Is it cheaper to book german trains in advance

If you book early, you can buy the very cheap sparpreis tickets from deutsche bahn, the german railways. You can cancel the saver fare ticket for a fee before the first day of validity. Deutsche bahn are offering their super saver tickets and you can book them 3 months in advance. How early before departure can i reserve train tickets in germany. And booking a week in advance is almost always cheaper than booking on travel day. If your train requires you to book a reservation, you can do so the day of or. Regional trains cost the same, no matter of the the ticket is bought in advance or not. Please add young children here if you want to reserve separate seats for them. How to buy train tickets for journeys in and to from germany. A detailed guide to german train travel deals, issues, etc.

If you are quick to book, you will easily be able to find cheap thalys tickets. For more details on booking horizons, please see how far in advance can i book. An essential guide to taking trains in germany departful. Dont be surprised to find different prices for different trains on the same route throughout the same day. I hope my transportation guide will now give a good idea of how to travel in germany and where to book tickets in advance. Top cheap savings train tickets for german railways travel. But before you can go and hop on any train, you need to know the ins and outs of using the deutsche bahn, germanys most powerful train service. Advance tickets can be an especially smart buy for popular highspeed trains such as frances tgv trains and italys le frecce trains, which frequently sell out. If you are choosing long distance trains or highspeed trains, it is important to book in advance.

How early before departure can i reserve train tickets in. At its best, it is comfortable and leisurely, and with a little planning, it can be very inexpensive. Train travel in germany when it comes to train travel in germany, weve got you covered with our deutsche bahn train tickets. Book train tickets and plan your rail trip from briouze to angermund.

There are saving fares for long distance trains, but you will have to book for a specfic connections, thus youll be less flexible. How to buy cheap european train tickets read this advice first. Outside of those times, or once all the discount tickets are sold, tickets are sold at normalpreis standard fare. Booking ahead means you can access the cheaper sparpreis fares, but it should be noted that they are only valid on the. Travel from denmark to germany from 29 or from sweden to germany from 39 the danish capital copenhagen is connected with hamburg with 3 to 5 daily ice and eurocity trains. How far in advance to pre book a train germany forum. You can book your train in germany online through deutsche bahn or through the. Your complete guide to using the deutsche bahn in germany. You can step on a train right from the center of town in the hauptbahnhof central train station and cruise to anywhere in germany and beyond at speeds up to 300kmh 186mhour. Cheap ways to travel around germany transportation guides. European passes that eurail does not as well as sw.

For fabulous discounts on fast trains, tickets can be purchased up to six months in advance. There are saving fares for long distance trains, but you will have to book for a. Just remember, they are always nonrefundable and not exchangeable. Jun 17, 2009 the bd rail system will let you print out tickets only routes to and from neighboring countries to germany otherwise they will have to mail you the tickets. If youre looking for the cheapest possible ticket between a and b especially if a and b are in the same country this is the way to go. The only surefire method of saving money on german trains is to. In many high volume trains, the ticket price on the departure date is four time the price of the ticket that is purchased two or one month in advance. As an added bonus, its very easy to book german train tickets online no. If you book only one or two days in advance you can count on spending multiple of the price for a long distance bus ticket.

You can mix and match advance fares for a return journey. First class seats also have many other utilities such as newspapers, sockets, lcd screens, to take these express trains you need to book in advance if you want to buy cheap tickets trains with ic, ec, ice signs. Tickets are limited so be an early bird and get the cheapest tickets. Travel by ice international, one of the finest high speed trains in the world. Advance tickets are usually the cheapest way to travel by train, and generally go on sale 12 weeks before your date of travel. This is perhaps the most obvious one but for shorter train tickets in the uk e. Regional express trains re are the most economical way to travel. If you book in advance, youll have the chance to buy a cheap special offer if still available. You can buy cheaper advancepurchase fares if you book ahead and commit to a specific train with limited or no refunds or changes to travel plans. The regio trains in bavaria are an exception, so if you will be taking a regio train from munchenmunich, try to book it in advance online. The reichstag building home to germanys parliament is 15 minutes. Okay, this one might be obvious, but did you know that you can book train.

Trains in germany buy germany train tickets online trainline. Probably the best advice i can offer is to book in advance if possible, it can save you tons of money. Jun 08, 2015 if you think youre going to be on the train on 5 or more separate days, you might consider a raileurope pass or a german rail pass. Train travel in germany, a beginners guide online tickets from 19. The hq is based in frankfurt and the company is noted at the stock market.

If you are planning on travelling through germany you should definitely make sure to check out the top 10 tourist attractions in germany. This is my first quora post i have been living and working in germany since 2012. Bahncard, cheap train tickets, db, deutsche bahn, german rail pass, german railways, happy weekend tickets, ice. Book your travel at least 714 days in advance aboard many routes across the country and save 20% on a regular adult fare. Cheap train tickets in germany are only available to those who know their travel plans well in advance. Nov 19, 2016 one of the greatest things about living in europe is the ease at which one can travel nearly the entire continents without a car. As well as spar saver and flexi fares, deutsche bahn offers a. With these cheap offers you are tied to the trains printed on your. Germanys national train company is the largest in europe. Book your german train tickets in advance if youre travelling on longdistance trains ic, ice and ec and want to snap up the cheapest fares before they sell out. Cheap tickets usually open for sale about 90 days before the departure date, you should pay attention to find tickets early. I am an avid traveler and like to get the best price to comfort ratio. Marcopolko is correct that buying a regular pointtopoint ticket in advance for regional trains is pointless.

So keep reading because in this germany train guide well cover everything you need to know about traveling germany by train from navigating the system to buying train tickets for the cheapest price. How to find cheap train tickets trainline help faq. You have to travel on the train youre booked on, but you get a much cheaper price by foregoing flexible travel times. They are strictly nonrefundable and not exchangeable. To book a seat, you must reserve at least a few hours in advance, and you can book at the time of purchasing your ticket or even after youve already one. Eurocity trains tofrom bolzano, verona, bologna, or venice but german rail pass does not cover the full cost on night trains or routes via villach. Its best to book well in advance to secure the cheapest fares.

The classical approach of heading for a station and asking for your ticket at the service center or by booking it online. Ive written about how 5 and 10day raileurope passes in germany have saved me money. The super cheap tickets are train specific bookings, and subject to availability. A detailed guide to german train travel deals, issues. You must book in advance and fares are sold in limited numbers and so subject to availability. How to buy cheap european train tickets read this advice. What you need to know about riding the german train system. Regional trains can be used in connection with cheap regional day passes and will be much cheaper this way if traveling long distances. Briouze to angermund by train cheap rail tickets onlytrain.

Train travel in germany, a beginners guide online tickets. Though you will of course have to mark a date in your calendar so you can secure these tickets early. The german rail pass is available for both first and second class travel as well as youth options and for consecutive days or flexible. Deutsche bahn is the largest rail company in europe, transporting approximately 2 billion passengers annually. Yes, for longer distance trains if you want to save money with cheap advancepurchase fares cheap sparpreis saver advancepurchase fares are offered if you book in advance, this which varies from 19. Advance in the uk, sparpreis in germany, sparschiene in austria, first minute in the czech republic. But that doesnt mean you cant save a lot of money with regional trains.

Compare routes and prices of all train tickets to your destination and find the one that suits. According to this resource in german you can book max. Even if you do not get a bahncard, its not brain surgery to save money on german trains. Cheap advance train tickets advance tickets info trainline. May 28, 2016 all discount fares on german trains come with restrictions but these are often of little consequence to leisure travelers who are able to commit to specific trains in advance.

How to travel germany by train guide to backpacking through. Here we cover how to ride a german train and how to find cheap train tickets. Booking up to a week or two in advance can save you quite a bit of money on your train tickets. Advance train tickets may also be available for first class travel, meaning you can enjoy all the perks of a higher standard of train travel at a good price. Remember, even though ice trains are generally more expensive than regional and intercity trains, you may be able to find good deals with us by booking tickets well in advance. Not all train services will let you reserve a seat, but youll stand a better chance of getting one when booking in advance.

For those who do plan ahead, deutsche bahn offers spar preis saver tickets that open up in availability approximately three months prior to your travel date. We always recommend booking as far in advance as possible to get the cheapest german train tickets. A saving fare for a long distance train can be cheaper. Train tickets in germany are available 6 months before departure. In general, the further ahead you book, the cheaper the advance fare will be. Germany rail passes and train tips from rick steves. Frequent and comfortable trains run to the main german cities. How to book cheap sparpreis tickets to and in germany. Advance fares are single oneway tickets offering great value for money on many longer distance journeys. Groups can range from 6 to 30 people in size and tickets are available up to 12 months in advance. Train companies and train types in germany information about german rail providers. Ic ec trains are the slightly cheaper fast train connections between major city centres. Or saver fare tickets start at 19 eur for under 250 km, or 29 eur for longer journeys second class they are cheaper the earlier you book, and are generally available up until about 37 days before your departure date. Trains in germany are usually punctual and one of the best ways to travel the country.

You can buy most european train tickets online from anywhere, so it all comes down to how early you are able to commit to a nonrefundable ticket in order to save money. German railway tickets can usually be booked online 91 days in advance, see this page under terms and conditions for flexible tickets. You dont need to buy a ticket ahead of time, you can simply show up on the train. Take a road trip without all the headaches and hassles of the road. Cheap train tickets, rail times and fares cheaptraintickets. Thus, this was an easy guide for cheap ways to travel around in germany and understand the basic names of the trains in germany along with their public transportation system. Ice trains are the fastest trains, but also the most expensive to travel with. For this reason they do sell out incredibly fast so you have to book really, really well in advance.

If you buy one of these cheap fares you can only travel on that specific train, limited refunds and no changes to travel plans. If youre looking for cheap, international trains to germany, the sparpreis family of. The best way to get cheap train tickets is to book well in advance and use rail network cards. Trains in germany buy germany train tickets online. Prices depend on several factors, demand and train type are two of them. The closer to your departure date, the higher the price.

Book at least 3 days in advance will get you cheaper rates, select 2nd class for cheaper fares, user slower trains for even cheaper fares as follows. The earlier you book the more likely you are to get one of the cheaper tickets. The most convenient way is to book your trip online and well in advance. The train fares are very dynamic and they change every moment depending on availability, routes, time of travel peak or off peak, week days and many others. Sparpreis and super sparpreis tickets can start from 19. The train page can be accessed in english as well and is easy to use. With the german rail pass, you can travel on all trains on the german railway including the intercity express also known as ice for 5 to 15 days within the period of one month. Cheap train tickets germany buy tickets online happyrail. The super cheap french train tickets are called prems and are extremely popular. Germany train guide how to travel germany by train guide.

Off peak train tickets are cheaper split your train tickets. Germany train guide how to travel germany by train. National rail enquiries advance tickets latest purchase time. I am an avid traveler and like to get the best pricetocomfort ratio. Tickets are sold at sparpreise discount prices from 3 months to 3 days prior to the travel date. A saving fare for a long distance train can be cheaper in this case. You can reduce this price to 89 or even 69 if you book a week or more in advance. Find and book all trains in germany cheap train tickets deutsche bahn sparpreis discounts train travel in germany timetable train times and all prices. Feb 17, 2017 seat reservations are available on all ice and ic trains, though they arent required. You can buy cheaper advance purchase fares if you book ahead and commit to a specific train with limited or no refunds or changes to travel plans.

These advance purchase tickets go by various names. Eurorail pass german rail pass save on train travel in. And saving 20% when you book early is an even better one. Guide to rail transport in germany germany train guide. Most german trains open for booking 180 days in advance and this is when youll find the cheapest tickets. They are fairly convenient and connect major cities in germany on a frequent schedule. German train tickets can be purchased about six months in advance. Split ticketing, where the journey is broken down into smaller sections could save you a small fortune on the cost of train. You will be hard pressed to find another train in germany which offers high speed trains throughout the entire country as.

These types of ticket are determined on flexibility and demand of travel, so it is important that you book well in advance to get cheap train tickets. Advance purchase fares can be significantly cheaper, and i do mean huge, like as little as about 20 euros when a regular one dayof could be many, many times that. Trains germany to switzerland cheap train tickets happyrail. The savings are significant on longdistance trains with distances in excess of about 250 kilometres.