My 14 year old son and I ( his mother) are planning a trip to Germany in April. We would like to use the trains to get around and not have a car ( I am trying to get him to talk to me on occasion!).
I am wondering how to get the most travel for my money, especially since I have so little of it! Do we get a pass for the inter city travel and then buy day passes for in the city? We are starting in Frankfurt, going to Berlin for a few days, then to Hamburg for a few days ( including a visit to our former exchange students homes) and then back to Frankfurt to fly home.
I have seen a pass for 4 days in 1 month and then a youth pass, but if we are using trains to get around the city, that is not going to be useful. If we do more days it becomes very expensive to do a 10 day in 1 month pass. ( $440 for me and $214 for him) I am still not sure even after reading the bahn-de website on what pass is best.
I think from reading the forums maybe I should get a 4 day rail pass and use that for the high speed trains between cities, and then get a %26quot;länder-ticket%26quot; for the days we go to Potsdam near Berlin and Ockholm near Hamburg. Or is it cheaper to just buy a roundtrip ticket since Potsdam is just a day trip and Ockholm is just an overnight?
Still not sure about within the city travel- do you just pay the bus driver or buy a token at the subway like in the US?
Thank you to everyone who takes the time to reply!!
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Buy for the the longer trips discounted specials in advance. This is possible at earliest 89 days before departure.
DB timetable
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en
From: Frankfurt Airport
To: Berlin
In Berlin the Welcome Card for Berlin + Potsdam will be the best deal for you, as it is valid for 1 adult and up to 3 children (up to 14 years).
www.visitberlin.de/welcomecard/index.php…
%26gt; Potsdam near Berlin
Potsdam is just outside of Berlin. In public transport terms it is in zone Berlin C.
%26gt; Ockholm near Hamburg.
Ockholm is not really near Hamburg. And if it comes to travel time you will need twice as long from Hamburg to Ockholm than from Berlin to Hamburg. Closest train station to Ockholm is Niebüll. You can use the DB timetable to query for connections to the bus stop %26quot;Ockholm Schule%26quot;. But you can only buy tickets to Niebüll.
http://www.ockholm.de/
%26gt; Still not sure about within the city travel- do you just pay the bus driver or buy a token at the subway like in the US?
No. In Germany you have zone-to-zone local public transport tickets. Such tickets do cover all means of local public transport: regional trains, S-Bahn, U-Bahn (subway), trams, buses and e.g. in Berlin and Hamburg also ferries.
You buy these tickets from ticket machines or the bus drivers.
E.g. a single trip inside Berlin is EUR 2,30. A day ticket is EUR 6,10. For tourists mini group day tickets are mostly the best option. Or specials offers like the Berlin Welcome Card.
Berlin public transport
http://www.bvg.de
Hamburg public transport
http:/www.hvv.com
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Thank you so much! I know Ockholm is not really *near* Hamburg, and I know there is no real direct train, but I was hoping to save my exchange student%26#39;s family from having to drive into Hamburg to get us and then back home, and drive us back down again 2 days later. I am sure they will come get us at the nearest station though.
So just to be clear, in your opinion buying a rail pass is not the best deal, rather buy each ticket individually for city to city, and then within the city use a day pass or buy a tourist booklet of day passes. If I got that wrong let me know!
Again, thank you for your help!!
vielen Dank!
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Are you sure you want to go to Ockholm? It seems to take several days out of your itinerary, and except for your friends there is not much to see I would think.
Instead, I%26#39;d rather go to Munich or see some old nice villages on the rhine river.
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Why? This is a classical tourist destination. Part of the Wadden Sea World Heritage.
www.worldheritage-waddensea.org/index.php…
And the Halligen are something unique on the planet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallig
http://www.halligen.de/
E.g. Hallig Südfall at Low Tide.
cdn.fotocommunity.com/photos/6961089.jpg
and with %26quot;Land unter%26quot; (flooded - happens 20-30 times a year)
…ggpht.com/_DR34pfRT8ro/…BCdfall.jpg
Ockholm was also once a Hallig - but was rejoined with the main land centuries ago. The buildings are however still standing on %26quot;Warften%26quot; - the artificial hills you can find on the Halligen. This area has a fascinating albeit distressing history. Keywords: Second Marcellus Flood, Burchardi Flood, February Flood of 1825, the (gone) island Strand
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I admit I had to look up Ockholm first. However, it looks fascinating. This place will give you an idea of the North Sea coast, its history, the dangers of nature. Since most of your other destinations are large cities, this will be a very interesting addition to your itinerary.
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it is where my former exchange student lives. She lived with us for almost a year as a daughter/best friend. She came back to visit us with her best friend a year after she left, and now it is our turn to see her home. My husband travels to Europe often, so he has already been there, but I have not. It is really the whole point of the trip. We have another student who lived with us half a year, but she lives right in Hamburg and we will stay with her family for two nights. The only reason we are not staying in the Hamburg area the whole vacation is because the girls have exams that week, and I do not want to distract them. :) Plus I want to see some of the sites around Berlin.
I am thinking perhaps it is better to rent a car, but that is very expensive. Plus, I am sure her parents want to show us around, so I don%26#39;t think we will need it except to get to Ockholm and back. So, opinions please on value of car vs. time hassle of train!
Vielen Dank!
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If her parents will collect you buy car Bredstedt station will be the best option. Just 12 km from Ockholm. Travel time is 2:08 from Hamburg to Bredstedt. Travel time by car from Hamburg to Ockholm is 2:10 according to a route planner. And this does not include possible delays due traffic in and around Hamburg. And between Berlin and Hamburg the trains are considerably faster than to drive by car.
I would only choose a car if it is a must. In your case it%26#39;s neither price wise attractive nor of a big advantage time wise.
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