Travelling by train in Germany
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
Travelling by train in Germany has one big advantage: the railway network is extremely dense. Even if your destination is the remotest village, chances that it will have a railway station are pretty high. Missing a train usually is no big deal, as you will be able to catch the next one within an hour.
Of course, it also has its drawbacks, especially the following: taking the train can be outrageously expensive. Many people would do anything from hitchhiking to flying, rather than paying for a train ticket. And well they might, for, if you buy a ticket at the standard fare, even flying may be cheaper than taking the train. Luckily, there are countless ways of getting reductions on one's fare - so many ways, in fact, that one may easily lose track. So here's a list of the most popular and effective ways of saving money when travelling with the Deutsche Bahn. By way of example: the standard fare for a return ticket Cologne-Munich is 400 DM.
- BahnCard
Certainly the most popular way to cheaper travelling in Germany. The BahnCard costs 260 DM - 130 DM if you're a student, there are other reductions as well -; it is valid for one year and enables you to get 50% off the standard fares. Wherever you go, however often you want to travel. 260 DM is not exactly cheap, so it may not be the obvious choice for a tourist, but if you want to travel around a lot, you may save a considerable amount of money with the BahnCard. (The return ticket for Cologne-Munich would then be 200 DM; plus, of course, those 260 DM.)
- Sparpreis/Supersparpreis
If you buy a return ticket, and your journeys are separated by a weekend, you may want to buy a Sparpreis-Ticket; the price for this one is between 200 DM and 300 DM, depending on what kind of train you take. What's more: if you are travelling if someone else, (or two or three or four people), he/they will only pay half of it.(Colgne-Munich: 200 DM)
- Guten-Abend-Ticket
Does only work for bigger cities, but it's worth the try: when travelling between 7 pm (Saturday: 2 pm) and 3 am, the fare is between 60 DM and 84 DM (again, depending on what which trains you take an the day of the week). To be sure, trains do not run too frequently at night, and it is a little tricky to check whether you will be able to reach the destination of your choice, but an offer like Cologne-Munich: 60 DM (single) should be worth a try.
- Surf and Rail
An offer that enables you to book tickets on the Internet, and on the Internet only. This might be considered as a lame attempt to give the Deutsche Bahn an air of up-to-dateness, as one's possibilities are rather limited: there is only a restricted range of departures and destinations to choose from, you have to book at least three days in advance, you cannot book single tickets, and so on. Still, a return Cologne-Munich at 145 DM is a good point. If you want to give it a try, go to http://www.surfandrail.de
- Schönes Wochenende (Wochenendticket)
This ticket is so popular and so useful that it would deserve its own entry. Here are the basics: it costs 35 DM. It's valid one whole weekend. Up to five people can travel with it. As far as they want. As many times as they like. One small drawback: it's only valid for local trains; thus, travelling from Cologne to Munich may take some time, but people are said to have done this successfully within one weekend.
If you are not sure what ticket to buy, the best advice may be to ask the people at the ticket booths. Contrary to common clichés, they are helpful and competent. The queues may be long and the staff may not be too sure about what to do with their computers, but more often than not they will be friendly, advise you about which ticket to buy, and print out every route imagineable to your destination.
If you're looking for more information and current special offers, try http://www.bahn.de
Of course, it also has its drawbacks, especially the following: taking the train can be outrageously expensive. Many people would do anything from hitchhiking to flying, rather than paying for a train ticket. And well they might, for, if you buy a ticket at the standard fare, even flying may be cheaper than taking the train. Luckily, there are countless ways of getting reductions on one's fare - so many ways, in fact, that one may easily lose track. So here's a list of the most popular and effective ways of saving money when travelling with the Deutsche Bahn. By way of example: the standard fare for a return ticket Cologne-Munich is 400 DM.
- BahnCard
Certainly the most popular way to cheaper travelling in Germany. The BahnCard costs 260 DM - 130 DM if you're a student, there are other reductions as well -; it is valid for one year and enables you to get 50% off the standard fares. Wherever you go, however often you want to travel. 260 DM is not exactly cheap, so it may not be the obvious choice for a tourist, but if you want to travel around a lot, you may save a considerable amount of money with the BahnCard. (The return ticket for Cologne-Munich would then be 200 DM; plus, of course, those 260 DM.)
- Sparpreis/Supersparpreis
If you buy a return ticket, and your journeys are separated by a weekend, you may want to buy a Sparpreis-Ticket; the price for this one is between 200 DM and 300 DM, depending on what kind of train you take. What's more: if you are travelling if someone else, (or two or three or four people), he/they will only pay half of it.(Colgne-Munich: 200 DM)
- Guten-Abend-Ticket
Does only work for bigger cities, but it's worth the try: when travelling between 7 pm (Saturday: 2 pm) and 3 am, the fare is between 60 DM and 84 DM (again, depending on what which trains you take an the day of the week). To be sure, trains do not run too frequently at night, and it is a little tricky to check whether you will be able to reach the destination of your choice, but an offer like Cologne-Munich: 60 DM (single) should be worth a try.
- Surf and Rail
An offer that enables you to book tickets on the Internet, and on the Internet only. This might be considered as a lame attempt to give the Deutsche Bahn an air of up-to-dateness, as one's possibilities are rather limited: there is only a restricted range of departures and destinations to choose from, you have to book at least three days in advance, you cannot book single tickets, and so on. Still, a return Cologne-Munich at 145 DM is a good point. If you want to give it a try, go to http://www.surfandrail.de
- Schönes Wochenende (Wochenendticket)
This ticket is so popular and so useful that it would deserve its own entry. Here are the basics: it costs 35 DM. It's valid one whole weekend. Up to five people can travel with it. As far as they want. As many times as they like. One small drawback: it's only valid for local trains; thus, travelling from Cologne to Munich may take some time, but people are said to have done this successfully within one weekend.
If you are not sure what ticket to buy, the best advice may be to ask the people at the ticket booths. Contrary to common clichés, they are helpful and competent. The queues may be long and the staff may not be too sure about what to do with their computers, but more often than not they will be friendly, advise you about which ticket to buy, and print out every route imagineable to your destination.
If you're looking for more information and current special offers, try http://www.bahn.de
