We will be traveling from Paris to Munich in September 08 (around Oktoberfest time). I have looked at night trains as well as flights. Budget/direct flights appear to be limited to Munich (Lufthansa and BA are crazy expensive!). We plan to rent a car once in Germany to tour the Romantic Road. We will not be traveling by train in France. Can someone who has ever travelled from Paris to Munich provide some feedback on their experience? Any help is much appreciated!
Posted by
in a train schedule...
267 posts
My mother did this route last summer. She's a very sensitive sleeper, so she didn't get much sleep in the couchette, but she ended up loving Munich. Some people can sleep on trains; others cannot. I would avoid taking a night train if you do not sleep well outside of a traditional bed. No one wants to arrive cranky in Germany :-)
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
If you decide to fly then you should look at www.airberlin.com because they fly from Paris Orly to Munich with those discount bargain fares. We bought tickets for a trip in June 2008 for a base fare of 1 Euro. Of course with taxes and fuel surcharge it came to about 30 Euro.
Posted by
OP
Richmond, TX
33 posts
Thanks for the help Tim. I saw the 1 Euro fare and it worried me a little bit. I wasn't sure if my eyes were playing tricks on me!
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
If you take the train, you can book tickets at www.bahn.de up to 90 days in advance. SparNight fares can be as low as 29€ for a reclining seat (not recommended) and slightly higher for a bunk in either a six-person or four-person couchette.
There are day routes that offer a Europa-Special Frankreich fare as low as 39€. To have any chance of getting the discount fare you want on the night train, book as soon as the 90-day window opens. Discount tickets don't sell out quite so quickly on the day routes. However, Oktoberfest may change that.
Posted by
Columbus, Ohio, USA
258 posts
i did this same thing this past fall. i decided to go via rail, during the day. The flight option I found to be too long, costly, and frankly a headache. The airports are not downtown and it takes a bit to get to them. I found the train to be the easiest and most convient way for me. I was traveling alone (27 y/o female) and did not feel comfortable taking a night train by myself - that is why I took a day train.