German Rail Pass

German Rail Pass: Key details. Consecutive-day passes can be bought as digital passes through the German Railway. Flexipasses, however, are paper-only. While you can order these online and have them mailed to you, we don't recommended it — it makes more sense to just buy your pass in person at any main train station in Germany. (Consecutive-day passes are also sold in-person at major German stations.)

I'm assuming you're referring to what Rick Steves writes about the German Rail Pass? He recommends waiting because there is always a risk of the pass getting lost in the mail. It takes a while for mail to get from Germany to the states and it could be delayed or lose. It's very easy to purchase it once you get there.

But it's always up to you - if you think it's safe, then go for it. :)

My philosophy is not to buy anything before I leave home unless it's necessary (due to a potential sellout) or I'll save worthwhile money. Waiting to buy after arrival in a country means less money is lost (or fewer refunds have to be requested) if the trip gets cancelled.

Would be interested to know how much train travel you have planned. If not too much on IC or ICE trains you could look into the Deutschland ticket instead and just get individual tickets for the IC trains.

When I buy a Pass of any sort, the Eurail Senior Global Pass or others, I buy on-line, have it shipped to the home address here , which usually takes less that 14 days to arrive, regardless what your confirmation e-mail says.

This past Eurail Pass I ordered on-line had the confirmation e-mail state that it would arrive in ca. 6 weeks. My initial thought...can't be, unless things have have changed so dramatically post-pandemic. The Pass arrived within 10 days, as it always did in the past.

Get the Pass on-line here, if you decide on that. No need to get it in Germany.

Sorry Fred, but the topic is the German Rail Pass, not a Eurail Pass.

The same applies: have it mailed to the home address.