My husband and I are traveling from Vienna to Salzburg, and then from Salzburg to Munich by train. From Munich, we are going to Fussen and plan on renting a car there and will be dropping the car in Nuremberg three days later. From Nuremberg, we are taking the train to Prague, where we will spend our last three nights. I can't figure out which pass/passes are best for us. I figure the Austria/Germany pass is the best, but then what about getting to Prague?
There are so many possibilities when you use the "interactive pass finder" on the Rail Europe site, that I'm confused about what is best. Any advice will be appreciated!
Posted by
Hendersonvlle, NC
486 posts
One comment about passes. If you are traveling between countries (Like from Nuremburg to Prague) where only one is included in a pass, you can use your pass to cover the trip from Nuremburg to the border city and pay only for the border to Prague. We did that when going from Cologne to Brussels. You get a reservation for the whole way but a ticket for only part.
It was in about '98 when we did this and we bought out reservation/ticket at a station in Germany. Perhaps someone can advise you on how to do it online.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
For your routes it will be cheaper to not buy any kind of pass.
Buy a ticket for Wien-Salzburg from Austrian Rail when you get to Wien. See the timetables and fares at www.oebb.at/en.
Buy Bayern (Bavaria) tickets for Salzburg-Muenchen and Muenchen-Fuessen when you get to Salzburg. See http://tinyurl.com/29mh69.
Buy a ticket for Nuernberg-Praha at any German station. See the timetables and fares at www.bahn.de.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
www.bahn.de/regional/view/bayern/bahnregional/freizeit/prag_spezial.shtml gives you a page in German about the trains and special fares from Munich or Nürnberg to Prague. Click the Pdf symbol at the bottom of the page for a broshure with schedules. Some train go directly from Nürnberg to Prague, some have a change of trains (umsteigen) in Schwandorf.
You can pay a single fare of €51 pP for a round trip to Prague, or you can buy a ~€20 Anschluss ticket from the border at Furth im Wald and use your rail pass or a Bayern-Ticket (€27 for up to 5 people) to Furth.
Posted by
OP
Louisville, KY, US
5 posts
Thanks to all for all of the advice!! It's very helpful. It sounds like I can wait til I get there to purchase these tickets. I am traveling in mid-April and it shouldn't be too busy.