I’m off to Luxembourg today! The plan is to travel by train to Luxembourg, spend five or six hours there, then travel back to Frankfurt, perhaps stopping in Trier, Germany if time permits. I’m taking along my brother and three colleagues from work and we’ll be using German regional rail lines to get there.
Cost for the five round-trip tickets? €41.
Deutsche Bahn, the national railroad operator in Germany, offers a Schönes-Wochenende or Happy Weekend ticket. The ticket is valid for up to five persons traveling together and for parents traveling with their children aged 14 or younger. The ticket is only valid on either Saturdays or Sundays (one day only) between midnight and 3 a.m. of the following day.
High speed ICE trains are excluded from the pass, but just about every local and regional train is available for your disposal. Not only can you travel anywhere in Germany, but you can even get a few stations into Switzerland (Basel), Austria (Salzburg), Denmark, Poland, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, France, and Luxembourg as well.
Even if I was traveling alone, this ticket would still be cheaper than paying the going standard for the train ticket.
Next time you have some time in Germany on a Saturday or Sunday, don’t forget that you can get around the country for very little out of pocket with a Schönes-Wochenende pass. Just factor in enough time and take a good book–train travel is not for the impatient…
Hi Matthew,
I’ve lived in LUX for four years, and wasn’t aware of a train between here and Frankfurt. Could you provide the details?
Thanks!
J. Michael
@J Michael: Sadly, it was not as simple as hopping on ICE. It was a five hour journey from Frankfurt that required three connections.
Frankfurt HBF – Mainz HBF on S8
Mainz HBF – Koblenz HBF on MRB25318
Koblenz HBF – Trier HBF on RE12010
Trier HBF – Luxembourg Gare on RE5218.
The return was similar.
That’s what I thought. Thanks for your response!
J. Michael