German Railpass Sale on Ricke Steve's Website
 

Special Offer: 7 Day Consecutive German Rail Pass

See More of Germany with the specially priced 7 day consecutive German Rail Pass. Just book by September 29, 2016. Valid for travel through October 31, 2016.

Do you know if this is a general sale or only available through his website? I have been working with a travel agent and the plan was for her to buy the tickets.

It sounds like a great value. We are 3, husband/wife and 24 year old son. Our trips looks like this:

Wed Day 1 Depart USA
Thurs Day 2 Arrive Hamburg 12 noon
Fri Day 3 Hamburg
Sat Day 4 Hamburg-Berlin (up in the air on time, but it when I look at train options, I see a symbol that indicates construction will be causing changes-can anyone weigh in on that?)
Sun Day 4 Berlin-Potsdam (someone recommended going Sun vs. Mon because some sites are closed on Mondays)
Mon Day 6 Berlin
Tues Day 7 Berlin-Munich (not sure departure time yet...input?)
Wed Day 8 Munich
Thurs Day 9 Munich-Salzburg
Fri Day 10 Another daytrain trip suggestion
Sat Day 11 Munich
Sun Day 12 Munich-USA

Oops, That should be Rick not Ricke :-(

It's available from German Railways too.

https://www.bahn.com/i/view/overseas...romotion.shtml

It's good only for 7 CONSECUTIVE days, as far as I can tell. It would be E330 for Mom and Dad and E176 for the youth fare for E506 total at DB. No shipping since you download and print.

You really have only 2 major travel legs, Hamburg-Berlin and Berlin-Munich. The other day trips can be done very inexpensively for about E10 each on day passes (which I can't explain right now.) So I suspect you'd be MUCH better off WITHOUT a rail pass - just pre-purchase "savings fares" from DB (German Railways) for those big trips on specific trains on a pre-arranged travel schedule for your dates in questions - and buy the other short-distance tickets as you go.

I see lots of fares in October for Hamburg-Berlin at E29 each, same for Berlin-Munich. So that's less than E180 for all 3 of you plus your incidental short trips. To get such prices you just need to pin down and commit to travel schedules for those two journeys - buy online and print at home. The rest can be flexible and bought as you go.

I don't see how the bargain rail pass comes close.

And don't let an agent book you those ridiculously priced point-to-point tickets at Raileurope.

Those savings fares (Sparpreise) for your long distance trips make any sort of pass absolutely useless. Buying them with the Bahn is easy and reliable: payment by credit card and printing at home.
Short trips can be very cheap - especially when travelling as a family - with regional tickets. Only valid on regional trains and on working days after 9.00. Just buy them at the railway station.
That »construction« icon indicates a change in departure and/or arrival times. Click on the »Show details« button for more information. Check at the railway station for more peace of mind.

Day trip to Potsdam - VBB tickets are E3-4 each way per person from Berlin Hbf.

Day trip to Salzburg and to other Bavarian destinations (Garmisch? Prien/Herrenchiemsee?) - Bavaria Ticket:
http://munich-touristinfo.de/Bavaria-Ticket.htm

Munich Hbf - MUC airport - Airport-City day ticket:
http://www.mvv-muenchen.de/en/ticket...ty-day-ticket/

Yes it seems like for your travel plans even the special may be too much - yet if you want total flexibility to hop any train anytime - discounted tickets are train-specific and non-changeable I believe and you do not want to be restricted to regional trains then yes the pass would be a good deal vs full walk-up fares perhaps.

Any agent can get the pass at that price - for lots of info on German trains in general check www.seat61.com - great info on discounted tickets (though Fussgaenger above is an asbolute expert too!) and for general info www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves - as you know but others may not.

"...discounted tickets are train-specific and non-changeable I believe and you do not want to be restricted to regional trains."

Just to be clear... The E29 savings fares I referred to are indeed train-specific - and you can only refund them in advance for a substantial fee. Buy them for those two long trips only when you are sure you can commit to the train schedule that you book at the time of purchase.


However.. Savings fares for Hamburg-Berlin and Berlin-Munich have nothing to do with regional or local trains but for the high-speed, long-distance trains - the ICE, IC, or EC trains.

Also... the Bayern ticket for your day trips to places like Prien/Herrenchiemsee and Garmisch offer travel at all hours of the day on Saturday and Sunday; on weekdays you must use the ticket after 9 am. Buy them as you go from a station ticket machine - you CAN buy in advance but there's no point and they aren't refundable if you change your plans.

And there is no high-speed train option to many Bavarian destinations (like Garmisch) anyway, no matter whether you have a German rail pass or a cheap day pass.

The trip takes about 1:10 on the RE train to Garmisch.

To Prien, THERE IS a high-speed train that you cannot take with the Bayern ticket - but it saves you only about 10 minutes over the RE train that you can take on the Bayern Ticket.

Wow! Great information! Thank you!

those kinds of sales are not usually by the portal but by the Rail Pass company, so anyone selling them has the same discount.

Getting the 29 euro fare - is it always available as indicated -how long would one need to pre-book usually to guarantee getting it?

<those kinds of sales are not usually by the portal but by the Rail Pass company, so anyone selling them has the same discount.>

Exactly - ACP Rail in North America I believe and outlets they sell them thru - all booking go thru the wholesaler- same specials usually available on www.bahn.de/en too but not necessarily always - compare prices in euros and dollars - sometimes it may be cheaper here than there or vice versa - here you have no foreign transaction conversion fee.

"Getting the 29 euro fare - is it always available as indicated..."

I didn't say it's always available.

"-how long would one need to pre-book usually to guarantee getting it?"

There are no guarantees. It's a sale fare. But the chances of snagging that price generally look good for October, a better time of year than in summer or at Christmas, certainly. And it's better to buy NOW than later - prices rise as tickets sell. Maybe you get the E39 or E49 or E59 fare if you wait. Since you have a set itinerary, t's good to check your dates in any case, and check them NOW for the best prices.

And then, if you just cannot find nice fares for your dates, you can go with a rail passes. That's something you can buy at the last minute, even - it will be sold at those prices for another 8 weeks.

I didn't say it's always available.>

I did not mean to say you said that - but sometimes folks think automatically they can get a 29 euro or so fare - yes no need to buy any railpass in advance - if you have to cancel for some reason there is a 15% or so cancellation fee I believe.

Thank you so much for this very helpful information.

PalenQ
I am in favor of the German Railpass for the convenience but my husband's European train experience is in France and Italy with advance reservations so he is nervous about going to hop a train and it being full. In one of your posts I believe you said this rarely happens with a first class railpass vs. 2nd class. Thoughts?

Hi foolforfrance,

I live south of Munich and ride the rails very often, both within Bavaria and to other parts of Germany.

When I'm riding locally, I ride in the 2nd class, and I've never, ever not found a seat. Occasionally the wagon has been so full that there were maybe 3 people sitting in a 4-seat configuration, but since I'm sitting down, I really don't care too much. A few times I've sat on the temporary pull-down seats in the bicycle car, but again, I am sitting down.

When I go on a long-distance train, I usually go first class. There are always many open seats in first class, so you won't have a problem if you get a discounted first class ticket. One time, though, it was a last-minute trip, and there were no discounted first class tickets left, so I was travelling in second class. This was between Munich & Franfurt, and both trips (outbound & inbound) were at business-commuting times. Every single solitary seat was taken (by suit-clad, notebook-pecking businessmen). I was lucky and got a seat going up, but I made sure to have seat reservations for the return.

So, you can always make reservations for long-distance trains, both for 2nd class or for 1st class. Reservations cost around 4 or 5€. You truly do not need to spend so much money for a railpass. Having a railpass won't guarantee you a seat any more than having a ticket will; it only guarantees you travel.

Have fun as you plan!

s

Oh, and the cancellation fee is 17.50€. I just bought tickets from Garmisch to Freiburg and from Schluchsee to Montreux, and each one had the cancellation/change fee noted.

s

Just to add re. long-distance travel:

You can also get saver fares for 1st class.
Seat reservation will be included.

Berlin-Munich is a pretty long ride by train (6hrs 10min - 6hrs 40min).
An alternative would be to fly.
On regular working days, there are usually two services per hour by either Lufthansa or Air Berlin.
When comparing costs, dont't forget to check 'extras' like fees for checked baggage etc. - as you would also do in the States, I guess.

I am in favor of the German Railpass for the convenience but my husband's European train experience is in France and Italy with advance reservations so he is nervous about going to hop a train and it being full. In one of your posts I believe you said this rarely happens with a first class railpass vs. 2nd class.>

that has been my experience for years of German train travel -I've never not found empty seats in first class - no trains require advance reservations and the freedom to just show up at the station and hop on trains to me is priceless - others are happy to have their trains set in stone and non-changeable from what they book weeks/months in advance.

Only in first class do you have isolated seats - one seat in a row - two can face each other with a table in between. No bothering or being bothered by anyone to get in or out.

I always buy my passes from Byron at www.budgeteuropetravel.com and if you have questions there is one expert you can talk to - even if not buying - highly recommend him. But check prices for the pass from Germany online vs U.S. prices - sometimes one is higher and sometimes the other.

Of course the value of the pass on regional travels is you can board the faster trains which are faster and IME much more comfortable than regional or local trains. Even with Lander Tickets they come in first class for very little extra so if doing those you can go first class too.

As German trains are getting more crowded it seems in both classes and in first because of the discounted tickets sold in it to fill seats it may be harder to get initially two seats together - unless you are boarding where the train originates and board early.

And it depends on the time of day and day of week - rush hours around large urban areas of course are busier and business types often go in first class.

So I should not guarantee you will always get seats in first though that has been my experience - you can always easily make optional seat reservations and if you don't use them not be out only a few euros.

Myself I would not even bother with that.