This is a travel tip, not a question. Last month we ran out of days on our Eurail pass and began buying point to point tickets. A ticket counter person in either Linz or Salzburg told us if we bought tickets three days ahead of the day we were going to travel they would be much less expensive. That's what we did. Before arriving at a destination we would decide what the next leg of our journey would be and buy a ticket for it just after getting off the train. Three days are calendar date days and those begin just after midnight. As we tried to plan our arrival at a city in the afternoon that means we had two full days, at least, before leaving. Three nights stay would give us three calendar days before leaving. In other words, we would arrive Tuesday afternoon and leave Friday morning. It really was less expensive.
Posted by
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
203 posts
Italy's Trenitalia train service offers a similar discount called the "Mini Fare". It is not offered on Regional trains and it's availability is dependent on many factors. But, it can save you up to 60% if you are either rigid enough or brave enough to commit to a particular train/time a few days (or more) in advance, as changes or cancellations are impossible or at the very least, costly.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
I believe that the ticket to which Monte refers is the Sparschiene fare from Austrian Rail. The Sparschiene ticket does require advance purchase of at least 3 days or as long as 6 months. The trip must be at least 150 km and include at least one long distance train. The fare starts at €9 in 2nd cl for selekted routes, e.g. Salzburg to Innsbruck. For longer routes, I see fares of €19-€29. Fares are date, time, and train specific and are non-refundable and non-exchangeable. I'm not sure if the tickets are tiered like Sparpreis tickets in Germany, where there are only so many at the lowest price tier, and when the lowest price tickets sell out, the price for the next tier is higher. Since the website says "ab €9" (from €9), I assume they are tiered. The Austrian Rail website specifies that the Sparschiene tickets are only available online, so I don't know how Monte could have bought them at the station after he arrived.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
Germany has a similar ticket, called the SparPreis (or Savings fare). It requires advance purchase of 3 to 92 days, and must include at least one express train. The base fare is €29 for the first person, €20 each for co-traveler 2-5 (although short trips are only €19/€10). For that fare you can travel entirely across Germany and connect to/from the express trains with regional trains. Here the tickets are definitely tiered; when the €29 fare sells out, the fare goes to €39/€30, etc. The SparPreis ticket is also train specific, but it is only non-refundable from the day of travel. Before then it is refundable less €15. Also, the SparPreis tickets can be purchased online, or at the counter for a €5 surcharge for personal service.