Rail Pass Headache

Cannot help with the other parts but if you want to compare P2P just use the same day of the week two weeks from now. The fares if they change will be small. Or a couple of months from now for discounts.

Don't use Rail Europe to compare point-point prices. Their prices are higher than what you would pay over there, and they don't show a complete list of available trains. You can use the Austrian Rail websites for transport in Austria and for Austria to Venice. For its size, Austria has quite a few km of track, and it is supplemented by postal buses. The Austrian Rail website will show connections by bus. As Frank indicated, routes for next year won't change. Schedules rarely change by more than a few minutes. P-P prices won't change very much either, and you can them after the first of the year. Dornbirn is very close to Switzerland, which has the densest rail network in Europe. Find routes and schedules from Swiss Rail (www.sbb.ch). It's also close to southern Germany. You can find schedules and fares on the German Rail (Bahn) website.

Rent two cars for your time in Normandy. It's worth it if you are traveling with such a large group and two four-year-olds. You can get diesel mini-vans that will hold six (I rented one from Europcar last year). The rental company will provide kid car seats for an extra fee, of course. Frankly, I'd stay in Paris first just to get over jet lag--especially if I'm traveling with children. But if you insist on heading straight to Normandy, I'd rent the cars at CDG and head for Bayeux (it's the best place to stay in the region since it wasn't bombed to bits by the Allies). On the return to Paris, if you're a good driver, I'd drive the family to the hotel first and then drop the rentals off at a convenient spot--likely the nearest train station. Yes, driving in Paris is stressful, but so is traveling with two tired, cranky, jet-lagged four-year-olds.

Thanks for all the input. I am rethinking heading to Normandy right away....I want to hit the flea markets again, and I think they are only open Sat, Sun, and Mon....Paris would be good to start with, most likely. I have tried to look on bahn.de for the cost of the point to point costs. They say you can't book them over the internet and I am unable to see what the cost is? Am I missing something?

The Bahn does not sell tickets online for trips entirely outside of Germany (ie, Paris to Bornbirn via Switzerland). They do sell them over the phone or at stations in Germany. There are other websites, such as French or Swiss Rail which would sell such tickets, at least for some segments. And the Bahn will show you schedules. You could find fares (including discounts) for a single express train from Paris to Stuttgart combined with connecting trains to Lindau. Also, as pointed out previously, you can't buy tickets now for May (but you can get a good idea of what the prices will be in May by looking at early December), and you should be able to see prices, and purchase, for May in late December. However, discount tickets for May will not go on sale until February. Note, discount tickets from the Bahn are least expensive if you purchase them when they are put up for online sale, usually 92 days in advance.

Thanks! I was able to use the oebb.at site and get good info for the leg into Venice. I think I was able to piece together the segments from Austria to Paris/Bayeux. I think it will be cheaper to buy point to point for the trip travel from Paris out to Bayeux (we plan to visit the D Day Beaches and the monastery - the tour guide can do large vans and will transport out of Bayeux). I've been to Europe several times and always used the rail passes - so not doing that terrifies me - worried about not have a ticket, etc. Can you buy the tickets in the U.S. directly from Deutsche Bahn or other rail lines? Can you do it with a travel agent? Is that not possible? a dumb or unnecessary idea? We want to travel overnight from Dornbirn into Venice. I am going to now look at the costs of car rental (need 2) for the Austria stay (want to get into portions of Vorarlberg and less "tourisy" places. Any tips on auto rental. So far I have found some rates on Sixt....any reviews/comments? From everything I've read it appears it's just as cheap to rent for a week than just a few days.

If you're willing to commit to specific departure dates and times and book well in advance (up to three months), you can get discount fares. Paris to Bayeux: The standard 2nd class fare is €37.40. The cheapest Prem's fare is €15.00. Book at tgv-europe.com. However, there are tricks to keeping the site in English without being bumped to the Rail Europe site which doesn't offer discount fares. Furthermore, discount fare tickets are non-exchangeable and non-refundable. If you are late getting into CDG and miss your train, your tickets will be worthless and you'll have to buy full fare tickets on a later train. So for Paris-Bayeux you may want to either book full fare tickets which are exchangeable or allow lots of extra connection time to get from CDG to Gare Saint-Lazare so you won't forfeit discount fare tickets. Bayeux to Mont Saint-Michel: The fastest and cheapest route is to take a train to Pontorson which is only a few kilometers from Mont Saint-Michel and either a bus or taxi from there. The standard 2nd class train fare is €22.70. Mont Saint-Michel to Paris: The best route is to take a bus operated by SNCF (French National Rail) from Mont Saint-Michel to Rennes and a train from there to Paris. Depending upon the departure time, the standard 2nd class fare ranges from €75.10 to €92.10. The cheapest discount fare is €32.10. Paris to Dornbirn: If you book Paris-Lindau well in advance (up to 92 days allowed) on the German Rail site, you can get a discount fare as low as €49.00/adult and your 4-year-old children will ride free. For Lindau-Dornbirn you will pay a total of €14.80. There isn't a simple night train route from Dornbirn to Venice. Check Auto Europe for car rental. Yes, renting for a week often doesn't cost much more than renting for just a few days.

Night trains are not as easy you might hope. From Dornbirn to Venezia isn't easy. A representative trip might be: Dornbirn Th, 04.10.12 dep 19:50 2 REX 5609 RegionalExpress Feldkirch Th, 04.10.12 arr 20:09 3AB Transfer time 3 min. Feldkirch Th, 04.10.12 dep 20:12 2AB RJ 365 railjet Innsbruck Hbf Th, 04.10.12 arr 22:10 3 Transfer time 55 min. Innsbruck Hbf Th, 04.10.12 dep 23:05 7 CNL 485 City Night Line Verona Porta Nuova Fr, 05.10.12 arr 02:37 Transfer time 2:03 h Verona Porta Nuova Fr, 05.10.12 dep 04:40 EN 363 EuroNight
Subject to compulsory reservation, Sleeping-car, Couchettes Venezia Santa Lucia Fr, 05.10.12 arr 06:38 - = - I looked at going via Zuerich because you will be so close to Switzerland but it still was best via Innsbruck. I'm not sure I'd want to try a 3 minute connection and then 2 hours in the middle of the night in Verona with a large party and small children. I think it unlikely you or they will get much sleep. Your longest segment is only 3:32, and that includes settling in and getting up time.

Darcy, no need to feel terrified. These days, most rail pass journeys require reservations, and that is where the real headache come in. You don't just get on the train and go with a pass any more. Ticket purchase is easy. For the best price, buy in advance on each country's national train website. Tim and Nigel gave you some suggestions. Some will have reduced rates for group purchases ( Germany does). Or you can wait til you arrive and buy tickets as you go, each time a few days ahead of travel. That is simpler but will cost significantly more. Renting in a car is a good idea for Austria, and yes, generally a weekly rate is better than daily.