Buying a German Rail Pass

I've bought both ways, the last two times at the Frankfurt airport. I usually book flights about a couple of weeks prior to departure, so by buying in Germany I don't have to worry about delivery times or delays.

The last time I had to return sooner than expected & was able to get a near full refund (about a 20 euro penalty)) at the airport. (There was a lot of uncertainty at the office, the agent had to ask what to do. It seems they just made up some policy on the spot, so YMMV.) In that situation it would have been better to wait, buy not but at the airport, but just before I needed it at the HBF.

The disadvantage to buying in Germany is that the web site sometimes has specials during low season that aren't available at the German ticket office. Last year I think they had 20% off 5 & 10 day flexipasses. I asked about the specials in Germany & the agent said those specials weren't available at their office.

Thanks!
I should clarify that with either site I listed, the pass can be mailed to me. I'm going in March, so my preference is to receive it beforehand.
Also, I'm flying into Brussels, so it is easier to get the pass by mail and take it with me.

Before you commit to a rail pass, thoroughly explore your options. There are lots of ways to save money on German Rail tickets, from Savings-Fare tickets for long distance trains to regional (Länder) passes for local trains. In 2000, ten trips ago, I bought a German Rail pass and, in retrospect, only broke even on the trains I used. Since then, before every trip, I've compared the cost of a rail pass with discount tickets and regional passes, and a rail pass has never been a viable option.

Thanks. Yes, I've done the math and believe I will do MUCH better with the pass. I really don't want to pre-purchase the saver fares. I can't plan every train trip down to the exact time--that would add a lot of stress to my vacation and I would not be able to spontaneously explore along the way. After all, it is a vacation. :)

My question is really about the best means by which to purchase the German Rail Pass Though I appreciate your point of view.!

beth,

You can also purchase Rail Passes from this website.....

https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/germany-rail-passes

I agree with Lee that a Rail Pass may not be the best option, so you might have to do some more number crunching. If you decide to use advance purchase tickets rather than a Pass, you can also purchase these at the same cost as offered by the rail networks by using the www.captaintrain.com website.

Hi, Beth.

Since you're flying into Brussels, are you aware that the GRP covers the IC bus route into Germany?
http://www.bahn.com/i/view/mdb/bahnintern/international/ic_bus/ic_bus_13.12.15/mdb_207914_flyer_ic_bus_duessel_bruessel_en.pdf

"I've done the math and believe I will do MUCH better with the pass."

Very possibly. But of the itineraries I've reviewed for fellow travelers, that's rarely the case. The Raileurope and Rick Steves cost estimates that most travelers use to do the math do not offer complete information; the same is true if you use the DB site, which doesn't address local train ticket costs within transit authority areas. Often, travelers buy railpass days for local train trips that cost only a few dollars even just walking up to the window. And of course, a rail pass isn't partially refundable if you don't use some of the days.

"I can't plan every train trip down to the exact time--that would add a lot of stress to my vacation..."

The good news is that most trips don't require pinning down every trip - normally, pre-scheduling just one or two long trips is enough to access saver fares - and the other journeys can often be covered by regional day passes or other means (which offer near-complete flexibility.) These day passes allow nearly unlimited travel and often include inner-city transport after you reach your destination (which is not included with rail passes.)

If you want to copy and paste your itinerary here, I'll give it a look. Lee will probably chime in too. It's free advice but you get a lot more than you pay for.

Thanks again. I think everyone is genuinely trying to help, but I am absolutely sure that I don't want to purchase any saver fares that leave at pre-determined times. I've thought about this a lot, and there are no days in which I don't want the flexibility to choose my timing on the fly.

This is a luxury. It is one I have chosen. I'm saving money in other ways.

• My air tickets are through award miles. Due to this, and to work demands, my trip is much shorter than I otherwise would have planned, and it in the off-season. I originally scheduled it for September, and it would have been over 2 weeks rather than 12 days.

• I'm staying at $50 airbnb's every night, not in hotels. Actually, this is my preferred accommodation, particularly when traveling solo, but I pay 25% or 50% of what a hotel would cost.

• I generally eat 2 rather than 3 meals a day when traveling, and don't go to fancy restaurants.

• I pack super-light, so I can walk places when possible rather than taxi.

But anyway, here is my itinerary for the five travel days I'll use the pass for. I have compared the cost of the German Rail Pass to regular price tickets (not saver fares), and it comes out ahead.

1. Bruges > Dresden via Köln and Leipzig. I may get out at one of those two cities, probably Köln, for a quick hour of sightseeing, if I was able to leave early enough. The German Rail Pass includes the Brussels leg, though I'll pay separately for the nominal fare of Bruges to Brussels.

2. Day of sightseeing at Görlick from my Dresden base.

3. Dresden > Berlin, with a possible stop at Leipzig. The relative time spent at each place depends on whether or not I have more I want to see at Dresden, and the negotiated time of my check-in at the place in Berlin.

4. Berlin > Frankfurt - and here again, I will spend more time in Berlin if there is a site I still want to see, or if not, leave early for Frankfurt so that I have a half-day to walk around there. I fly home the next morning; I'm staying at a place 10 minutes from the airport.

5. The 5th day (which will chronologically occur between #3-4 or #4-5 above) will be used for an extra side trip from Dresden or a side trip from Berlin.

The itinerary is not changeable. The accommodation has been booked for every night.

Thanks

Good to get a better picture of your trip. "Görlick" = Görlitz??

"I think everyone is genuinely trying to help, but I am absolutely sure that I don't want to purchase any saver fares..."

(The help was offered based on "I can't plan every train trip down to the exact time." If your saver fare ceiling is zero, that's very different.)

With your destinations there is no way a combo of saver fares and regional train tickets would outshine the rail pass option, even financially. The convenience of the pass for the travel choices you've made is quite clear. Your trip involves unusually long journeys that preclude cheaper regional options (which would also usurp way too much time.) Journey 1 and Journey 4 alone are unlikely to yield a combined saver fare price of around €170 - €180 minimum or so in March. The additional you'll pay for the other rail pass days on a rail pass is peanuts.

Bruges to Dresden using the IC bus is around 10 hours or so without a stopover, I believe. That IC bus between Brussels and D'dorf may or may not make for convenient connections and may increase travel time over a trains-only option. I imagine you'll check those details carefully. If the trains-only option works significantly better you can still use the German rail pass from the Belgian border to Dresden and pay for Bruges-German border.

But yes, your itinerary is one of those where a rail pass is really the only sensible way - it's not a luxury expenditure that you're offsetting in other ways at all - IMO, in fact, it's quite the bargain and a good choice.

I have ordered railpasses from DB myself previously without incident, only a one-time delivery delay of 1-2 days.

Thanks again!
The people on this site really have a wealth of knowledge.
Yes, Görlitz. Yeesh, a good reminder not to write posts before the coffee has reached my brain cells.

If you don't want to use our link (provided by Ken) then I would use the people who already answered your questions. I don't recommend buying a pass online directly from DB because they send it by untraceable regular mail, without insurance, and delays are common. DB's site has also had some issues with how to enter details for more than one traveler. It's hard to do a perfect estimate of the euro-dollar exchange rate, since it partly depends on your bank's policies, but you will never get the bank rate that people often notice first. I think the flexibility of a German Rail Pass is well worth the price.

According to the German Rail website, for Brussels to Köln, the German Rail pass is only valid for the ICE, not for Thalys or regional trains (although it would be valid on the regional trains on the last leg, from Aachen to Köln. But Brussels to Köln by regional trains takes over three hours.

The only ICE connection from Brussels to Köln after 6:30 am leaves Brussels at 10:25, which means a 9:08 departure from Brugge.

So much for flexibility.

Thanks, @Laura, that's useful to know. I'm leaning towards getting the pass from the German Rail Pass site, which isn't quite Deutsche Bahn; they're a sales agent. They do offer tracking of shipments; while, as you say, buying from Deutsche Bahn directly doesn't offer that option. And they price the passes in US dollars.

@Lee, I've only been looking at the ICE trains for that leg, since I figured the pass wouldn't work on Thalys. I'm assuming that once I reach Cologne I'll have flexibility to decide the rest of my route.

@ beth.chaplin....Better to ride the ICE than a Thalys or regional train. The German Pass now allows for these extras such as going to other foreign cities You don't need any insurance against theft, not necessary, just be attentive, keep track of your stuff, don't be vulnerable, I only brought Pass insurance once ($10 in 1995), wasn't my call then, in all my years using a Pass...wasted the $10. I never pay ( other than in 1995 ) anything extra other than the Pass price itself, no insurance, no shipping, etc.