Train travel is also cheap: saver prices, flat rates, etc. when traveling

"All of Germany from 49 euros" and "because the train is cheaper" - this is how the German railway is currently advertising in a TV commercial for the permanent special Family. Unfortunately, it's not that simple: If you want to travel with the cheap fares, you have to be precise to plan and book in time. stern.de shows what is important when buying tickets.

Train instead of car

Gasoline prices are rising and rising, especially in the holiday season. But at home no one has to stay that way: the train lures with special fares that can actually be cheaper than driving by car. Assuming you get the cheap tickets really. However, this can be difficult if one relies on the railway employees at the counter: Because find, so a test result of the Stiftung Warentest, not always the cheapest offer.

On my own im Internet It may be a better and cheaper option, as the railway often charges a surcharge for purchasing at the counter. However, the traveler then has to find his way through the jungle of tariffs on his own, without any advice. It can be difficult to really filter out the cheapest offer from all the saver prices, special offers and country tickets. We'll explain to you how it works and how you can find the best price.

Duration special

The books on the subject (advertising)

The long-term special is currently advertised as particularly cheap. This allows you to take a one-way journey across Germany with the IC, the ICE or the City Night Line from EUR 29 per person. It doesn't matter how long the route is. For example, Hamburg-Munich with ICE costs the same as the Frankfurt-Munich route with IC. However: There is only a certain amount of cheap tickets: If the trains are very busy, the tickets become more expensive in increments of ten – up to 69 euros per route. Bonus: Children under the age of six travel for free. In the family long-term special, two adults and children under the age of 49 can travel from 15 euros travel even for free.

The ticket must be purchased no later than three days before departure - the sooner the better and best vending machines or the Internet, because at the counter it will be five euros more expensive. The cheap tickets are available from three months before departure and who comes too late, must drive more expensive. In addition, you set yourself with the duration special on a specific long-distance train, exchange and refund excluded. However, if you also use a local train for part of the route, you can choose it freely.

Another plus point: You can also interrupt the journey for 24 hours and even make small detours: For example, you can do the same on the way from Nuremberg to Berlin Money even stay in Hanover for a day and a night. Even the employees of the railways often don't know that. If you want to book this on the internet, you have to go to the selection of the destination, click the “About” option and then enter an appropriate length of stay. But beware: If this is too long, you will not get a permanent special.

Savings price 25 and 50

The duration special is not the cheapest option in all cases. For example, if you travel from Dortmund to Hamburg and back, you pay with the duration special in the cheapest variant 58 Euro. It can also cost 118 Euro - so that the duration special would be just as expensive as the normal price on this route in the IC. Far cheaper with the economy price: With the savings price 25 you pay only 93,75 Euro, with the low price 50 even only 58 Euro. It is still cheap, if you still have the Bahncard 25: Then you can deduct 25 again. Already for 44,95 Euro you can travel in the IC from Dortmund to Hamburg and back and just like the duration special make a detour or interrupt the trip for a day and a night.

As with the long-term special, there is only a certain contingent of tickets that you can buy up to three days before departure and you have to decide on certain trains for long-distance travel. However, with the Sparpreis 50 there must be one night between Saturday and Sunday or one week between Sunday and Saturday (so-called weekend commitment). And the minimum price must be 38 euros without a BahnCard. You can exchange the tickets in the saver price up to one day before departure for 15 euros. You can buy both saver fares in Combination with the passenger discount. Up to four additional passengers can travel for half the price.

Almost the same conditions apply to the austerity prices 25 and 50 Europe: Only that the weekend commitment here almost always applies and the minimum price must be 19 Euro.

Spontaneous frequent travelers: BahnCard 50

What else is there for the BahnCard, where there are special prices and permanent specials? The BahnCard 50 for 220 Euro (reduced 110 Euro) per year in the second class is interesting for you if you drive a lot spontaneously or travel frequently in local traffic. Then you get 50 percent discount without having to book in advance. Since the BahnCard does not apply in many alliances, you can use a trick here, if your start or destination is close to the compound border: Just buy one more station than you would like to drive or take the IC for short distances - and already applies the BahnCard, which can significantly reduce the fare. For example, the one way trip from Neuwied-Engers to Bonn in the Verkehrsverbund Rhein Sieg costs 6,30 Euro. If you start one station before in Vallendar, you pay only 50 Euro for the same route with BahnCard 5,45.

Double savings: BahnCard 25

But the BahnCard 25 may be able to clear bring more savings than the Bahncard 50 - and at 55 euros in second class per year it costs only a quarter as much. Because the BahnCard 25 is credited to both saver fares. Up to 62,5% savings of the normal price are possible. And the BahnCard 25 is also credited in many transport associations. The youth BahnCard 25 even costs just 10 euros once up to the age of 19.

With the BahnCard you can also earn bonus points and use the city ticket function free of charge. This means that you can continue to use local public transport in many German cities free of charge. Prerequisite: You buy a ticket with BahnCard discount, the destination station of your train journey is over 100 kilometers away and your destination is within the scope of city tickets. The latter is sometimes not easy to recognize: For example, the city ticket in Berlin is valid only in area A and only in the S-Bahn, but not in the subway.

Driving at the flat rate price?

Interrail is the best-known rail service for foreign countries. But Deutsche Bahn also has a few savings available on a national basis. You can, for example, actually go to the flat rate price. How you can find out here.

Until the 31. August applies the Germany passport: With that you can drive for 299 Euro (youngsters under 26: 249 Euro) for a month all over Germany. If you frequently drive certain routes, want to be spontaneous or plan a tour of Germany with several stages, this offer is right for you: Because it applies to all of Germany and you are not bound to a fixed train on any specific day of the week. But there are also restrictions: long-distance trains such as Interconnex and the Vogtland Express as well as purely tourist trains and special trains are excluded from use.

Those who want to travel by night train City Night Line, pay an extra charge. And since there is no passenger discount, the offer is most likely something for individual travelers. If you only occasionally travel or pre-book, you drive with saver price or DauerSpezial cheaper. And even the BahnCard can be more rewarding for spontaneous travel. For example, you pay for the route Hamburg - Munich and back in the normal price 244 Euro, if you then take a weekend trip, the Germany Pass has been worthwhile. On the other hand, you can use a BahnCard throughout the year. So do it well.

countries tickets

While the Schöne-Wochenende-Ticket, which now costs 35 euros, is only worthwhile for groups who have a lot of time, given the savings opportunities in long-distance transport, the state tickets for regional transport can be a real one Alternatives be. Up to five people can travel through the region for a day from €25 (depending on the federal state). Own children of grandchildren under the age of 15 can even travel with you in unlimited numbers.

In almost all federal states - except in Hesse, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein - there is also the single tariff: Here you can drive alone from 18 Euro. However, the country tickets are only valid for public transport, IC and ICE are excluded from use. Nevertheless, especially on shorter distances the time difference often only a few minutes.

Freizeitticket

You can get cheaper and faster on shorter routes with the leisure ticket Objective:

The offer applies for example between Nuremberg and Stuttgart or between Hanover and Göttingen and on many other routes from Monday to Thursday and Saturday to 3.00 the following day in the ICE and IC. For 19 to 39 Euro you can travel here and back if both trips take place on the same day.

There is no pre-sale period, but at the counter the cards are more expensive 5 Euro. However: Often, a country ticket is cheaper and the journey does not take much longer. Example Hamburg-Bremen: With the Niedersachsen-Ticket Single you pay only 19 Euro and are only 20 minutes longer per way than with the leisure ticket in IC or ICE. When traveling in a group, the country tickets are even much cheaper.

Across Europe: Interrail

The best-known train offer for foreign countries is Interrail: The Global Pass for a month of free travel throughout Europe is now available for 399 Euro (travelers up to 26 years) or for 599 Euro for everyone else. Even in the first class, Interrail is now possible: for 899 Euro. For express and night trains and ferries are in many places, however, surcharges and reservation obligations. For example, the Berlin-Warsaw route in the Berlin-Warszawa Express will cost 3,50 Euro extra. For night trains, the trains charge between 4 Euro in the seat car and 150 Euro in the sleeping car.

If you do not want to pay surcharges, you have to adjust to slow trains and detours. All in all, Interrail is only worthwhile if you really travel all over Europe in a month - a stressful task that you might be better off with. If you do not want to be on the road all the time or just want to travel to individual countries, there are almost always better offers.

Cheap abroad

For shorter trips Interrail now offers cheaper tickets. For example, an 22 day variant for 309 Euro (for young people under 26) is available up to 629 Euro (in first class). Anyone who only travels ten days during this time will save between 90 and 140 Euro again. The price includes train travel in all 30 participating countries, including distant states such as Finland, Ireland and Turkey.

In addition, there are the one-country passes: They are valid for one month on 3 to 8 travel days in one European country. The countries are divided into four groups: Passes for France, Great Britain, Norway and Sweden are the most expensive, while Bulgaria, Macedonia, Slovenia and Turkey are the cheapest. Three days of France, on the other hand, hit 189 Euro - no bargain.

If you buy individual tickets, they often get away cheaper, eg with SurfundRail International (3 days advance booking, depending on availability from 19 Euro for a single trip) or with the Europe Special from 39 Euro for a single trip to Italy, Austria, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Paris.

But it's also worth looking around directly at the neighbors: For example, the French railways, SNCF, also have cheap tickets for early bookers and for Germans customers an online offer in German is available A tour of France from Strasbourg via Paris to Nice and back to Strasbourg is available from as little as 123 euros – including all surcharges. And you can also get to Paris with the Thalys from 25 euros.

Sleepless travel at night?

If you enjoy traveling at night, from 49 Euro you can travel in the City Night Line on 29 to nine European countries. And from 280 Euro on selected routes, you can travel every night for seven days to another metropolis - in a couchette cart with five other Mitschläfern.

A place in a sleeping compartment including breakfast beats already from 455 Euro to book. However, the question is whether you will actually find as much peace in a moving train with stops and possibly noisy passengers as in a hotel.

Riders are looking for

Many offers, such as saver prices or country tickets, are cheaper in the group. If you don't have someone to drive with you: search the web and share the price. You can find passengers, for example, at mitbahnen.de/ or mitbahnzentrale.de

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