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Purchasing Train Tickets Now or Wait When There

Posted by on

Hi! Please forgive me if this has been asked. I did peruse around a bit before posting. I'm a bit of a worrier when travelling, making sure all the Ts are crossed and Is are dotted.

Is it best to purchase train tickets now or wait until we get there? A few years ago, when traveling to Paris/Belgium, I purchased everything in advance and the ticket taker laughed at how much I paid. I didn't realize how easy the train system is there...but now it's a few years later and I'm having anxiety.

Flying in to Frankfurt and then moving around to other locations by train, such as:
• Frankfurt to Berlin
• Berlin to Potsdam
• Berlin to Dresden
• Dresden to Nuremberg
• Nuremberg to Bamberg
• Nuremberg to Munich

Thank you in advance for any and all replies.

CW

Posted by
2487 posts

For longer journeys on IC or ICE class trains, buy those tickets in advance at the German Railways. These can come with a huge discount (of 50 percent or more) when you don't mind being tied to a specific train (date and hour).

Posted by
631 posts

when we say buy in advance we mean online, direct with the company - NOT via an agent.

Frankfurt - Berlin. yes definately. If going direct from airport book ticket from there, it has a mainline station. But allow a few hours padding for flight delays, baggage arrival, customs waits and the other joys of flying. If staying in Frankfurt buy local ticket from airport into city when you arrive but book in advance from Frankfurt to Berlin. Remember, you want Frankfurt (Main). Main is the name of the river it sits on, Frankfurt (Oder) is a different place on the Polish border.
Berlin-Potsdam - local ticket, buy on day
Berlin- Dresden - borderline, there are discounts but not huge if you book a fixed reservation a few months in advance.
Dresden - Nuremberg - travel after 9AM or at weekends and buy regional train Quer Durch Land or Schoenes Wochende on the day.
Nuremberg- Bamberg - local ticket, buy on day
Nuremburg - Munich - buy on day, probably BayernTicket, do not use long distance train which costs more.

Basically on your list get the Frankfurt-Berlin section booked well in advance, look at Berlin-Dresden at the same time and decide whether the discount is worth the fixed itinery and leave the rest. I take it you fly home from Munich?

Posted by
11 posts

Yes, fly out of Munich. Thank you so much for your previous response.

Posted by
6643 posts

Nuremberg and Bamberg are very close. If you plan to spend just a day in one or the other, you can do a day trip traveling by direct train at any hour of the day on any day you wish, on a VGN Tagesticket Plus , €19.10 for two adults, buy from ticket machine. This day pass is also valid on any buses, trams or subways you might use as well that day. Also, if you buy it on Saturday, it's valid on Sunday as well.

Of course, if you for sure wish to overnight in both cities, you can use the same ticket to travel just one way.

http://www.vgn.de/en/dayticket?&Edition=en&p=tagesticket-plus

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