jaas

Can someone offer any suggestions to get from Zurich to Frankfurt in early July? I priced a train ticket on Rail Europe and they wanted $150. That seems a bit steep for a train ticket. Are there better places to get a train ticket than Raileurope.com? Should I get one before I get there, or is it fairly simple to get the day ( + or - 1 day) I want? Will it be any cheaper once I'm there? What about a low cost, no frill European Air carrier?
Thanks for the help,
Jaas

McKaye

Trains start at 66,00 EUR. Try booking via Deutsche Bahn. I tried July 5th and it gave me 66 to 80 EUR depending on trains. OneWay, of course

LH is about 160, Swiss about 200 (both RT)

Welcome to FRA!

Aviatrix

I just checked www.bahn.de for you and they are quoting between 66 and 80 Euro depending on the type of train you are taking - which is considerably less than the price you were quoted. You can book online, or you can buy the ticket when you get there - I don't believe it makes any difference price-wise as those fares were regular fares, not "Internet specials".

You can buy tickets until five minutes before departure, and reserve seats until a few hours before departure - though as this is peak travel season I would recommend you either book online or buy your ticket (and, more importantly, reserve your seat) as soon as you get to Switzerland.

stut

If you look on www.sbb.ch, there are discounted 'click and rail Deutschland' fares to Frankfurt from CHF45, too.

jaas

Thanks for the help, everyone. My flight departs from Frankfurt, so I have to get there, from Zurich, by at least the day I'm leaving. I guess I will buy the train ticket before I leave the States, just to be certain I can leave Zurich on the date I need.
Are all of the trains about the same, or are there certain ones I should avoid?
Thanks again,
Jaas

Odysseus

jaas,

there are about 10 trains a day from zurich to frankfurt, airport to airport. I have done it literally dozens of times, I have never had a problem getting on a train, I might have a problem getting a seat in first, but that itn't so big an issue. I woulnd't be worried about getting a train ticket there.

good luck

Aviatrix

Tickets are valid on any train, and you don't need a reservation - you just buy your ticket, get on the train and find a seat. Some seats will be reserved, others won't be (they never, as a matter of policy, reserve every seat on a train - so there will always be seats for walk-on passengers).

On a busy day you may have to change seats a few times - you may get on the train in Zurich and find a seat with a "Reserved from Stuttgart" tag on it, so you sit there until Stuttgart and then find a new seat as the train pulls into Stuttgart and Stuttgart-bound passengers start heading for the doors. On a very very busy day you may have to stand for part of the way - but they'll still let you on the train. So, as the previous poster said, I wouldn't worry about buying a ticket in the USA - as I mentioned before, you can just walk up to the counter immediately before departure, buy a ticket and get straight on the train.