Can anyone advise me as to the most economical way to travel from Zurich to Brussels to Bamberg, Germany? That will be the only travel I will be doing. The train seems extremely expensive.
Thanks for your suggestions.
Sharon
Posted by
OP
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
26 posts
Thanks, Kent.
Would you wait until I get there (June 10th) or try here in the US? From what I've seen Zurich to Brussels is not cheap - flying or training.
Thanks,
Sharon
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
Buses are cheaper but generally take longer. Trying for discounts on train fares is also a way to get the cost down. Flying on a regional airline sometimes makes sense, if the train ride is longer than about 6 hours. Everything in euros is expensive when multiplied by 1.6 (sigh)
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
Booking online well in advance can get you discount train fares for Zurich-Paris (TGV) and Paris-Brussels (Thalys), but you're too late for those. However, if you book now at www.bahn.de, you should be able to get a Europa-Spezial Belgien fare for Brussels-Bamberg. Click on the drop-down menu in the upper right-hand corner for English. After you get summary timetables, look for the Savings fare column on the far right and click on "Check availability" for any times which show that option.
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
Since most of the trains posted run into France and then up through Brussels, the trip times are long and expensive. However, if you go to bahn.de, the German railway website, you can get a fare from Zurich to Koln (Cologne) for as low as 39 Euro, then anther train from Koln to Brussels for 25-35 Euro. The trip times are comparable, or even less, than ones shown normally. However, you will have to purchase the tickets in two goes, since the website only allows purchases for runs that begin or end in Germany. Use this website as well for your Brussels-Bamberg journey, but move quickly, because the cheap fares won't last forever!