Hello!
My family of four (girls, age 15 and 8) are spending a month in Europe in June. Part of this trip is from Munich to Neuschwanstein for a day, Murren for three days and on to Paris. I seem to be having a difficult time navigating the train systems to determine how much it will cost us compared to renting a car and driving it. The car option will be about $500 if we pick up in Munich on the 15th. Drive it to Hohenschwangau for the evening and then to Interlaken the next day.
June 15th: We need to get from Salzburg to Hohenschwangau this day.
Option 1: (Leave at 10AM) 2 hour train from Salzburg to Munich. 2 hour train to Fussen. Bus to hotel in Hohenschwangau (10 min). Arrive approx. 4PM.
Option 2: 2 hour train to Munich. Rent car. Drive 2 hours to Hohenschwangau.
See the grounds of Neuschwanstein. See lake.
June 16th: See Neuschwanstein early this morning. 9AM opens. 4 hours approx. Done around 2PM. To Interlaken this day.
Option 1: 7 or 8 hour train to Interlaken. Spend the night there. Explore a bit. Eat dinner.
Option 2: Still driving rental car. Drive 4.5 hours to Interlaken. Go through Liechtenstien and stop in Lucerne for lunch by the lake. Drop car in Interlaken. $550. Europcar. Getting to see these places is the main draw to renting a car instead of taking the train.
June 17th: Enjoy Interlaken before we go on to Murren. Drop luggage at hotel.
June 18th: Bike ride to Lauterbrunnen. Traummelbach falls.
June 19th: Breakfast at the top of the Schiltorn. Maybe Jungfrau.
June 20th: Back to Interlaken (1 hours). Take TGV from Interlaken to Paris - 5 hours.
From what I read, that train stops in Bern. We would love to stop and see Bern for a few hours. Maybe eat while we are there. A few questions: 1. Does it stop in Bern? 2. Are there lockers for us to put our packs in at the train station? 3. Can we just get on the next TGV to Paris – is that possible?
Thanks in advance for all the help. It is greatly appreciated!
international one-way car rentals usually demand steep charges (easily several hundred Euro), domestic ones however often no or just a small fee. if cost is an issue, this is what I'd consider:
a)pick up car in Salzburg, drive to Füssen, stay, drive to Bregenz (Austria), drop-off car, carry on towards Interlaken by train, eventually doing a stopover in Luzern. be aware of reduced fares for kids. use www.viamichelin.com for roads, pick a scenic route and stop along the way
b)train all the way. for Salzburg-Munich-Füssen, a 'Bavaria-Ticket' (http://www.bahn.de/p_en/view/offers/national/regional/laender-tickets/bavaria-ticket.shtml) will really pay off. own kids below 14y travel free, so it would be a 3-person ticket = 33 Euro for all of you. fully flexible, yet not valid on long-distance trains (IC/EC/ICE/RJ). if you like, do a stopover in Munich (luggage lockers at the station), the ticket includes local transport (bus, tram, underground), too. Füssen to Interlaken is a bother due to the multiple connections required. if you book early, offers start from 39 Euro, www.bahn.com will show details and tell about child fares, too.
consensus on this board is that both Liechtenstein and Interlaken itself are poor choices compared to what else the area has to offer.
I leave the Interlaken-Paris queries to the Swiss experts, yet usually you can just break domestic trips inside Switzerland for a short stopover, and there are almost certainly lockers. imo Basel itself makes a nice break, too, though you won't be able to do both. lowest offers for TGV trains to Paris need to be booked in advance and are not flexible.
Yes- the Bern train station has luggage lockers available. If you wanted to see Bern on a stopover from Interlaaken (about 50 minutes by train) you can buy
a ticket for that portion, then a separate TGV ticket to travel from Bern to Paris ( a
4 hour trip.). The website Loco2.com will give you an idea of the frequency and cost of trains as the timetables do not change much in the summer.
I would drop Liectenstein with the little time you have.
I would also consider Train passes available as trains and buses will get you to all your destinations, thus eliminating the need for a car rental.
Also, you cannot drive a car to Murren. Access is via gondolas and lifts. You can drive to Lauterbrunnen where you would have to leave the car for the ascent via gondola and lift. With a car, Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald make better bases- far better than Interlaaken.
Eurail's website shows Eurail Selectpass covering train travel in Germany, Switzerland and France for 2 adults and 2 children costs $834 for 6 days during a two- month period when all of you travel together. The pass costs $758 for five days; $974 for eight days. Eurail.com
A supplement is payable for TGV trains, and reservations are required on some trains. Eurail.com
given the whole family could do the complete section Salzburg-Füssen-Interlaken (2days) for just 150 Euro, that would leave approx. 550 Euro for the remaining 3days of a pass. given SNCFs cheap special deals and the surcharge for passholders, chrissiepen will need to do a lot of travelling to make those passes pay off. besides, some connections will be via Bregenz, thus adding Austria to the number of countries travelled. mind you, passes will be 1st, however 2nd is fully sufficient imo.
hopefully some of the Switzerland experts drop by and share their knowledge on SBB Swiss fares.
Yes- it's likely that the best deal will be a combination of discounted SBB Passes, along with what's on offer by Deutsche Bahn and SNCF (France's national train.)
Adding Austria adds $60 to the 5,6 and 8-day Select Pass. When you add up the cost of the Interlaaken to Lucerne roundtrip ride and Interlaaken to Paris- it's clear that Train Passes will really save money. Adding to the complexity of train fares in the itinerary is that the trains between Interlaaken and Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald are privately run. Although Eurail pass holders get a 25 percent discount off the fares, going back and forth between Murren and Lauterbrunnen and Murren and Interlaaken will add up fast for a family of four. That- in addition to the time saved -is why I think basing in Lauterbrunnen is probably the best way to go on this itinerary. Fares on the Bernese Oberland gondolas adds up quickly as well. Some of the SBB (Swiss National) train passes will discount fares to the Schilthorn and the Jungfraujoch.
The true cost of a car rental adds up to more than that $500 rental cost. There's also the cost of gasoline, highway tolls, parking fees and insurance. Trains, are the way to go. You can relax and focus on the beautiful scenery rather than the highway.
All depends on your mountain railway rides in Switzerland.
If you stay at Interlaken and Muerren all the time, the DB supersaver ticket Fuessen - Buchloe - Bern - Interlaken for 117 EUR for the whole family is the cheapest solution.
If you plan to go to places like Schilthorn, Jungfraujoch, First or so, check either the Swiss Half Fare Card or the Swiss Transfer ticket plus Half Fare Card Combi, both with the Family Card.
For the St. Margrethen - Luzern - Interlaken Ost (OW) leg, the Half Fare Card solution would cost CHF 317 (240 plus 77) for the whole family, whereas the Transfer ticket solution would cost 402 CHF (282 plus 120). No stopover allowed at Lucerne with the Transfer ticket, but the transfer ticket is valid via Berne too. If you go straight to Muerren, the transfer ticket is valid up to there.
Interlaken - Basel would cost 60 CHF with the Half Fare Card solution and nothing with the Transfer ticket.
Interlaken - Fribourg - Geneva would cost 71 CHF with the Half Fare Card solution and nothing with the Transfer ticket
For all other trips within Switzerland you would pay half fare for 2 pax.
Open http://www.sbb.ch/en/home.html as well as http://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ch/transport-reisen/billette.html and make your maths.
The Bayern ticket may be the cheapest solution for Fuessen resp Ulrichsbrucke - Lindau im Bodensee. In this case, avoid IC trains and add the fare for the Austrian Lindau - St. Margrethen leg. If you have a Swiss Half Fare Card and take the Lindau - Rorschach boat, you get half fare there too.
Seriously, you guys are awesome! I need to sit down tonight and sort through all this and come up with a game plan. Thanks so much! I do have one question. Looking at the Rail Europe passes - do they cover all trains?
There are so many separate train websites and I am not sure what is covered if we get a Rail Europe pass.
Thanks again!!
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