Hi, I'm trying to purchase rail tickets (one way) from Venice to Munich on April 1, 2015 for 4 adults and 2 children. I think I've figured out that I can't purchase a ticket for more than 5 people, so I've broken it up into 2 tickets. When I checked the schedule and fares on DB last weekend, the cost for the 3 adult ticket was 177 Euro (for all 3 people) and the 1 adult, 2 kids ticket was 59 Euro. When I checked today, the cost (for the same train) had gone up to 207 Euro and 69 Euro, respectively. Also, there are a number of trains on the same day that don't display the cost on the DB site. So I guess my question is two fold. Is it common for the price to change so much this far out and will there be a time when I can see the other fares? Thanks for your help. Chris
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19240 posts
Only a few train connections can be ticketed online from the Bahn; the others will not display a fare.
The danger of doing this in two tickets is that you'll book the first ticket for three people and the next ticket for three people will go up more than you wanted and you will already have committed to the first ticket. At least ticket it at the lowest fare for the first five. Then the ticket for the last person will be limited to the highest fare.
But really, you should book this as a group of six by selecting "more than 5 travellers" under "Travellers, but this function doesn't seem to be working if you indicate 2 children as part of the group. According to the rules, that would be a group of four adults with two children at no cost, but the software doesn't seem to recognize this combination. If you just select 6 adults, you can get a ticket for 312,60€ (51,20/person. Or you can book as 3 adults and 2 children at 207€ and take your chances on the 4th adult (worst case, full fare 91,20€). Buy it that way or call the Bahn and book on the telephone (49 1806 99 66 33).
Posted by
Vienna, Austria
5475 posts
Yes, the cheaper tickets sell out fast.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
If breaking the booking into two groups, due to the problem with the group booking function, each group technically should use a different adult ID (the number for a credit card that you'll each carry with you). You are not supposed to make an online booking if you are not traveling on the ticket. I have heard of this being enforced to differing degrees, but would rather play it safe.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19240 posts
If you are registered with the Bahn, you can purchase a ticket online for use by another person. I don't know how they handle the ID issue.