Am I likely to get a better fare for German 2nd class train travel by purchasing my ticket via DB Bahn a few months in advance (while still in the U.S.) or as a walk-up at the station the day of travel? I'll be taking the train on August 17. Or, like airfares, is this also a crap shoot?
The DB Bahn site may have a sale beginning tomorrow, May 16, fares TBD.
It depends on where you you are going to/from.
OK. Rostock to Berlin one day and Berlin to Prague the next.
For long distance fares (ICE, IC trains) it is always cheaper to buy as far in advance as possible. Where you are doesn't matter, just when. Discounted prices never go down, only up. But, once you buy the ticket you are committed to whichever train (date and time) you have chosen. Full fare tickets can be bought at any time up to departure, and are valid on any train. When you buy online you are sent a PDF print-at-home ticket. You must print this out and show it, together with the card used to pay for the ticket, to the ticket inspector on the train when he comes round.
For local trains there is only ever one price, and no seat reservation, so no advantage in advance purchase. For local trains there are also other options for day passes (for example "Länder tickets") which can be good value. These can also be purchased on the day.
Sparpreis tickets are real discounted tickets which can sell out. On longer journeys with IC or ICE trains they can be a real bargain. Buy them if you're sure about the train you want to take.
Yes, tell us from where to where. I do see a Saver Fare Promotion, but that has been ongoing since Feb 11.
Limited number of tickets for 19 euro purchased Feb 11 to July 31 for travel between Feb 11 and Dec 10.
https://www.bahn.com/i/view/USA/en/prices/germany/saver-fare-summer.shtml
Edit-The Rostock-Berlin will be open to purchase this week (90 days ahead). Looks like some IC trains can be had for 19 EUR. Berlin-Prague looks like it will be 29 EUR because it is an International train.
Chris -
Thanks for the details. I'll be taking the train from Rostock to Berlin on one day and from Berlin to Prague the next day.
DB Bahn shows that my train choices are RE, IC and EC, all of which accept bicycles (which I'll have with me). I've taken many train trips around Europe with my bike over the years, but not on these particular routes. And, I've always bought my tickets at stations on the day of travel. I'm wondering then if I'll save some money with an advance purchase on the DB Bahn site.
Sam,
I just checked that Sparpreis link, which shows nearly the same thing as the general DB Bahn site does: "Sale possible from 18.05.2016." No fares are listed as of today. I'll check back again this Wednesday.
The IC train will be available for the 19 EUR Sparpreis and states "Bicycles conveyed subject to reservation"
Ditto the EC trains to Prague.
The RE trains (Regional Express) don't have the Sparpreis fares.
Keep in mind that before you choose to buy a adv. discount ticket, think of weighing the savings over flexibility. I use the adv discount tickets from time to time, but certainly not always, since when doing that , you've locked yourself into a time specific, date specific train. If yes, you commit. The advantage is the savings, the down side is having sacrificed flexibility at that moment. That depends which is more important to you, ie, whether you'd rather throw away: time or money. There are routes say on the RB trains that take 43 mins from A to B, obviously the cheapest when bought as a walk-up. Taking the IC as a walk-up for the same trip takes 24 mins, you can expect that ticket to be more expensive.
Use the German Rail (Bahn) website to look for trains that allow carriage of bicycles. It will tell you under "details" whether carriage of bicycles is allowed and whether a reservation is required. When starting your search, there is a check box on the page to show only trains that allow bicycles and if reservations are required.
So Lee, was that a yes or a no?
I thought the question I was answering was what trains allow the carriage of bicycles.
The answer is, "the website will tell you."
If you want to know if you get a get a better fare for German train travel (any class) by purchasing tickets in advance, the is answer is "yes" for express trains (ICE/IC/EC) with SparPreis fares. The answer is "no" for regional trains. On regional trains, full fare is always the same, and Länder fares are always the same price, even if you buy the tickets just before train time.
Regional trains usually (but not always) have a baggage car with a space for bicycles, but space is limited and a reservation is sometimes required. The Bahn website will show you all of this.
Thanks, Lee. That's the kind of detail I was seeking.
