I wasn’t sure where to post, so I apologize for posting in both the Frankfurt and Cochem forums.
My husband and I (age 36 and 38) are planning to purchase rail tickets using the Deutche Bahn.de website, and we have a lot of questions:
Discounts: The website lists discounts Savings Price 25 and 50. I’m unclear about how the various discounts work. Are these only for citizens of Europe? Is there a pass that needs to be purchased to receive these special rates? We will book our tickets 80-90 days in advance.
Our complete travel will be:
Frankfurt %26gt; Cochem on a Friday
While in the Mosel Valley, we will travel to other towns by train /boat
Cochem to Amsterdam on a Monday
Amsterdam to Brugge/Brussels on a Friday
Brussels to Paris on a Sunday
While in Paris, we will do some regional train travel as well
There is another discount BahnCard – that appears to cost 15 Euro, but allows discounts in other countries. Given our other travel, does it make sense to buy this card? (We don’t want to purchase a Eurail ticket, because it seems that it is much more costly than individual tickets).
About the trip from Frankfurt airport to Cochem, Mosel Valley: We arrive at the Frankfurt airport (international) at 11:00, and want to go directly to Cochem. Do we need to take a train from the airport to Frankfurt’s main station? How much time should we allow for that train ride? Is 3 hours enough for getting luggage and getting to Frankfurt Main?
Which option for Cochem should I choose? The ones that seem to make the most sense are:
Cochem (Mosel)
Cochem (Mosel) KD
Cochem Bahnhof
Am Markt (Cochem)
1st and 2nd Class: What’s the difference? I assume it will vary by the type of train, but is there any circumstance where we would not want to use a 2nd class ticket?
OnLine Tickets: Is there any concern we should have about purchasing online tickets in advance from America?
Thanks so much for any guidance you can give!
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%26gt; Discounts: The website lists discounts Savings Price 25 and 50.
These are discounts for return tickets if bought in advance. Won%26#39;t work in your case.
%26gt; There is another discount BahnCard – that appears to cost 15 Euro, but allows discounts in other countries.
The BahnCards are more expensive. You can buy as addition to a BahnCard the %26quot;RAIL PLUS%26quot; option (EUR 15,00) which will give you discounts when travelling to or from other European countries (but not for domestic trips in these countries). BahnCard with the validity of one year is an offer is first place interesting for residents, but barely for tourists.
%26gt; About the trip from Frankfurt airport to Cochem, Mosel Valley: We arrive at the Frankfurt airport (international) at 11:00, and want to go directly to Cochem. Do we need to take a train from the airport to Frankfurt’s main station?
No. Totally the opposite direction.
DB timetable
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en
From: FRA airport
To: Cochem(Mosel)
%26gt; Which option for Cochem should I choose? The ones that seem to make the most sense are:
The DB timetable will suggest nearly always the mostlikely best stop as default one (i.e. first of the drop down list, thus no need to select anything).
%26gt; 1st and 2nd Class: What’s the difference? I assume it will vary by the type of train, but is there any circumstance where we would not want to use a 2nd class ticket?
1st class differences:
Far distance trains (IC/EC or ICE): more leg space, better seats, you can order snacks and drinks to your place, no 2nd class passengers
Regional trains (S-Bahn, RB, RE, IRE): no 2nd class passengers
As long as the 50-60% which the first class is more expensive is of any concern for you: use the 2nd class like everybode else. There are better ways to spent the money (better hotel, better restaurants, ...).
%26gt; OnLine Tickets: Is there any concern we should have about purchasing online tickets in advance from America?
No. If you buy online don%26#39;t forget to bring the ticket AND the credit card you used to pay for it.
%26gt; cheaper options
You could use regional trains from Frankfurt Airport to Cochem. 3 hours instead of 2 hours travel times with (partly) far distance trains.
Select at the DB timetable as means of transport %26quot;only local public transport%26quot; to get connections with regional trains only.
Buy
1. a normal ticket from Frankfurt Airport to Mainz: EUR 3,55 pp
(Frankfurt is in the state Hesse, Mainz in the state Rhineland-Palatinate (actually the state capital).
2. buy a Rhineland-Palatinate Ticket: EUR 25,00
This is a mini group (2-5 persons) day ticket covering all regional trains and all other local public transport (buses, trams) in the state Rhineland-Palatinate. With this ticket you can travel from Mainz to Cochem.
You can buy both tickets from ticket machines at Frankfurt Airport.
Cochem - Amsterdam
There are Europe-Special tickets from Cologne to Amsterdam:
reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en…
Please note that these specials are only valid for the booked connection. Not flexible like normal tickets.
As this is a limited offer buy as soon as possible (online).
Brussels - Paris
http://www.thalys.com/
Has discounted tickets (Smilys) if you buy at least 14 days in advance. A return ticket, but still cheaper than a normal price single ticket (just don%26#39;t use the return part).
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Thank you for the reply.
All of your advice is going to save us a lot of money.
It sounds like the regional Rhineland-Palatinate ticket will be useful for a day of exploring some of the other towns along the river as well.
We are about 100 days out from our travel date, so I%26#39;m planning to buy SMILYS from Amsterdam to Brussels and Brussels to Paris in two weeks (thanks for the advice!).
Other than that, it sounds like we can buy all of the local tickets (Frankfurt %26gt; Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate regional, and Cochem %26gt; Koln) on the day of travel. Is that correct?
Thanks again
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%26gt; It sounds like the regional Rhineland-Palatinate ticket will be useful for a day of exploring some of the other towns along the river as well.
Indeed. It also gives you (like other train tickets) 20% discount on the KD boat fares.
http://www.k-d.com
%26gt; Other than that, it sounds like we can buy all of the local tickets (Frankfurt %26gt; Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate regional, and Cochem %26gt; Koln) on the day of travel. Is that correct?
Yes.
Frankfurt %26gt; Mainz: RMV ticket machine
Rhineland-Palatinate regional: DB ticket machines (think at the RMV ticket machines you can buy only the %26quot;local%26quot; Länder-Ticket, i.e. in Frankfurt the Hesse-Ticket not the Rhineland-Palatinate-Ticket).
Counter is also possible, but it will be EUR 2,00 more expensive.
Cochem %26gt; Köln: DB ticket machines, counter, online
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