Ned help cancelling a German train ticket
 

Now that I booked our tickets from Amsterdam to Hamburg, I realize that I could get the same fare and go even farther.

But I can't figure out how to cancel this booking. The website, www.bahn.de says to go to "My Bookings" to cancel. But there is no way to cancel right there. Help, please! I really want to cancel this booking and subsitute with the other, where I'll save about $60. Thank you.

There is a English language phone number for bahn.de that i've seen others give out and say they usually answer any such questions and help out. scan bahn.de for it - sorry i don't have it handy

One of the numbers for German Rail in Germany is (your international access code, probably 011) 49 1805 99 66 33.

It's a shared cost number, so maybe not too easy to reach. This one is called "Questions about internet ticket orders", try that too.
It's a local Frankfurt number.

+49 69 265 40 167

Logos, I have called that number from the States on several occasions without difficulty.

Rebecca, what kind of a ticket do you have?

Is it a self-print ticket, or did they mail you a paper ticket?

Is it a full fare, open ticket useable on any train, or is it a reduced price ticket like an Europa-Spezial or Sparpreis ticket, valid for just one train, date, and time?

Larry, It's a Europa-Spezial ticket. The cost is the same to Hamburg as it is to Schnega, which is where we want to end up. I'm kicking myself for not searching that route. Bought separately, the fare from Hamburg to Schnega is 20E one way.

I don't know if Europa-Spezial fares are considered "saver fares" and therefore subject to a 15E charge.

I just made the booking so the tickets will be mailed to us (they're not printable tickets).

The tickets are refundable less a €15 fee up to the day before the first day of validity. After that they are non-refundable. If you have a username and password, you should be able to go to "Mein Login" on www.bahn.de and select "Mein Buchung" where it says "Direkt zu:". Otherwise, I think you have to contact Die Bahn by phone.

The information about Europa-Spezial Niederlande is at http://www.bahn.de/p/view/preise/int...derlande.shtml, in German. I couldn't find the info in English. Note where it says "Umtausch/Erstattung" (exchange/return) it says "Bis einen Tag vor Reiseantritt gegen eine Gebühr möglich", which means "possible for a fee until one day before beginning of trip".

Thank you for translating that for me! It was frustrating to go to "My Bookings" and then be sent to a page all in German, with no way to translate it. Oh well, there's nothing I can do. It wouldn't be worth cancelling, with the fee. So I'll just get the Hamburg - Schnega tickets separately, as online printable tickets. I appreciate the help. Next time I'll try to think of all possibilities (yeah, sure, I'll remember to do that...).

One thing that might reduce your fare a little, I noticed that the trip from Hamburg to Schnega is all via regional rail (at least during mid-day), so you should be able to make that part of the trip with a €27 Niedersachsen-Ticket, rather than full fare at €20 pP. The Niedersachsen-Ticket is valid in Hamburg and Bremen as well as everywhere in Niedersachsen.

How do I get such a ticket? Do we buy it at the station in Hamburg? Also, I'm not understanding the price, which seems more expensive - 27E rather than 20E? Can you explain? Thanks.

27 Euro is for up to five adults or younger i believe total for a whole day's travel on regional trains - thus you would save some euros over regular fares.

You can read about the Niedersachsen Ticket at http://www.bahn.de/international/vie..._tickets.shtml. The difference between 2 x €20 and €27 isn't that much (about $20), but why pay more. You can use the Niedersachsen-Ticket for the same trains.

Wonderful! I had read about the Laender tickets but didn't think they would apply to us. Now it does seem that they do. This will help with the cost of not getting that price all the way through. I went to the link, and the page for doing this is only in German, but I think I can figure it out.

Thank you both for your help. I told my son, who is planning a trip to Europe in October, that people are just so helpful on this site.

I'm confused!

The link I gave you, http://www.bahn.de/international/vie..._tickets.shtml, is for a page in English, isn't it?

There are Länder tickets for every Land (state) in Germany, all with about the same conditions, all day (after 9 AM weekdays), unlimited use of regional trains in the state, €25-€31. Some states only have one pass for up to five people, others have a separate one for less for single (e.g. Bavaria, €19). And on a weekends, there is the €35 Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket, which is good all over Germany.

Yes, it is. But if you want to buy a ticket online (see that section), the Ticket Shop is only available in German. That's what I meant.

There are no limits on Länder tickets. You can buy them right up to train time. You can buy them at the red/white/blue touc-screen DB ticket automats, the blue/white Nahverkehr (regional train) ticket automats, or from most metro district automats. You can buy them at at ticket counter for €2 more. Go to www.geocities.com/reise_deutschland for more information about Länder tickets and ticket automats.

Great! Thanks. I just went to it and have saved it in my favorites for this trip. I appreciate all your help.