I will be traveling to Germany with 3 other adults next month and we will be using the Bahn to travel within the country. We will be going from Frankfurt Airport to Bacharach, Bacharach to Staufen, Staufen to Munich, Munich to Rothenburg, and then Rothenburg to Berlin. My question is what would be the best way to buy train tickets? Should I order the German twin rail pass before we leave or buy as we go? I also noticed on the Bahn website that they offer discounted tickets, but I'm not sure if I want to lock myself in and order them in advance. What are the chances that they will still be discounted once we get there? Please advise
Posted by
Calgary
2297 posts
The discounted tickets are great for long-distance train travel in Germany. However, chances that you will be able to get them close to your travel date (they have to be purchased a minimum of 3 days ahead of time) are rather small, especially if you need 4 of them. The Bahn only releases a limited number of discounted tickets per train and they do go fast. I booked a single ticket last week for travel in the middle of the week (Friday and Sunday tickets go first) for my trip at the end of April and the cheapest discount available was already at 79 Euro compared to the regular price of 90 Euro. All the cheaper discounts were already gone. For regional travel you will be able to get tickets on the day of travel. I'd price it out to compare point-to-point tickets with a the twin rail pass but most likely the pass will end up costing you more.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
Discounted tickets: "What are the chances that they will still be discounted once we get there?" Zero (almost). 1. Discounted tickets HAVE to be purchased three days before your travel date. 2. The ticket prices are tiered with higher prices after the cheaper tiers are sold out. You'll get the best prices if you book early. Rarely do you need tickets purchase in advance. Express trains usually have plenty of seats and regional trains are unreservable, so you have as good a chance of a seat with tickets purchased 10 minutes before as with tickets purchased a month before. For those relatively short distances, a Rail Pass probably won't pay. FRA to Bacharach: Buy a local ticket to Bacharach for €10,50/p. Take the S-Bahn or a regional train to Mainz, then a regional train to Bacharach. Munich to Rothenburg can be done with regional trains and a Bayern-Ticket for €29 for two of you.
Posted by
OP
Staten Island, NY
10 posts
Thank you for your quick reply. I kind of figured that the pass would end up costing us more, but wasn't absolutely sure. I did try to compare the prices, but then I got confused with the discounted rates. I guess we'll just pay as we go. Thanks again for the info. Much appreciated.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
The other three legs are longer and across Land borders. Discount tickets might be worth the time savings vs regional trains and Quer-durchs-Land-Tickets (€48 for two during the week) or Schönes-Wochenende-Tickets (€40 on weekend days). For the three longer legs, if you used a German Rail 2nd class twin pass, it' $193 per person, $64 a day. That's about €49/pers/day. Compared to full fare on express trains, that might be worth it. Use the German Rail (Bahn) website to get fares. But I'm sure purchase ahead discount tickets would be less. If you are willing to take the extra time for regional trains, the passes, QdLT and SWT, would be better.