DB German Rail have a greed a partnership with Germany's leading last minute travel tour operator L'Tur - a subsidiary of Europe's largest tour operator TUI. People can now buy last minute rail tickets for €19 one-way per person (any route within Germany) under the header "Bahn frei" on ltur.de. Tickets can only be booked online, a maximum of 7 days in advance and are only valid on the exact trains booked - no rebooking, no rerouting, no refunds.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19238 posts
Compared to the Bahn's Sparpreis ticket: It looks like the tickets are only for ICE/IC/EC trains. No Vor- und Nachlauf (does not include use of regional train to get to/from the express trains). In 2008 I went from Cochem to Hannover on express trains and then on to Bad Harzburg by regional trains, all on the same €29 Dauer-Spezial ticket. The Bahn frei ticket would only go to Hannover. Similarly Walkenried to Karlsruhe could only be Northeim to Karlsruhe. There is no Mitfahrer-Rabatt (co-traveler discount). With a Sparpreis ticket, additional travelers pay €10, 20, etc with a €19, 29 fare, respectively. Also, children under 15 need a ticket. They are free with their parents on a Sparpreis ticket. "Solange der Vorrat reicht". As long as supplies last. Sparpreis ticket go on sale 92 days prior to the travel date. Are you going to wait 85 days only to find out the Bahn frei tickets are sold out, as are the best Sparpreis tickets. Still, it's worth checking out if you have last minute plans to/from major stations.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19238 posts
Correction: It appears that regional trains can be included as long as they are going to a Fernverkehrshalten (station used by express trains). Hence, you could go to Garmisch-Partenkirchen Bhf (on Sundays an ICE stops in Garmisch-P on it's way from Innsbruck to Berlin) but not to Füssen Bahnhof.