trains from Germany

debbee, could you clarify whether you're planning to travel from Cologne to each of the cities you listed and back again on the same day??? Some of those are longer trips and not ideal for "day trips".

cc

I will be leaving each morning from Cologne with my adult daughters and then reunite with rest of the family in the evening back in Cologne. I know this sounds ridiculous but this is the only way it will work.

Debbee, are you aware that you'd be spending a minimum of 6 hours on the train for the return trips to Paris and Amsterdam? The trip to Prage would take you a minimum of 12 hours return - by car on the Autobahn provided you don't get into a traffic jam. Train connection to Prague is even longer. The quickest connections to Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels are via the Thalys train. And with doing daytrips you definitely will want to buy the fastest connections possible. But I'm not aware if any passes work on those. You should be able to save some money by booking your tickets in advance via www.thalys.com

debbee, seeing each of those cities on a "daytrip" is NOT the best idea. You may want to add them to the list for a future visit. For example: Cologne to Paris will be a MINIMUM of 6H:30M return by fast train (not including times getting to & from the stations); from Cologne to Amsterdam will be a MINIMUM of 5H:18M return by fast direct train (considerably longer with other trains); from Cologne to Brussels will be a MINIMUM of 3H:44M return (possibly one change depending on which station you arrive at); and finally, the trip from Cologne to Prague will be a MINIMUM of 15H:02M return, which includes one change in Nuremburg and a Bus trip! That's not exactly a day trip!!! You're going to spend a lot of time looking through a train window, and only a very limited few hours in each of the cities you want to visit. You would also need to allow time to get to & from the various sights that you want to visit. I'm not sure it's worth the effort? To answer your other question , I wouldn't bother buying "train passes" as you have a relatively few trips. Using P-P tickets would be my choice. Cheers!

Thanks Beatrix and Ken! I will take your advice!

Agree with the others, except... Brussels is an easy, if expensive daytrip from Cologne. There is direct service on Deutsche Bahn three times a day from Cologne to Brussel Nord and Brussel Zuid (and going in the opposite direction). Each leg of the trip takes about an hour and forty-five minutes. However, as noted, these faster connections only run a few times a day.

http://www.bahn.com/i/view/USA/en/index.shtml....................Here's what you need to plan your trips. This site will give you the info on prices, timetables, length of trips, number of connections, etc. Any trip you're set on taking should be purchased ASAP (like today) to get the best prices...Make sure you understand the refund and change policies....Without getting snoopy, why do these trips HAVE to be daytrips? Perhaps we can help you with some alternatives......For instance, Prague is absolutely out as a daytrip; maybe make that one a night train...etc....When are you planning on being there?

oh dear.