Zittau Transportation Tips by german_eagle

Train

Zittau has pretty good train connections. Trains run frequently from/to Dresden, (Cottbus-) Görlitz and the Czech city Liberec. If you can, take a Regional Express (RE) which is much faster than the Regionalbahn (RB) - and doesn't stop at every tiny village.

The Sachsen Ticket is good for this train trip from Dresden. Coming from Görlitz you would buy a ticket of the regional transportation network ZVON. The ZVON day ticket for a single traveller is 10 Euro, for a group of up to five people travelling together it is 20 Euro. Please note that for the same price you can also buy the EURO-Neisse-Ticket which is valid in the neighbouring regions of Poland and the Czech Republic (e.g. beyond Liberec into the Jizera mountains). And of course any ZVON ticket is valid on the buses, too, so if you want to do a short excursion into the Zittau mountains your best option is indeed a day ticket.

Mode: TO

Other Contact: www.zvon.de

Type: Train

Website: http://www.bahn.de

Narrow-Gauge Steam Railway

One of the nicest way to do the side trip to the mountains south of Zittau is to ride the narrow-gauge steam railway, which operates since 1890. This steam train starts right next to the main train station Zittau where the trains from/to Dresden, Görlitz and Liberec arrive/depart.

The steam train runs in a half circle around the eastern part of Zittau, close to the German border, to Bertsdorf where the railroad splits - one goes to Kurort Oybin and the other to Kurort Jonsdorf. This allows you to take the steam train to one of them, e.g. Jonsdorf, explore the village and hike the two hours to Oybin, see the sights there and take the steam train back to Zittau from there.

Some trains have bistro cars where they offer simple food/beverages, some have open-air cars which are fun to ride.

The steam train company acknowledges the day- and weekly tickets of the regional transportation network ZVON but you have to pay a steam supplement. For example, you can ride the steam train with a ZVON day ticket (10 Euro) but have to pay a 4 Euro supplement (valid all day). For shorter train rides you need to buy individual single tickets from the steam train company (available on the train or in their small station).

Mode: AROUND

Other Contact: www.zvon.de

Type: Train

Website: http://www.soeg-zittau.de