I am interested in hearing from someone who has purchased online train tickets (Germany, Italy, Austria) using DBBahn and Trenitalia. Some of them have steep discounts and are much cheaper/day than a railpass. Is it a hassle to p/u the tickets at the station?
Posted by
Washington, D.C., USA
71 posts
Speaking for the trenitalia.com website only, you can print out your passes or choose their version of an "eticket", which you display on your iphone or other mobile device. The mini-fare on trenitalia does indeed offer a nice discount, the amount of which can vary greatly as they do only sell a predetermined number per train, so it is worthwhile looking at different trains to see how much it is. However, be advised that the minifare does comes with restrictions, so be sure to read all of the rules before choosing to purchase the discounted ticket.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19118 posts
What's p/u? Purchase? It's no hassle to purchase tickets at the station in Germany, but you won't get the steep discounts. They have to be purchased at least 3 days in advance, and then the lowest priced ticket will be sold out. You need to purchase tickets online well in advance. You wanted to hear from someone who had actually purchased online tickets. In 2008 I purchase online tickets which today have a value of €169 for €58 using Sparpreis.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
For long distance trains in Germany, I routinely buy the tickets online. You can print them out at home prior to your trip. Just make sure you have the credit card you used to buy the tickets to present to the conductor (that's the way they validate the purchase).
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19118 posts
I think you can actually purchase tickets online and pick them up at an automat at the station, although considering the ease of printing them out at home, I doubt that anyone ever has.