Transportation in Europe

Every leg of you trip has one end in Germany, which means you can get really cheap fares for all of them. Look up the connections on the German Rail (Bahn) website. I'm not sure you want night trains because day train are pretty fast. You can get a seat on a day train from Amsterdam to Berlin (6-7 hours) for as little as €39/p. The night train gets into Berlin at 4:26 AM! You can get a seat on a day train from Berlin to Prague (4-5 hours) for as little as €29/p. There is no night train you can take from Berlin to Prague. You can go from Prague to Munich by a Bahn intercity bus (5 hours) for as little as €29/p. There is no night train you can take from Prague to Munich. You can get a seat on a day train from Munich to Zürich (5 hours) for as little as €39/p. There is a night train, but I can't find fares. The part to Zürich leaves Salzburg at after 1 AM. All of these fares require an advance purchase of 3 to 92 days. The fares are tiered; as the lowest fares sell out, the next fare is higher. If you don't want the bus, or if the discount fares are sold out at the lower prices and the price is up, you can go by regional train (6 hrs) for €10/p to the German border and from there with a €29 Bayern-Ticket for all of you.

What Lee's post implies but doesn't specifically state is this: there are much cheaper options than using a rail pass, which ironically, is usually one of the least cost-effective ways to travel by train these days. The supposed benefit of using a night train is that it frees up an extra day of sight-seeing. But what I and many other contributors to this website have found from experience is that you get very little sleep on a night train. You arrive at your destination not refreshed and ready to explore, but exhausted and ready for a nap.

Many people who post here are older - 40's or older, anyway. They (ok, we) tend to be less satisfied with the night train experience. Whether that's because they don't sleep as well, or because they have higher expectations of a night's sleep, is debatable. Perhaps both. In any case, I do like to use night trains occasionally. I think it is unwise to use them frequently or too close together, however, as a shorter night's sleep will catch up with you eventually.

I'd mention the more you move around, the more expensive it is and the less time you spend in any one city. You have 5 cities listed, so that gives you only 2 days in each city ( assuming a 14 day trip where 1 day is spent in transit to Europe and 1 day is spent returning to the US), and you'll use part of the next day to get to the next city. Once you price the train tickets, you might consider picking your favorite "must see" and dropping one or two cities. If you go with a car, you'll also need to price picking up a car in Munich and dropping it off in Zurich, for the drop off fee. If you decide to drive, you can get an International Drivers License at either of the AAA offices in Austin for $15 plus a passport photo, which they can take while there- easy.
Hope you have lots of fun!

Mendy, Given your present itinerary, I would only suggest one night train, Amsterdam-Berlin because it's direct, takes ca. 9.5 hrs. arrives at Berlin Hbf 0426. The only other night train option is Berlin-Munich; after Munich take the train to Prague (or drop Prague), then Prague to Zürich. For 2 weeks I would not recommend a Pass, only if you had a week or two more and doing more zig zag traveling in Austria and Germany.

Thank you all So much for your advise! This is great!

Hi, I see after Berlin the next stop is Prague, which eliminates taking the night train Berlin-Munich, unless you would rather do that. That's good, take one of the morning direct connections, Berlin-Prague, which will get you there under 5 hrs,... no need to transfer at the Berlin-Lichtenberg Bahnhof. I was once nine years ago, only briefly to catch the S-Bahn to Bahnhof Zoo.

Mendy, One comment regarding the Amsterdam - Berlin train. I travelled that route several months ago, and it's actually quite pleasant to do in the daytime. For example, there's a train departing at 08:56, arriving Berlin Hbf at 15:20 (time 6H:24M, one change in Hilversum, reservations compulsory on one leg). The Berlin Hbf is relatively new and it's HUGE, and from there it's easy to get to many parts of the city via the S-Bahn (go to the top level of the station to access the S-Bahn). Which part of Berlin are you planning to stay in? The rail trip from Berlin to Prague is also very easy. When you arrive in Prague, do not use the Taxi's at the station (as I recall, Rick characterizes the drivers as "no neck thugs"). There are good suggestions in the Guidebook for transportation. From Prague to Munich, I believe there's now a direct Bus. Lee mentioned something about it in a recent post. Finally, the rail trip from Munich to Zurich is also easy, about 5.5 hours, usually with one change at Innsbruck or Stuttgart. Are you going to be pre-booking accommodations? At that time of the year, it would probably be a good idea. Cheers!

Can you get on and off the Bahn trains as you please? like from Amsterdam to Berlin can you get off at different places along the way?

Depends on what kind of ticket you have. If you have a full fare ticket, for trips under 100 km, you can get on/off, but you have to finish by the end of the day. For trips over 100 km, it's by the end of the next day. For Länder tickets, they are valid for on/off travel that day (until 3 AM the following morning). For Savings Fare tickets (and also, I think, for Europa-Spezial tickets), they are train specific. If you book a series of trains on a Savings Fare ticket with a stopover between trains, the the stopover shows on the ticket (as the difference between train times) you can get off/on. But that's only for the time specified on the ticket. In 2008, I went from Cochem to Hannover on a Savings Fare (then called Dauer-Spezial) ticket. I used stopover function to book it with two hours between trains in Köln so I could see the cathedral.

So We are now considering renting a car and going from Berlin to Munich to Austria, then to Zurich and dropping it off. Any insight on this?

Mendy, Renting a car in Berlin and dropping off in Zurich is not a real good idea, as there will likely be HUGE drop-off fees. Also, travelling that distance by car will not be the quickest travel method, especially for a two week trip with that number of stops. Also, if you rent a car in Germany and use it in Switzerland, you'd have to make sure you purchased the Highway Tax Vignette as soon as you cross the border, as you could be fined. I would highly recommend using fast trains with P-P tickets, as each of the routes you'll be travelling have good rail connections. Lee can provide information on the discounted tickets in Germany. Happy travels!

In addition to what Ken has suggested, you will also need a Vignette in Austria, and even after you have paid for the Austrian Vignette you will need to also pay for many road tunnels and there are some toll roads too.