Do rail passes include buses, subway?

Generally, rail passes are not a cost effective way to travel by train. There are many threads about passes in the link above. Rail passes don't generally include any other form of travel than the long distance trains, i.e. not buses or metros.

Go to this website, read it, and learn:

https://www.seat61.com

If you buy a rail pass for each of those countries it is highly likely that you will waste a great deal of money. Please check individual ticket prices for your journeys before paying for rail passes.

This will get you started: Deutsche Bahn for Germany.

I'm on the way out the door; perhaps someone else will fill in the other three.

The national and multinational rail passes sold branded as Eurail do not include local transport. Sometimes they do not include all rail companies in a country.

Rail passes sold by the country's own rail companies often do include local transport. For example:

• A Swiss Pass includes all trains, buses, boats and city transport (tram, bus, metro) in Switzerland
• The German Länder tickets (Länder are the German states) which are valid for one day throughout one "Land" cover all trains except IC/ICE trains (high speed trains), but do include buses and city transport (bus, tram U-Bahn (metro)).
• Even with a rail pass in France you have to pay a surcharge to travel on High Speed trains. If you buy a normal advance ticket there are no such extra charges, it is all included.

Before buying a pass read this: https://www.seat61.com/Railpass-and-Eurail-pass-guide.htm especially the section "Should you buy a Eurail pass or regular point-to-point tickets?".

Before deciding on a rail pass, please realise that train tickets are considerably cheaper when bought well in advance. A ticket for Munich to Berlin, e.g., can cost you EUR 125 when bought on the day itself. Bought a few weeks earlier, it can be a mere EUR 19,90 for the same seat on the same train.

I should say that we have a lot of ground to cover in 2-3 weeks, probably Paris, central and southern Germany and northern Austria. We have an 11 and a 13 year old too. So, with the children's pass being free, and youth discounted, perhaps the rail pass is a better option? Thanks for the links, lots of helpful information. Anyone recommend a car instead? We plan on visiting the Romantoc Road.

Rail passes cover S-Bahn service in German cities, which you might use on a day you're connecting to/from other trains, but not U-Bahn or buses. They also cover long-distance buses if operated by the railway. But those are both exceptions to the standard rule that in-city transport is not covered. See more here and on adjoining links for every country where you'll travel: https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/should-i-get-a-rail-pass. I would not buy a pass before plane tickets and some other decisions are made.

Tell us your planned itinerary. In Germany, children often travel free when accompanied by parents depending on the type of ticket.

Renting a car for a few days in rural areas can make sense, but they are an expensive burden in big cities like Munich.

Hi,

To answer your specific question: The rail pass in Germany covers the local trains, though not all smaller local private companies in the eastern Germany, the long distance trains, and the S-Bahn, not buses or the U-Bahn (subway).

Here's the French rail website: SNCF.

And the Austrian rail website: ÖBB.

And the Spanish rail website: Renfe.

Many first-time visitors decide not to cover so much territory as they do more research about how much there is to see and do at each destination. That decision can make previously purchased rail passes even less useful. Be sure you know the extent of your trip before committing money on rail passes. Since you're traveling with a family, I'm guessing that you'll pin down your plans early so you find suitable rooms/apartments. If so, that will allow you to take advantage of the early-purchase fares that are such great deals.

The more time you spend in Germany, the more overpriced that rail pass is likely to be, because there are great deals on regional train tickets that are especially advantageous when multiple people travel together.

In France they do not include local buses or Métro, and if you want to use the TGV high speed trains with a pass you must buy a high priced reservation which is included if you buy a ticket for the ride. In some cases the TGV pass-holder fee is higher than the whole ticket purchased well in advance.

If you think a rail pass gives you flexibility that is less true in France when the need to buy the reservations removes a lot of that flexibility.

As a for instance, in Bavaria, you can travel all day on regional trains after 9 am weekdays (all day weekends) for 25 EUR for the 1st person, and 6 EUR for each additional person, up to 5 traveling together. But since the other 2 in your case are under 15 yo and you are the parents, they travel free, so it is only 31 EUR for all you. And that ticket includes local transportation, U-Bahns, buses, trams until 3 am the next day.
https://www.bahn.com/en/view/offers/regional/regional-day-tickets.shtml?dbkanal_007=L04_S02_D002_KIN0060_REGIO-INDEX-LAENDERTICKETS-OBEN_LZ01

At this point our only time in France is to fly in and spend a few days in Paris because of the cheap flights from Orlando via Norwegian. If schedule permits, we'd love to catch a stage of the tour de France. Perhaps just the single train ticket to Munich (stopping at a stage city) where we can rent a car on our way out of the city, tour some of the sites in Bavaria and the Austrian Alps. Then visit family around the Heidelberg area. Return the car in Munich and take the train back to Paris. Yes, I plan on making hotel arrangements as soon as we finalize the itinerary and after purchasing air tix. Thanks everyone. I've got some reading to do!

Astrid, from your latest post it appears you only have 2 train trips:
1) Paris (airport?) to X (location of Tour de France stage)
2) Munich to Paris airport (Charles de Gaulle or Orly).
No way you want to buy a rail pass for that. Just buy an advance ticket for Munich to Paris airport. Trip (1) has a catch, depending on where X is, you may need to buy advance tickets, but you cannot predict when you will emerge from the airport (flight lands late, immigration delays). You can either leave a large time margin, or buy on the day (expensive), or overnight in Paris. If X is near Paris, no issue.

What happened to Austria and Spain?

Catch 2: Is X in France or Germany? As it is is a Tour de France location it is probably in France. Renting a car in one country (France) and returning it in another (Germany; you say Munich) has a large surcharge.

Still doing Austria, but probably not Spain. We only considered it because the stages of the tour we originally thought to watch were in the Pyranees. We think a better option is when it goes through eastern France. Still doing Austria, but considering renting a car for that segment of the trip. Was seeking input regarding that option. Yes, Chris, the stage is in France. So train to that point, then train to Munich where we might rent and return car before taking train back to Paris. Thought of taking train to Salzburg, bit if we already have a car . . . Your thoughts?

For the Tour du France Stage 5 they are starting in Reims and finishing in Nancy on July 9. You should be able to get train tickets For Paris to Reims and then Reims to Munich or Paris to Nancy and Nancy to Munich.

Check the timetable information on the TDF site to know the exact times the Tour will start and finish in those towns.
Did 3 Stages in 2011. Rented a house I in a start town and watched the start as it went right in front of our house. Previous day, we went down to the start town of the time trial and watched the riders time trial. Another day we picked a little town in the countryside along the route. Parked in the designated car park and watched as the riders came through that town. Make sure you get to any of those destinations in time to see the caravan. Your kids would enjoy the swag and the parade of cars and sponsors.
Did the Paris Stage in 2013. That was easy. Get a viewing spot along the route about 3-4 hours before the tour arrives. Make sure your spot has access to food and facilities. We were across from the Ferris wheel by the Tuileries.

astridz,

One point to mention about using Railpasses on the high speed TGV trains in France, is that you'll still need compulsory seat reservations. These are not included with the passes. If you're caught without a valid seat reservation, you may be fined on the spot. Also note that Passholder reservations in France are limited so when those sell out for a particular train, you wouldn't be able to use that train even if seats were available. You'd either have to buy regular tickets or take a different train that still had passholder reservations available.

In Germany it depends on the pass. Last year when I was in Tuebingen, I had the choice of 3 different transportation networks, each with a pass

If you are taking a train from point "X" in France to Munich, I assume you will be touring there for a few days, then rent a car on the way out of town. Each driver should have an International Drivers Permit from AAA. Also if you drive on a motorway in Austria you need to buy a vignette and attach it to the windshield. Big fine if you get caught without one.

If you drive to Heidelberg area to see friends, there is no need to drive back to Munich to turn the car in. You should be able to turn it in in Heidelberg or Mannheim. There are direct trains to Paris from Mannheim.

Thanks Sam! I just thought that there was a fee for returning the car to a different location. Thanks everyone for all the great tips.

Astrid, their is usually a very large fee for returning a car in a different country. There is usually no fee, or a small fee, for returning a car in a different location in the same country, as long as the hire company has an office at that location.