Someone please educate me- train tickets and Germany

Posted by Cate (Tacoma, WA, USA) on 04/21/08 10:58 AM

I will be renting a car for the first 9 days of my trip, switching to train for the last 4-5 days. (There will be 6 of us, so we found the car more cost-effective.) Our first train day will be on a Saturday, going from either Nuremberg or Frankfurt (depending on car drop-off) to Berlin. What is the deal on Saturday in-Germany tickets and do I need to purchase in advance?

Also, I am having trouble understanding the special buy tickets. I know that if you buy some tickets in advance, they are drastically reduced (like 39 euros instead of 109 for a fare.) How far in advance do these need to be purchased? What is the tactic for this?

I'm great at travelling in the US, but my Europe travelling skills are from the 80's and early 90's.

Thanks!

Posted by Lee

Lakewood, Colorado

04/21/08 01:14 PM

19274 posts

First, the "Dauer-Spezial" tickets are only available online from German Rail at http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en. You must purchase them at least 3 days in advance, but, in reality, they sell out much sooner than that. You should try to buy them as soon as you can commit; I think sales start 3 months in advance. The lowest fares are for €29, but those seem to sell out almost immediately. I looked at Nürnberg and Frankfurt to Berlin for a month from today and could only find €49 and €59 tickets available.

For Saturday or Sunday travel, the Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket gives you unlimited rides on regional trains (IRE/RE/RB/S-bahn) all day for up to 5 people for €35.

Are any of the six people sons/daughters under 15? They travel free on German Rail with a full fare parent.

There is also a group discount for 6-20 people. It's 50% off regional travel for tickets purchased 1 hour before travel time and up to 70% off of express travel for tickets purchased 14 day before travel time. You can't seem to purchase tickets online for more than 5 people, so for the 70% discount, you probably have to order the tickets by phone at (49) 1805 99 55 11.

Posted by Cate OP

Tacoma, WA, USA

04/21/08 01:32 PM

671 posts

Yes, 4 of the 6 are our children (14, 11, 5, and 2 at the time of our trip.) We are going in December, so I will watch for the specials starting early September.

Would that be the kids are free with a German Rail pass or with just a ticket?

Posted by Lee

Lakewood, Colorado

04/21/08 03:34 PM

19274 posts

Two of your children, those under 6, should travel free with you regardless of your ticket/pass type. The other two, 11 and 14, would be free only if you buy a full fare ticket. If you have a pass, they need a pass, which would be 50% of the Adult (not the Saver) pass price. If you use the Dauer-Spezial fare, they must have one also, or have a half full fare "child traveling alone" ticket.

The Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket is valid for a couple and all their children under (not including) 15.