My husband and I will be touring southern and northeastern Germany for two weeks before being stationed in Landstuhl for four weeks. During the four weeks in Landstuhl, I'll travel while he works during the week and then we'll travel together on the weekends. My question: Rail pass or car in terms of cost and access? I'm having trouble deciding...especially since there are different legs/types of travel during our stay.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
Why not just point-point train and bus tickets. That would probably be the least expensive way to go. For any travel within the Land of Rheinland-Pfalz, a Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket, €21 for a single person, gives you unlimited travel by train or bus in the Land after 9 AM workdays. Rheinland-Pfalz includes all the land west and south of the Rhein, up to a little west of the Mosel. It's valid to Bonn, Karlsruhe, and Mannheim. For longer distances, German Rail sells the Quer-durchs-Land-Ticket (QdLT, or "entirely through the country ticket"), for €42 single, which gives you unlimited regional travel to anywhere in Germany, again after 9 AM. For even longer trips or to other countries, you can use advance purchase Savings Fare or Europa-Spezial discount tickets starting at €29 and €39 respectively.
Posted by
Paradise
7072 posts
"...we'll travel together on the weekends." Access: There are very few places the trains won't take you. And buses fill any gaps. Cost: You'll probably do much better with the trains, as Lee suggests. The Rheinland-Pfalz ticket Lee mentions is 25€ for two. It's good in the small state of Saarland too. On Sat or Sun, it's good any hour of the day. See details and map on this page: http://www.vrminfo.de/en/tickets-and-fares/ticket-offers/rheinland-pfalz-ticket/ Longer trips on Sat or Sun outside this area - to anywhere else in Germany - can be done for a little less than the QDL ticket Lee mentions - 40€ for 2-5 people with the Happy Weekend Ticket: http://www.bahn.com/i/view/DEU/en/prices/germany/happy_weekend_ticket.shtml The above tickets are all good on regional trains and buses, not the high-speed intercity trains (not IC, ICE, EC, etc.) You might also want to focus on the immediate area; there's also a 1-week pass sold by the local transit authority (VRN) at ticket machines - it lets one person cover a narrower region for 58€. See the diagram below. Landstuhl is on the left side. MA is Mannheim, HD is Heidelberg. On the east end, you can travel up the Neckar River and beyond to great places like Michelstadt, Miltenberg, and Wertheim, and Bad Wimpfen. Speyer and Worms, closer to Landstuhl, are known for their Romanesque cathedrals. http://www.vrn.de/mam/vrn/einfach-ankommen/dokumente/liniennetzplaene/regionales_schienennetz_w12.pdf
Posted by
Germany, Germany
813 posts
http://www.rtttravel.com/
Call or email them to ask your questions. They are most helpful. Also contact the USO there.