German Holiday Tours by Rail – a great way of traveling!

Pre-packaged German Holiday Tours by Rail: Travel Your Way right into the City Center along Germany’s excellent Rail Network!

A great way to travel through Germany is to travel by High-Speed Rail. We have a variety of rail tours covering Germany. Please find a complete list right here:

 

List of Germany Rail Tours

 

At Frankfurt International Airport you will find two different Rail Stations: the Regional Rail Station (located below baggage claim in Terminal 1) and the Long Distance Rail Station (called “AiRail”) which is connected to Terminal 1.

The AiRail Terminal is a great advantage of Frankfurt International Airport. When you are on your home for example and you arrive there by train you will find a Check-in Center (for Lufthansa and most major carriers) right at the AiRail terminal so you can drop off your luggage right there.

The Long-distance Rail Station at Frankfurt International Airport connects the airport terminal to the High-Speed “ICE” network. This way you do not necessarily have to spend the first night in Frankfurt: cities like Heidelberg, Cologne, Stuttgart, Koblenz and Wurzburg, gateway to the Romantic Road, can be reached within 60 to 90 minutes travel time.

A great example of a Rail tour taking advantage of the High-Speed Rail network at Frankfurt International Airport is the 7 Day Heidelberg & Bavaria – Vacation Package by Rail (7R05)  tour. The beautiful designed itinerary takes you by high-speed rail right from/to the AiRail terminal to the Romantic Road (Wurzburg and Rothenburg ob der Tauber), the Royal Castles (Linderhof Palace and Neuschwanstein Castle), Nuremberg, Munich and Heidelberg.

If you book one of our rail tours starting with a night in Frankfurt you will depart from the Regional Rail Station (below baggage claim in Terminal 1) to get to Frankfurt Central Station in just 11 minutes. A tour that starts and ends with a night in Frankfurt is the 10 Day German Fairy Tale & Berlin Rail Circle Tour (10R04) for example which takes you along the German Fairy Tale Route to the North Sea and to Berlin.

We also have Rail tours which start and end in towns and villages located not too far from Frankfurt International Airport. For those tours we include private airport transfers from and to the airport. A very nice and popular tour for example is the 9 Day German Highlights 1st class Rail & Cruise (9R03). You enjoy a scenic Rhine River Cruise, visit the Romantic Road and the Royal Castles (Neuschwanstein Castle and Linderhof Palace), Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Munich and Heidelberg. The tour from/to Frankfurt International Airport includes 1st-class Rail tickets for your entire tour. Unlike 1st-class Rail Passes like the “Eurail” or the “German Rail Pass” those tickets also entitle you to visit the 1st-class Lounges at major train stations (please find information about the cities with 1st-class Lounges below). If you are interested in details about this tour please find them here or click on the picture of the Cruise Ship of the “White Fleet” you will be cruising with.

Munich International Airport is Germany´s second largest airport. It is connected to Munich Central Station by direct commuter train (“S-Bahn”). Travel time is about 45 minutes. The 9 Day Romantic Road & Rhine River Cruise (9RC01) is a Rail Vacation Package which starts at Munich International Airport and ends at Frankfurt International Airport. It takes you to Munich and into the Alp Mountains to the Royal Castles, to Nuremberg, the Romantic Road and to Rudesheim am Rhein, from where you enjoy an all day Rhine River Cruise.

The German Rail network serves nearly every city in the country. In most cities in Germany the Central Station (“Hauptbahnhof”) is right in the City Center. Usually a wide variety of hotels are located in walking distance from the stations. Since also the major historic sights are typically located in the historic centers of the towns, sightseeing is very easy. No driving within a city during rush-hour, no parking issues and fees and a great public transportation system available in all of the towns: public buses, trams, subways, commuter trains…

The major cities are connected to the High-Speed “ICE” (InterCityExpress) network. The top speed of the new generation ICE exceeds 170 mph which means that travel time between the major cities is significantly faster than by car. Seats can be reserved on High-Speed ICE and also on “IC” trains. If you are holding a seat reservation you will find the compartment and seat number on your ticket (or on a separate reservation ticket). If you do not have a reservation you may take any seat that is not reserved. You see a little electronic display above each seat showing the reservation status.

There is no need to arrive hours in advance at a rail station. Within Germany there is no check in so you just have to be at the track in time. You take your baggage with you, in most compartments you will find baggage racks to store your luggage.

Sit back and relax and see the landscapes pass by while traveling at high-speed! Have a meal at the restaurant on board of the train or visit the bistro to chat with fellow passengers. People usually have time to talk while traveling on the train. The bistro on board of the ICE is a great place to get in touch with locals!

In larger rail stations in Germany you will find food courts and shopping arcades which are open seven days a week, usually from 6 am to 10 pm. You are allowed to bring your own food on board of the trains if you prefer to. At rail stations you will also find lockers to store your baggage in case you have time to visit a city “along the way”: for a small fee you just put your luggage into the lockers which are available in different sizes.

If you are traveling on one of our tours which include 1st-class Rail tickets or if you have upgraded your rail tickets to 1st-class (please ask us for this option) you are entitled to visit the lounges of DB German Rail at no extra cost. Please note that travelers holding a “Eurail” or a “German Rail Pass” are not entitled to visit the lounges and this is one reason why we do not use such tourist passes for our tours. You may visit the lounges at your departure station (the rail station you depart from that day), at a rail station you are connecting at (if you are not booked on a direct train) as well as at the arrival station (where your rail journey ends that day). In the lounges you find complimentary hot and cold beverages, free WiFi access, international newspapers and restrooms. There are 15 German Rail Lounges located in Berlin, Bremen, Cologne, Duesseldorf, Dresden, Essen, Frankfurt, Frankfurt Airport, Hamburg, Hanover, Leipzig, Mannheim, Munich, Nuremberg and Stuttgart. In Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt (Central Station), Hamburg and Munich you will find separate 1st-class areas which you may access with your tickets at no charge. Here you find even more comfort and service. Complimentary snacks and drinks are served here.

On some of our tours we arrange day trips by Rail. During the Black Forest Rail Circle Tour for example you will be traveling on regional trains on your way to visit Lake Titisee (please see our blog Day trip to scenic Lake Titisee and into the Black Forest) and small Black Forest Villages like Triberg.

Or take a look at the Day trip by Rail from Munich into Alp Mountains (Zugspitz) area.