Buying a train ticket In advance

It can be much cheaper to buy it early if your schedule is set. You can go on DB site to check on validation.

Look for “ Super Sparpreise” tickets at www.Bahn.de

In general, train tickets are not "validated" in Germany. You board the train and when the conductor comes by, you show your ticket. Sometimes, they don't even bother checking, usually on regional trains.

Yes, you can save a fair amount of money by buying a train specific nonrefundable ticket well in advance. It is like an airline ticket. There are higher levels of tickets for a bit more money, that can be refunded for a fee up to 24 hours ahead of departure. If your plans are set, this is a good way to do it. Just do not do this if you are departing from Frankfurt airport after landing from a airline flight. You can't predict if you will land on time with no delays on arrival.

DB (German Railways) tickets do not require validation. In Germany this is required only for certain types of tickets purchased from local transportation authorities which govern certain conveyances (trams or subway systems, for example.) Your DB ticket will be cheaper if bought in advance with the condition of non-refundability (or limited refundability.) You will be locking in your travel date and time as well. Read here:

https://int.bahn.de/en/offers

The answer to this question depends a lot on whether you are flying into the Frankfurt airport and immediately getting on a train to Hamburg or if you are already going to be in Frankfurt for at least a day and are then going to Hamburg.

The reason is that advance purchase tickets are usually only for a specific train (date and time) so you don't want to be just arriving at Frankfurt on a flight that could be late causing you to miss your specified train, in which case your ticket will be worthless.

Advance purchase ticket can be "flexible", for any train that day, but they are full fare tickets, no discount. There are also discounted tickets, Sparpreis and Super Sparpreis, which are less expensive, but for only one specified train. But, as I said, if you miss the specific train, your ticket is worthless.

In 2013, I was arriving at FRA and wanted to go to Karlsruhe on an ICE. I didn't want a train specific, discounted ticket in case my flight was late, but there was a train leaving shortly after my scheduled arrival, and if my flight had been a little early I could have caught the train. If I had a chance to catch that train, I didn't want to have to spend time buying a ticket (and maybe missing the train as a result), so I advance purchased a full fare flexible ticket. As it turned out, my flight was a little late, and I missed the desired train, but I could still use the flexible ticket on the next train in 2 hours.

Should I purchase the ticket in advance?

Yes, incl. seat reservation. Choice between saver and flexible fares.

Does it have to be validated before I depart?

No. just have your ticket with you - may be plus ID.

Flying out from Tampa, FL to Frankfurt direct flight. Overnight flight, will sleep on the plane. Arrives in Frankfurt 9 am. There is an ICE train that leaves Frankfurt Hbf 12 pm to Hamburg (3.5 hours).

You can buy your ticket here - https://int.bahn.de/en/ - then plug in your dates and times of travel. You don't say when you are traveling but you can only book so far in advance.

There are three types of tickets:

• Super Sparpreis, which means NO cancellations and no changes.
• Sparpreis, which allows cancellation up to the day before, but no changes to the train
• Flexpreis (the most expensive), which allows cancellation and unrestricted choice of trains. In addition, purchasing this ticket alow entitles you to a City-Ticket, which gives you free local public transport in both Frankfurt and Hamburg.

Obviously the Flexpreis is the most expensive. For example, on a trip from Frankfurt to Hanover on Wed. Oct 9, 2024, the Super Sparpreis ticket is €47.99, the Sparpreis is €54.99 and the Flexpreis is €157.80. So you have to decide whether it is worth it to buy the cheaper tickets and risk missing the train, or buy the expensive one and guarantee getting on at the time you want.

Consider this scenario: You arrive late and miss the train (and you have a Super Sparpreis ticket). You can't use that ticket so you have to buy another one. But by now, the Super Sparpreis ticket has jumped up in price to €119.99. So you will lose even more money this way.

It's a gamble. Buying a Flex ticket is like insurance. It's expensive and you hope you don't have to use it, but it's cheaper than the alternative. Only you can decide if the gamble is worth it, especially considering that most flights come in on time. But 3 1/2 hours is not a huge window of time.

Just for future reference, many Rick Steves travelers taking his tours try to get to their final destination at least a day or so ahead of time to get rid of jet lag and to make sure all their transports works out. :-)

Just a couple more pieces of information for taking the train.

I would definitely download the DB Navigator app onto your phone. And I would buy your ticket online and create an account before you do so. This means that your tickets will show up on your phone so that all you need to do is show the QR code to the conductor when they come by. It also means you will get push notifications showing any track changes (which do happen) or if the train is delayed. They usually announce these as well, but can be difficult to hear. I even had problems and I speak German.

Once you're at the station, head for the correct track and just wait. You can look for the train configuration so that you know approximately where your car will be (for example, at the rear, or 3 cars from the front). They post the train configuration signs on each tracks, and most of them look something like the one in this photo: https://photos.app.goo.gl/NDgpGuXrsjVh5BFu7

As you can see, the green is for the 2nd class cars (which you should buy - no need for 1st), yellow is 1st class, and red is usually a utility car for food, etc.

3 hours would have been good for me only about 1/3 of the time. Smething usually happened to delay my flight.