Taking a trip to Germany?

Question

I am going to Germany next month ( Lord willing) and i wanted to know, if i want to get somewhere how do i pay for it? I need a cab from the frankfurt to Vilseck and i wouldnt know how to pay for it. I know it sounds stupid but is there a way i can trade my american dollars for euros to make it easier for me or should i just charge it on my card?

Oh and i also wanted to know how far is it from frankfurt to vilseck

or will it be better if i came in through munich and then from there to vilseck

if i take the train from frankfurt, where do will it show vilseck or somewhere close to it?

Answer 1

Take a debit card, ask your bank to get you one that will not cost you to get money out of the ATM, or token money only.
A credit card can get you money out of the ATM as well, but often at a higher fee, up to $10 per time you use it.

I did a train ticket search too, Frankfurt to Vilseck is 3 hours, Munich to Vilseck is still 2 hours.
So that is not that much of a difference.
But as the train information site has a lot of stops for what is a little known place, there might be more places with the same name, and I may have taken the wrong one.
So enter the information you have in this site:
http://www.bahn.de/p/view/international/englisch/international_guests.shtml
and see for yourself.
Train ticket offices almost always take creditcards.

In the station ask uniformed staff, (or ticket window staff,) for which platform and what will be mentioned on the signs on the platform.
Once in the train you can ask other passengers to help you to get off at the right stop.

You may need take a train or bus into town first, or sometimes a taxi is a good option, so you will want to have some Euros before you start traveling. In all airports there are ATMs but you may not want to risk one not working or you being too tired after a long flight to work it.
Many taxis will take credit cards, but sometimes at a ridiculous surcharge, so better pay cash.

Do you know people in Vilseck? If so, ask for travel tips, often the locals know about direct buses or trains to the airport, what distance to expect and even which airport to go to.
Even a hotel owner will be happy to help you with this information.
Or contact the tourist information office, google on the name of the town and tourist information, that will get you all kinds of information.
I got three offices near it.
Once you have an address or phone number, do not hessitate to contact in English, as all people working in information offices in Germany speak enough English to help you, or to ask you to talk with their co-workers.

Answer 2

Hello i´m from Germany,

but from a different corner i´m affraid.

Question one: You can exchange your dollars in every bank to euros here in Germany. Just bills, no coins. But maybe the exchange rates in U.S. are better then over here.

Second question: A Trip from Frankfurt to Vilseck by Train takes about 3 or 4 hours. You´ve got to change the train one or two times.

There is a website in english by german railways:

http://www.bahn.de/p/view/international/englisch/international_guests.shtml

There is a trainstation at Frankfurt International Airport. I think there should be an travelerspoint too. They should be able to help you, because most of them can speak english, i thinkt.

Third Question: I don´t think there are much differences in travelling distances, if you travel from Frankfurt or Munich. I think there are more flights to Frankfurt and there is a better chance that you can get a cheap flight.

Answer 3

Dont take a cab if you dont have to. They tend to try and over charge Americans because they think we dont know any better, wont notice, or wont do anything about it. If you do have to take a cab and it happens, just give the cabbie what you think is fair, and get out of there. They dont know your name and address, so they cant find you. Hey, whats fair is fair!!

I would suggest taking a train as much as possible. It is less dangerous, less expensive, and faster.

I would also suggest paying with your credit card as much as possible, or getting Euro from an ATM as much as possible. Dont mess around with having a person exchange your dollars for Euro. You wind up paying to many fees.

Feel free to contact me with more questions!! Best of luck!!

Answer 4

Change some dollars into euro's for walking around money - taxis in Europe don't take charge cards (we call them credit cards) but you can get cash just about anywhere from the ATM machines. Taxi's have meters installed which shows you the exact cost of your trip so no need to worry about speaking German!

Your trip is just short of 300 Km. Will take about three hours. I wouldn't use a taxi for that - will be terribly expensive. Try looking at train timetables.

Answer 5

Yes there is a way... the best option is using ATM machine for your transactions. This way you get the real rate.. not the horrible money exchange rates...

I talk in great detail about this on my blog along with other european travel tips...

You can check it out by going to http://www.scottstravelblog.com