Rail travel in Germany

Here are some hints for rail travel in Germany.

Timetables and Ticket Prices can be found at the Deutsche Bahn website.

Regular train tickets can be somewhat expensive, but there are several ways of getting around by train more cheaply.

Passes

... (InterRail for young people from other European countries, Eurail for travellers from outside Europe - not my speciality)

saver tickets "Sparpreis"

For train journeys including a long-distance element (ICE, IC, EC), Sparpreis tickets can offer substantial discounts on the regular fare.

• they are only bookable from 90 days to 3 days ahead of the day of travel
• you are committed to the particular train you have chosen, and cannot simply take an earlier or later one
• they can be further discounted by 25% if you hold a "BahnCard 25"

regional train offers

The following offers and prices refer to second class. First class is available with some of the offers at a higher price. They encourage especially group travel by train.

Laender-Tickets

These are valid for off-peak travel (starting at 09:00 on a weekday, or at 0:00 on a weekend or public holiday) until 03:00 the following day.

They are named after the region of validity, and allow unlimited use of regional trains, as well as transport alliance networks in most cities, within an individual German "Bundesland" (in some cases: set of Bundesländer). Currently, these tickets are offered:

• Schleswig-Holstein-Ticket including Hamburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
• Niedersachsen-Ticket includes Bremen
• ...
• Bayern-Ticket

When buying the ticket, you can choose whether it should be valid for 1 up to 5 people, with a base price around 22 Euro for the first traveller and only 4 Euro more per Person. Beware of outdated information that suggests that they have a flat price for up to 5 people, and therefore you are likely to find people with a "not fully used" ticket you can join in. The pricing structure has changed and now this is unlikely to happen, so you have to join a group for sharing before buying the ticket.

To avoid resale or passing on of the ticket, it is required that one person in the group writes their name on the ticket. Ticket inspectors will ask for ID to verify it matches.

Schönes-Wochenend-Ticket

Valid nationwide on regional trains, only on the weekend. 42 Euro for up to 5 people.

Quer-durchs-Land-Ticket

(Across-the-country ticket) Valid nationwide on regional trains, on weekdays from 09:00. Costs 44 Euro for 1 person and 6 Euro each for up to 4 additional travellers.