Rome to Paris; Paris to Caen and back; Overnight train from Paris to Madrid; Madrid to Sevilla; Would also like to see Granada, Nerja, and Gibraltar...just haven't worked out that part.

Now that we 'experienced travelers' have made it clear as mud... let me re-state the answer to #2...

2) You can not buy tickets for rail journeys that take place entirely outside Germany through the DB Bahn site. You can purchase trips that either originate in Germany, or ones that terminate in Germany, up to the first train change made outside of Germany.

Back to Cindy's questions...

That's a pretty aggressive itinerary for 3 weeks!

For the overnight train Munich-Rome, just get 'comfortable enough' for the trip. How old is your son? Big enough for an adventure in a couchette while you and hubby get a double?

For a splurge, consider upgrading to top accomodations on Rome-Paris. The typical train on that route goes 2 to 2 1/2 hours to Milan, then changes trains for the 8 1/2 hours to Paris. Make dinner reservations for the first leg, then night-cap and ambience for a night on the rails for the long leg. This overnight train has triples, I believe.

Hi.

Maybe you might want to reconsider the railpass issue. What about Saver Pass for you and your husband and a Youth Pass for your son. I've used a Saver Pass (2nd class) with the wife before, and it is cheaper,.... assuming all three of you are sticking together during the whole trip. Will that work?

I'd suggest rethinking the Munich-Rome-Paris-Madrid legs. You can fly these routes cheaply on airlines like Ryanair.

Ryanair

Budgetairlinesguide

You can find one-way discount fares at the Bahn site for Amsterdam Centraal to Rothenburg ob der Tauber for 39-49 Euros (advance sale) for dates in March. These appear 92 days in advance.

A Bayern Ticket at 28 Euros gets you all from Rothenburg to Munich. on the (slower) regional trains.

Munich-Rome discount tix are available at the Bahn site too, or fly Ryanair out of Memmingen (nice little walled town) to the west.

It is a lot packed into three weeks! We are flexible and could possibly add a day or two if necessary...hubby has tons of vacation days.

Now Jim, just what do you mean by 'comfortable enough'? My son will be 14 when we go...he is all for the adventure of being on his own...but is mommy??? He's actually already asked if he could have his own hotel rooms.

I love the idea for the Rome-Paris trip...will definitely look into that!

Fred, I've actually already priced this trip based on the three of us getting 15 day Saver passes and paying the supplements/reservations necessary, including booking triples with private bath for all but the Paris-Madrid leg. We will always travel together, but I thought the Youth pass was only for 2nd class.

The only reason I'm wanting to check into point-to-point is because I'm cheap, but my hubby is not...he pretty much only wants private rooms on the overnight trains. I just wanted to know if the pass plus the supplements/reservation fees was the better way to go...it's obviously more convenient.

BTW, I was able to take my 3 girls for 3 weeks for less than $10,000 including airfare and railpasses in 2004! For this upcoming trip, I'm at $13,500 with one less person! :(

If you book far enough in advance on the German Rail site and travel during the day rather than overnight, you can a Europa-Spezial Niederlande fare as low as 78 EUR total for the three of you for Amsterdam-Rothenburg.

The direct Munich-Rome night train has 3-bed sleepers. The standard fare for three people in an economy 3-berth cabin is 377.80 EUR. The lowest discount fare is 218.00 EUR. The standard fare for three people in a deluxe 3-berth cabin is 516.40 EUR. The lowest discount fare is 278.00 EUR.

There is a direct Rome-Paris night train. No need to change trains in Milan.

I believe that the Paris-Madrid Elipsos trainhotel only has 4-bunk couchettes and 2-bed sleepers. On that particular train couchettes are same-sex only unless you book all four bunks. This means that your husband and son would have to share a couchette with two men and you would have to share another one with three women. Or if your son is old enough, he could share a couchette with three men and you and your husband could share a 2-bed sleeper.

Considering the number of countries, unless you can break it up and get two passes for the trip, it looks like at least $2000 for global passes. And that won't include the accommodation surcharge ("reservation") on night trains.

One important thing you left out. How old is the son? If he is 14 or under, he is free with a SparPreis fare. SparPreis fares start at €39 per adult (€78 or €117) for Amsterdam to Rothenburg.

Both Rothenburg to Füssen and Füssen to Munich can be done with €28 Bayern-Tickets (for 3 people, up to 5 actually). A Bayern-Ticket can be purchased at the station the day of travel; they don't sell out.

If you book early on the Bahn website, you can get Europa-Spezial Italien fares (including accommodation for about the same as the accommodation surcharge plus the day of your railpasses.

1. Am I able to purchase 2nd class tickets?

Yes.

1. Am I able to purchase tickets for trips outside of Germany?

Yes.

1. Is the price quoted the total for the number of travellers or is it per person?

If you enter 2 or 3 travelers, that's the total for 2 or 3.

Remember that within Germany and to certain border cities outside Germany like Salzburg, you can use Länder Tickets - daypasses for unlimited travel on regional trains for groups of 2-5 that cost under 30 Euros for the group. They're valid within a given "Land" (like Bavaria.)

I wouldn't purchase anything for travel within Germany in advance unless you can find discount tickets for your dates; these are available 92 days in advance and are bought for certain dates and travel times. You have to go when your ticket tells you to or the ticket is void. Great deals if you can plan and execute that carefully. The Länder tickets are generally your best deal for more spontaneous travel. If you are crisscrossing the country a couple of times, however, you'll find the German railpasses to be more convenient and inexpensive, as a rule.

You should tell us what places you will visit so you can get better, more specific advice.

Wow. Let me see if I can chip away at some of those.... perhaps other DB pros will weigh in as well and correct anything I miss (Lee? Steve? Frank?)

1) Yes. Age restrictions with regard to class availability is mainly pass-related, not point-to-point ticket related.

2) No. Trips that originate or terminate inside Germany can be bought on DB, but most legs of trips that exist wholly outside the DB zone are not eligible for purchase. You'll have to go to those sites for those.

3) Total price.

4) For trips inside the DB zone, DB Bahn has you select if you want to make reservations at the time of the ticketing or later.

5) Terminology about sleeper 'classes' can be confusing -- dropping "1st / 2nd" in favor of 'economy', 'family', 'deluxe', 'super deluxe', etc... HERE is a weblink showing the sleeper class differences. Each train route tends to have not so subtle differences in sleeper configurations. HERE is a link to download a PDF of DB Night Trains.

6) Not sure. Let me see what I can find.

EDIT: Okay, for the Ellipsos Night Train Paris-Madrid it does not look like they have triples, but it does look like they have adjoining doubles, from the Renfe site: "Can three or four people travel together in Club Class?
Yes. Although the Club Class roomettes only have two beds, the roomettes situated in the centre of the wagon are joined by an interconnection door. This door allows two double roomettes to be converted into a larger and more comfortable quadruple roomette." Go HERE to poke around for more info and to take a virtual tour of that particular night train.

"You can purchase trips that either originate in Germany, or ones that terminate in Germany, up to the first train change made outside of Germany."

Almost entirely true. However, I discovered recently that German Rail will sell online tickets from Munich to Interlaken Ost (Berner Oberland) with a change of trains in either Zürich or Bern. So there would be a leg (Zürich/Bern to Interlaken) entirely outside of Germany. This applies both to standard fares and, on some connections, for Europa-Special Schweiz fares. However, they don't sell Zürich or Bern to Interlaken separately, online.

I haven't done an extensive search, but this is the only case I have found for it. I looked at Munich to Luzern via Zürich the other day and didn't see online fares all the way.

Note that, for the most part, night trains use otherwise "idle" time - time you would use in your room, getting ready for bed, sleeping, or in the morning, getting up and getting dressed. The Munich to Rome night train leaves at about 9 PM and gets to Rome around 9 AM.

The general rule is that flying eats up about 6 hrs of daytime - prime sightseeing time. This might be a little worse with RyanAir due to it's use of relatively isolated airports without rail access.

I knew those guys would log on and post.

Tim is correct -- 2 or 4 bed sleepers Paris-Madrid, but in 1st Class, according to Renfe, you can get 2 adjacent 2 bed sleepers with an adjoining door.

Tim also answered my question regarding 'comfortable enough' -- I meant use 'economy' class on the Munich-Rome leg, and use it to just sleep.

Lee -- I learned something new -- even did a test booking on DB Bahn, and (as expected) you're right -- connect in Zurich appears eligible for purchase on certain journeys. For grins I tried a couple others... and it will ticket a trip through Linz, Austria to Salzburg as well. Maybe there are a few more exceptions.

They are also right that there is a direct Rome-Paris without connecting in Milan -- but I haven't taken that one. I beleive it is the same train that I caught in Milan. Even if you do go nonstop Rome-Paris, that train will certainly have a dining car -- -- and I love the nostalgia of dining on a train.

To the suggestion to fly within Europe: Yes, if budget and time are critical. If not... I'd pay 5x or 10x as much to take a train -- with all the positive ambience that it provides -- and avoid an airport, with the life-force draining minutia it provides.

I'll step back from here -- -- Tim, Frank, Lee and others know the rest of the details better than I (it's been a few years since I was over there)