Thanks to the help on this website, I have purchased advanced tickets for two of our Germany train rides - at a great savings! I remember last year when we purchased tickets at the train station, we had to validate them in a little machine. How do we do that with the tickets I printed at home? I'm assuming we just show them to the "ticket person" on the train, but thought it wouldn't hurt to check here for sure.
Thanks for your help.
There is no need to validate the tickets, but you MUST be able to produce the bank card you purchased the ticket with. I think it's so that people don't print out ten copies of the ticket and give them to all their friends.
The ticket does not need to be validated because it is only good for a specific train (of the Bahn) on a specific day. You can't use them on another train that day or on another day.
The only tickets I know of that have to be validated in Germany are tickets for travel in a transit district. These are open tickets valid any time and people often buy a handful and use them whenever they need to.
Most Bahn tickets have a date and time already printed on them and are only valid until canceled by a conductor, or for a few hours.
Thanks for your help. Now - the only long distance train ticket left to purchase is from Munich to Prague.
The only "long distance train ticket" directly from Munich to Prague you can print is actually a bus ticket. Tickets for the Bahn Intercity bus directly from Munich to Prague can be purchased in advance as Savings Fare Tickets. These tickets starts at 29€/person. Time is about 4½ hrs.
You can go from Munich to Prague starting with an ICE to Nürnberg, but the next leg is another IC bus from Nürnberg to Prague. That connection would take more time (5½ hrs) and the starting Savings Fare is 39€.
There are 3 direct trains (ALX) per day from Munich to Prague (4 actually, but the first one leaves at 4:55). They take 5¾ hours. The fares using a Bayern-Böhmen ticket to Pilsen and Czech Rail tickets from there to Prague is about 38€ one way for two. The Bayern-Böhmen ticket cost 30,50€ for two and can be purchased any time from a Bahn automat, even right before departure, for that price.
If you really wanted to get advance purchase Savings Fare tickets, you could ticket Munich to Nürnberg by ICE, to Dresden by RE, then by EC to Prague. Those tickets start at 39€, but the trip takes over 9 hours.
Lee - when I go on the DB Bahn website and put in Munich to Pilsen, the only fare that comes up is 54.30 Euros. Would I then go to the Czech website to purchase the Pilsen to Prague portion of the trip?
When I go to the Czech website and search Munich to Prague ticket, I get the Ex 353 Albert Einstein train leaving at 9:01 a.m. for just over $25 USD.
Is there a reason I shouldn't do it that way?
Thanks so much. Your expertise is greatly appreciated. I have really learned a lot in recent months reading your posts.
"Lee - when I go on the DB Bahn website and put in Munich to Pilsen, the only fare that comes up is 54.30 Euros."
The Bayern-Böhmen ticket is only mentioned on the German language side of the Bahn website, here (in German), and you will not find it on the schedule page if you put in Munich to Pilsen. But you can buy the B-B ticket from a Bahn automat in Munich or at a ticket counter for 2€ more.
I have been told, but cannot confirm, that you can purchase the Pilsen to Prague ticket from the conductor on the train in the Czech Republic for 100 Kc (about 3,60€).
"I get the Ex 353 Albert Einstein train leaving at 9:01 a.m. for just over $25 USD. Is there a reason I shouldn't do it that way?"
If you can negotiate the Czech website to buy the ticket, do it.
