Savings fares (Sparpreise), discount tickets (Schönes Wochenende, Happy Weekend, Länder), and internet specials allow for cheap rail travel on Deutsche Bahn in Germany.
Germany’s extensive and reliable railway network makes public transportation often the best choice for the foreign traveler. However, at first glance train tickets may seem very expensive. Standard fares (Normalpreise) allow for full flexibility but are generally not cheap. Fortunately, a wealth of discount fares and tickets is available for travelers willing to travel slower and / or less flexible.
German train tickets bought on the internet or ticket machines are generally €2 cheaper than the same ticket bought from a ticket counter.
Tickets bought on trains require a 10% surcharge and no discounted fares are available.
Boarding an S-Bahn, or local train where tickets are not sold onboard, incurs a €40 fine per person.
Internet-Only Cheap Train Tickets in Germany
Deutsche Bahn’s website should be the first stop for all travelers to Germany planning on using trains. Many internet-only fares are available – the specific offers change frequently. Although tickets can be bought in English, the finer details and intricacies of regional tickets are only explained in German.
Savings Train Fares (Sparpreise) in Germany
Special savings train fares (Sparpreise) are available only on return trips. Savings of 25 and 50 percent are available on trips booked at least three days in advance. Travelers must use the specific trains booked or face a hefty surcharge.
Sparpreise are available on long-distance trains – in fact, for discounts to apply at least part of the journey must be on Inter-City (IC), Euro-City (EC), or Inter-City-Express (ICE) trains.
Länder-Tickets (State Tickets)
Länder-Tickets (State-Tickets) offer excellent deals for travelers doing sightseeing in a limited geographical region. Länder-Tickets are generally available only for travel in a specific federal state, although for smaller states up to three are combined in the same ticket.
Länder-Tickets are generally group tickets and valid for up to five passengers traveling together. Single tickets are available in a few states but the saving over the group ticket is very small.
The catch with Länder-Tickets is that only regional and local trains may be used. This present little problems when sightseeing as long-distance trains do not stop at many smaller stations in any case.
Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket (Happy Weekend Ticket)
The Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket has mostly the same conditions as the Länder-Ticket with the noticeable exceptions that it is only available on weekends but allows travel countrywide.
For longer-distance travel, the Schönes-Wochenende and Länder-Tickets can be cost effective too but only for travelers with time on hand.
ICE vs. Local Trains – Time is Money
It is worth comparing prices as a little bit of research can go a long distance towards saving on train fares when traveling in Germany. For example, a standard second-class, one-way fare from Hamburg to Munich on an Inter-City-Express (ICE) train taking 5h30 is €122. With advance bookings, using easily available internet savings, and committing to taking a specific train, the same ICE train journey need only cost €29!
Traveling on a weekend and using only local trains, a group of five can use the Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket for €35 total. However, in this case the journey from Hamburg to Munich will require six transfers and last a few minutes shy of twelve hours.
In addition to these saving fares, Deutsche Bahn has further railway cards and rail passes that offer further savings options to train passengers.
The copyright of the article Top Cheap Train Tickets in Germany in Germany Travel is owned by Henk Bekker. Permission to republish Top Cheap Train Tickets in Germany in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
I was going to tour Germany this summer but after seeing the extremely high
cost of train tickets I think I will go else where.
John
Mar 29, 2009 4:13 AM
Guest :
I have a question. Flying into Dusseldorf from Miami, and will take
the train to Arnhem (Holland)by train. Do I need to purchase my train
ticket ahead? What if my flight is late? Will I be penalized for
taking a train I wasn't booked on? Tks.
Mar 29, 2009 8:08 AM
Henk Bekker :
Discounted German train tickets are for the specified train only. Missing
the train due to a delayed arrival by air means penalties - usually €15
service fee plus price difference or sometimes a complete new ticket. If
you buy a full price (Normalpreis) ticket, you can take any train on the
specified day without penalty.
For trains from Düsseldorf
Airport to Arnhem (RE to Duisburg and then ICE to Arnhem) the
Europa-Spezial Niederlande rules specify for savings tickets that if you
miss your train, you may take a following train on the same day as your
original ticket (and on the same routing) but pay the difference on the
train between the savings price you have paid and the full onboard fare
(normal price plus about 10%) plus an administration fee of €15. Note this
must be done on the train itself and not at the station.
If you
haven’t bought your plane ticket yet, you may qualify for Rail&Fly
tickets, which are sold by airlines together with the plane ticket in one
transaction (an option usually not available online or through general
reservation services). Rail&Fly allow passengers to take a train
without penalties if flights are delayed.
If you do not buy your
rail ticket in advance, buy it on arrival from a ticket machine (English
available) or at the station (around €2 more than the ticket machine).
Tickets bought on the train have a surcharge of about 10%.
Jul 5, 2009 8:10 AM
Guest :
Is there a senior rail fare from Frankfurt to Berlin and if so can I buy it
at the station. I'm 66yrs.
Jul 5, 2009 8:25 AM
Henk Bekker :
German Railways have no special fares for seniors but over-55-year olds may
buy the BahnCard50 for almost 50% discount. It could pay for itself very
fast but will require more than just Frankfurt-Berlin return.
Sep 8, 2009 4:43 AM
Guest :
Thanks for the good advice. My two questions are around the merit of
purchasing structured products vs ad hoc discounts: do you think it
is worth getting a BahnCard25 or is it better to rely on discounted
tickets? and I'm wanting to travel from Frankfurt to Paris and back
over five days, would a two country ticket for five days be better than
relying on a discounted ticket?
Sep 8, 2009 5:26 AM
Henk Bekker :
Although the BahnCard25 will give you further discounts on discounted
tickets, a return journey from Frankfurt to Paris alone probably won't
cover the cost of the BahnCard.
The best bet is too book as far
ahead as possible to get special deals - Deutsche Bahn reservations are
usually possible 90 days in advance. Frankfurt-Paris return is available
for adults from €68 upwards.