I would like to purchase tickets for the overnight train from Prague to Krakow. Can we purchase these tickets while in Germany or must we wait until we arrive in Prague? If we are able to purchase them in Germany, can that be done at any train station? We will be staying in Berlin.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19240 posts
I've never tried to purchase tickets in Germany for travel in other countries, but I don't see why not. Germany doesn't sell tickets online for travel outside of Germany, but I believe you can you can buy those either at an Bahn Reisezentrum or over the phone. However, night trains are popular and can sell out months in advance. Unless you are going to be in Berlin a long time I would suggest getting the ticket earlier.
Posted by
OP
Newport, Minnesota, USA
113 posts
My husband went to the Berlin train station yesterday and was able to purchase the train tickets. I suspect that we paid a bit of a premium but at least we now have the tickets in hand. I believe he said the tickets for a two person sleeper compartment were around 190 Euros.
Posted by
California USA
4053 posts
On the DB site you can now buy tickets from Germany to other countries in Europe online. They have a section for angebote called Europa-Spezial where normally priced tickets (173 Euros in our case) can be purchased for as little as 43 Euros on certain routes and between certain countries, we are going from Munich to Milan. Sorry that I don't know specifically about travel between two countries, neither of which originate in Germany. I would think that you could pick up tickets for this trip specifically at a DB ticket window when you are in Germany. To qualify for the sparpreiss on some tickets you need to purchase them within 3 days of travel, providing that there are any left...
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19240 posts
Yes, the DB site allows you to buy online, tickets for a single train that starts or ends in Germany and has the other end outside Germany, but, with rare exceptions, not for trains which run entirely outside of Germany. Notable amongst the exceptions. For some multi-train connections starting in Germany and ending in Switzerland, where an entire leg is in Switzerland . For instance, Munich to Interlaken Ost, where there is a change of trains in Zurich. Another example are the German trains (EC) that go over Brenner Pass to Verona. The Bahn sells online tickets for segments of that route that are entirely in Italy - example Bolzano to Verona. But for the most part, these are exceptions. Although Europa-Spezial fares are for trains with one end outside Germany (ex. Köln to Amsterdam), Sparpreis fares are only for connections entirely inside Germany (for this purpose Salzburg Hbf is considered a German station). These offers are from the Bahn and one of the trains on the route must be a train of the Bahn (Fernverkehr - ICE/IC/EC). Regional trains in Germany may be included in the fare if needed to get you between a regional station and the Bahn train.