How can I get the best deal from DeutscheBahn when travelling to other countries in Europe from Frankfurt?
When I was in Frankfurt some time back, I was planning a budget weekend trip to European countries and for this I was trying to get a best deal for ICE trains out of DeutscheBahn. Out of all the typical options for best deals, there is one particular thing I noticed:
The ticket machines at central train station were listing reduced fare for high speed trains to neighboring countries (Paris, Amsterdam, Spain etc) for the same day for as little as 28 euros.
I never got a chance to buy it but it was pretty surprising to see such a discount on tickets which otherwise cost 129-139 euros. The only reason i was not taking ICE trains was because of its high price but if i can score this reduced fare...
So my questions:
- Best way of getting the lowest fares on high speed connections (overnight and for solo traveller)
- Any other charges associated after buying these tickets ?
- The whole process (never been on ICE trains)
Best Answer
The Sparpreis-Europa (ex-EuropaSpezial) fares might be a good solution. You can search for these using the Sparpreis-Finder. If you only want to try the ICE without necessarily going abroad, there is also a similar type of discounted fares for domestric travel.
In both cases, you have to book long in advance, be somewhat flexible with timing and commit to a specific train as there are a limited number of tickets for each train and you generally cannot change them.
Note that the fare you found at the machine was probably different, because I think that Sparpreis tickets must be booked at least the day before.
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How can I get a discount on Deutsche Bahn?
Trick 1: Book well in advance to get low prices You can get tickets as cheap as \u20ac 19 when you book 1-91 days in advance on Bahn.de. Depending on the distance and occupancy of the desired route, the price per ticket increases up to \u20ac 119. If you have a Bahncard 25, you get a 25% discount.How much does it cost to take a train from Frankfurt to Paris?
Frankfurt (Main) Hbf to Paris by trainJourney timeFrom 3h 42mPriceFrom $32.64Distance296 miles (477 km)Frequency24 trains per dayFirst train00:505 more rowsHow much is a train ticket from Germany to France?
The best way to get from Germany to France without a car is to train which takes 9h 41m and costs \u20ac130 - \u20ac370.Is there a senior discount on Eurostar?
Eurostar, which operates the Chunnel trains, no longer advertises a senior fare. Disclaimer: Some train systems may restrict senior discounts to citizens of European Union communities, even though their websites do not indicate any such restrictions.Booking German Trains Directly Using Bahn.de
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Answer 2
If you can't get a "Sparpreis" or if you are planning a longer trip, a eurail pass might be for you. If you are from Europe, an interrail pass is the equivalent but cheaper version of the eurail pass for Europeans.
You can choose which countries you'd like to visit and how many days with train travel you will have (like 5 train travel days within a month).
For a weekend trip from Frankfurt to Paris and back, Sparpreis will probably be cheaper, but as soon as you add a third city, start comparing prices with the eurail/interrail passes.
Answer 3
- Right now they have the special you have mentioned going on right now. If you want to book. I recommend booking 3 months in advance. Here is the link to the discount Deutsche bahn https://www.bahn.de/p_en/view/index.shtml
?
You should have your booked ticket printed. or have the deutsche bahn app with your ticket Info and QR code. In the ICE they check your ticket. (most of the time) You should be on the platform before the Departure time as most of the time the trains are on time. In the train station there usually is a board that says where your train is leaving and if it is on time. You can also use the Deutsche Bahn app.
Answer 4
Aside from booking three months ahead, taking early morning and late-evening trains and using the Sparpreisfinder, you can also optimise for day (and date) of travel.
Typically, Fridays and Sundays will be high-volume travel dates with a lot of the cheap tickets sold out very quickly. By contrast, if you travel Tuesdays or Thursdays the cheaper tickets are available for a much longer time.
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