Train v. Plane

I use the same 6-hour rule that Frank mentioned. I view flying as a big hassle, and only take to the skies as a last resort. Whenever I compare advance rail fares to the discount airlines I never found any significant savings. One other thing to keep in mind about discount airfares, while the prices may be dirt cheap today, as the plane fills-up the price goes up as well. Since trains have more capacity and run more frequently than the discount airlines, advance rail fares can usually be had up to 30 days before your departure.

When our good friends 1st moved to Germany several years ago, they told us about this. They are always traveling thruout europe, and told us to always plan on using the plane, or rental car when in Germany, and then to consider the train as an option in many of the other Euro countries. (especially Italy!)

We will fly over the pond into Frankfurt this Dec. to see them. Next we hop a commuter flight to get to their houuse outside of Nuremburg (train is too expensive!). Then the 4 of us fly the discount euro airlines to Portugal for our two weeks there. after that, we will fly the discount airlines back to our hub; FRA.

For us, it is price and convenience.

We had the same questions before our recent trip. Should we fly from Vienna to Venice or take the train. We couldn't get a good handle on the train costs due to not being able to get a price on the Austrian systems web site. But there was a limited number of flight options between the two cities which also meant going 1-2 hours away to get to the plane. Also, there were no "low cost" options available. We decided on the train as the plane only saved about 2 hours time and it was a wonderful trip with beautiful sights. However, in 2005, we did save time & money by flying from Strousburg to Brussels instead of using the train which would have made us go back to Paris to catch a high speed train to Brussels.

The question of rail vs plane ticket prices is more complex than just comparing ticket prices. Most of the discount airlines use smaller airport which can be a long way from the city that they are serving. You need to factor in the cost AND convenience of the transportation to and from the airport. On the other hand train station are just a short cab ride or walk from you hotel. Many of the discount airlines have sever restrictions on luggage size and weight and are quick to charge high fees if you exceed either. Most of the discount airline allow almost no carryon. Airline security will require you pack your luggage in certain ways. No restrictions on trains. If it checked, there is always the hassle and the potential problem of getting you luggage back and the trip into town.

We have found that if the train schedule is less than six hours or so, it is generally more convenient and relaxing to take the train. If it eight hours or more than the plane might make sense.

Mark, what site(s) did you use to get fares for trains within Germany? While standard tickets can be expensive, if you book well in advance at www.bahn.de, you can get discount fares for many routes. There are also special all-day-for-one-price tickets within the various Laender (states) if you limit yourself to regional trains. What is your itinerary?

Tim, I used bahn.de. Right now, I'm mostly playing with itineraries between Frankfurt and Berlin for middle of January 2008. Nothing's decided, but I can do a roundtrip on Air Berlin for between 58 and 100 E depending on which flights, etc. and as far as I'm aware, Air Berlin does use the primary airports in each of these cities (FRA and TXL)...

The train price was closer to 300E roundtrip. The Bahn site doesn't let you search that far out in time yet, so I just picked a date to get an idea of fares. Maybe there's a big advantage to booking far in advance....

[EDIT] Michael, just saw your post; I'll investigate advance fares 30 days out or so for a better idea. Many thanks.

There are many different airlines that fly inter-european flights, and only a few fly from "podunk" airports, and some of those airports are great options (ie. Tresvisio VS Venice.)

Ryan Air is perhaps the cheapest, but you really have to go to some "out of the way" airports to utilize their lo rates. (and you have to watch the baggage restrictions)

Lufthansa ( a major!) has great one way, and round trip ($125 US dollars) deals. Air One (a Luft subsid.) is another good airline that we have flown with absolutely no problems. We also like Alpi Eagles, and my buddy in Germany swears by Air Berlin.

I usually use 4 hours as my rule, but will look at 1 hour if it is a connecting flight, is a reputable airline, I am going to drop off a rental car, etc.

Each town is different, and sometimes the bus or train can be a better option.

Mark, if you book far enough in advance at www.bahn.de, you can get Dauer-Spezial fares as low as €29 for Frankfurt-Berlin. Faster than flying when you factor in time getting to and from airports, check-in, security, etc. And cheaper to boot!

Many thanks Tim. I'll look into those Dauer-Spezial fares. Sounds like a great option. The other complication is that my flight back home leaves out of FRA about 1245, so I might have to still utilize Air Berlin on a one-way flight back the other direction - at least that way, I'm already at the airport in time to catch the US leg of my trip.

Super idea. Thanks a lot. Even though my German is passable, I've got friends in Germany who can also help me navigate the fares and they're certainly better equipped than I am to find the best combination of convenience, fares, and time.

You're welcome, Mark. If you leave Berlin at 05:33, you can arrive at the Frankfurt airport by 10:12 (one connection at Frankfurt Hbf). Same Dauer-Spezial fare. However, that may be later than you want to arrive for a flight to the US.

If you don't mind a chopped up night (guaranteeing you'll sleep on the flight home!), you could save the cost of a hotel the last night in Berlin by taking the night train from Berlin to Dortmund, leaving at 01:08 and arriving at 04:57. Booked in advance at http://buchung.nachtzugreise.de, SparNight fares are €29 for a reclining seat and €49 for a bunk in a six-person couchette. Then book a Dauer-Spezial fare of €29 for Dortmund-Frankfurt Flughafen, leaving at 05:17 and arriving at 07:33. Or give yourself a little more time to make the connection in Dortmund and book a later train to the airport.

While Air Berlin offers more than one early morning Berlin-Frankfurt flight, flight cancellations or bad weather could delay your arrival in Frankfurt.

I don't know if this is true across the board, but the prices on train tickets were MUCH lower when I went to the de information counter than they were on the website. I forget how much it was on the website to go from Franz Josef in Munich to Regensberg, but it was only 14.80 euro when I went to the counter. After that I always just asked. The train guy in Regensberg was grumpy but helpful:-)

First of all, your destination has a lot to do with this choice AND Yes, some of the cheaper airlines do not hit the major cities and the "Luggage" topic is also an issue. However, if you have any plans to travel more than once, purchasing a RailPass will be much less expensive then multiple point to point, IF there is much distance between those points. Example: 1st Class 4 Day/1 Month Pass is $327.00. That means any four days within the given month. Depending on the number of people in your group and number of countries to visit, this cost only increases some and can actually decrease if 2 or more people are traveling together. By the time you factor time to and from the airport, security etc. It's hard to justify small plane trips. I have the need to get from southern Germany to Copenhagen for New Years 2007/08 and it is less complex and expensive to take the night train and book a 4 person Couchette for 3 people to guarantee your privacy. Good Luck.

You say you got the fare “on the website”, but the German Rail website no longer gives a direct fare from MUC to Regensburg (hasn’t for several years); unless this was years ago, you didn’t forget, you never found out. That direct route is by MVV bus to Freising, and RE from there, and DB no longer gives fares for travel for a conveyance of a Verkehrsverbund (MVV). You might have gotten the fare via S-bahn (a part of DB) to the Hbf, and then on to Regensburg, but that isn’t the least expensive route.

€14,80 is probably not the current fare. You can get this year’s fare from Freising to Regensburg (€15,60) and combine it with the bus fare (€2,20) from MUC to Freising, for a total of €17,80, but that is for two separate tickets and probably more than the combined fare you would get at a ticket counter.

I have traveled a bit in Germany in the last few years, and I always found

... that the fare I was charged was what I found on the DB website. However, I have studied the system for years and know you to find the lowest fares to start with.