Transport > Europe > Train travel > Train travel in Germany
Train travel in Germany
Although Germany is an expensive country to travel in, there are plenty of bargains which can make it a cheap place to get around. If you're travelling by bus and want to see a bit more of Germany or if you just want to make you rail pass go further, plan your travelling for evenings and weekends or take advantage of one of the saver tickets available. Check the Deutsche Bahn web site for more details.
Happy Weekend Ticket
(Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket)
The Happy Weekend Ticket is one of Europe's greatest bargains. For a total of only €39 (€37 if you buy the it online) up to five people can travel all weekend on local trains. This ticket is valid on second class only. It is not valid on high speed or express trains so you'll have to change trains several times if you want to cover long distances.
Länder Tickets
Länder-Tickets gives up to five people travelling together unlimited travel on local trains in your choice of several German states.
They are valid from 9am till 3am the following day from Monday to Friday, and they are also valid on weekends in most states. If the following day is a bank holiday, then it is valid from 9am until midnight the following day.
These tickets are good for travel on local trains (Interregio-Express, Regional-Express, Regionalbahn and S-Bahn as well as the Verkehrsverbünde transport systems), however in some states you can also travel on IR and D trains for a supplement of €13.
Baden-Württemberg-Ticket
This ticket is good for one day unlimited travel in Baden-Württemberg on all local trains (Interregio-Express, Regional-Express, Regionalbahn, S-Bahn) and the entire transport system of the Verkehrsverbünde Baden-Württemberg. It is valid everyday (including weekends) from 9am-3am the following day.
It costs €30 or €28 if you buy your ticket online or from a ticket machine.
Bavaria Ticket (Bayern-Ticket)
This ticket is good for one day unlimted travel in Bavaria on all local trains (Interregio-Express, Regional-Express, Regionalbahn, S-Bahn) and the Münchner Verkehrsbund (MVV), Verkehrsverbund Nürnberg (VGN) and Augsburger Verkehrs- und Tarifverbundes (AVV) transport networks. It is valid Monday-Friday from 9am till 3am the following day and weekends and bank holidays from midnight until 3am the following morning.
It costs €30 or €28 if you buy your ticket online or from a ticket machine.
The is also a single version of the Bavaria Ticket (called the Bayern-Ticket-Single) that has the same conditions as the Bavaria Ticket, except it is good for just one person. This ticket costs €22 or €20 if you buy the ticket online or from a ticket machine.
The Bavaria Night Ticket (Bayern-Ticket-Nacht) is another similar ticket, but is only good for travel from 6pm Monday-Thursday until 6am the following day. This ticket costs €22 or €20 if you buy the ticket online or from a ticket machine.
Brandenburg-Berlin-Ticket
This ticket is good for one day unlimited travel in Berlin and Brandenburg on all local trains (Regional-Express, Regionalbahn, S-Bahn Berlin) plus the local transport systems in Brandenburg and Berlin. It is valid everyday from 9am until 3am the following day.
It costs €30 or €28 if you buy your ticket online or from a ticket machine.
The Brandenburg-Berlin-Ticket-Nacht) is a similar ticket, but is only good for travel from 6pm until 6am the following day. This ticket costs €19 if you buy the ticket online.
Lower Saxony Ticket (Bremen, Niedersachsen-Ticket)
This ticket is good for one day unlimited travel in Bremen and Lower Saxony on all local trains (Regional-Express, Regionalbahn, S-Bahn) plus the public transport systems in Niedersachsen, Bremen and Hamburg. It is valid Monday-Friday from 9am until 3am the following day.
It costs €30 or €28 if you buy your ticket online or from a ticket machine.
The is also a single version of the Lower Saxony Ticket (called the Bremen, Niedersachsen-Ticket-Single) that has the same conditions as the Lower Saxony Ticket, except it is good for just one person. This ticket costs €22 or €20 if you buy the ticket online or from a ticket machine.
Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein-Ticket
This ticket is good for one day unlimited travel in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein on all local trains (Regional-Express, Regionalbahn, S-Bahn) and the transport systems in Hamburger Verkehrsverbundes (HVV) zone A and B, in the Kieler Verkehrsverbundes (VRK), Tarifgemeinschaft Lübeck (TGL) and regional trains in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It is valid everyday from 9am until 3am the following day.
It costs €30 or €28 if you buy your ticket online or from a ticket machine.
Hesse-Ticket (Hessenticket)
This ticket is good for one day unlimited travel in Hesse on all local trains (Interregio-Express, Regional-Express, Regionalbahn, S-Bahn) and the NVV, RMV and VRN/URN urban transport systems. It is valid Monday-Friday from 9am till 3am the following day and Saturday-Sunday midnight until 3am the following day.
It costs €30 if you buy your ticket online or from a ticket machine.
Mecklenburg-West-Pommerania-Ticket
(Mecklenburg-Vorpommern-Ticket)
This ticket is good for one day unlimited travel in Mecklenburg-West Pommerania on all local trains (Regional-Express, Regionalbahn, S-Bahn) plus the public transport systems in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Hamburg. It is valid everyday from 9am until 3am the following day.
It costs €28 or €26 if you buy your ticket online or from a ticket machine.
Nice-day-ticket North Rhine-Westphalia
(SchönerTagTicket Nordrhein-Westfalen)
This ticket is good for one day unlimited travel in North Rhine-Westphalia on all local trains (Interregio-Express, Regional-Express, Regionalbahn, S-Bahn) and local transport systems in North Rhine-Westphalia. It is valid everyday from 9am until 3am the following day.
It costs €35 or €33 if you buy your ticket online or from a ticket machine.
The is also a single version of this ticket called the SchönerTagTicket Nordrhein-Westfalen Single (Nice-day-ticket North Rhine-Westphalia Single) that has the same conditions, except it is good for just one person. This ticket costs €25.50 or €23.50 if you buy the ticket online or from a ticket machine.
Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate) Saarland Ticket
This ticket is good for one day unlimited travel in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland on all local trains (Regional-Express, Regionalbahn, S-Bahn) and local transport systems in Rheinland-Pfalz and Saarland. A supplement of €13 lets you also travel on IR and D trains. It is valid every day from 9am till 3am the following day.
It costs €29 or €27 if you buy your ticket online or from a ticket machine.
Sachsen-Ticket (Saxony-Ticket)
Sachsen-Anhalt-Ticket (Saxony-Anhalt-Ticket)
Thüringen-Ticket (Thuringia-Ticket)
This ticket is good for one day unlimited travel in Saxony, Lower Saxony and Thuringia on all local trains (Interregio-Express, Regional-Express, Regionalbahn, S-Bahn) and the public transport systems in Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt and Thüringen. It is valid Monday to Friday from 9am until 3am the following day.
It costs €30 or €27 if you buy your ticket online or from a ticket machine.
German Rail Pass
If you will be spending most of your time in Germany, a German Rail Pass may be just the ticket. These passes work in much the same way as the Eurail Flexipass, giving you 5, 10 or 15 days of travel within a one month period.
The German Rail Pass is also good for travel to Salzburg in Austria and Basel in Switzerland.
| Adult 1st class |
Adult 2nd class |
Youth 2nd class |
|
|---|---|---|---|
4 travel days within 1 month |
USD $331 |
USD $253 |
USD $211 |
5 travel days within 1 month |
USD $376 |
USD $284 |
USD $225 |
6 travel days within 1 month |
USD $421 |
USD $312 |
USD $241 |
7 travel days within 1 month |
USD $466 |
USD $342 |
USD $255 |
8 travel days within 1 month |
USD $508 |
USD $370 |
USD $269 |
9 travel days within 1 month |
USD $558 |
USD $404 |
USD $286 |
10 travel days within 1 month |
USD $603 |
USD $432 |
USD $300 |
InterRail One Country Pass
European residents are eligible to buy the Germany InterRail One Country pass, which is a flexi pass that gives you three to eight days of unlimited train travel in Germany within a one month period.
| Adult 1st class |
Adult 2nd class |
Youth 2nd class |
|
|---|---|---|---|
3 travel days within 1 month |
£238 |
£176 |
£117 |
4 travel days within 1 month |
£266 |
£195 |
£130 |
6 travel days within 1 month |
£338 |
£251 |
£163 |
8 travel days within 1 month |
£376 |
£279 |
£181 |
Please note that Interrail passes can only be sold to European residents. You should order the Germany Rail Pass if you live outside Europe.
