The Cheapest Ways to Travel Around Germany

The Cheapest Ways to Travel Around Germany

Germany rewards slow, cheap travel. The country is dense with places worth seeing, and its position in the middle of Europe makes it easy to spill over into neighbours. The worry for most students and budget travellers is cost, but there is no need to overspend: with the right ticket, the right booking window and a bit of flexibility, getting around is affordable. Here is how to do it by train, plane, shared car and bus.

Trains: the backbone of German travel

For long distances, the train is hard to beat, particularly in Germany. Night trains let you sleep through the journey and arrive in the morning, which saves a night of accommodation as well as a day of travel. Fares are the catch, but Deutsche Bahn, the national operator, runs a steady stream of offers that bring them down.

Travel as a group and pay less

Group travel is dramatically cheaper. Book for five people and the discount is substantial; with more than five, tickets drop to roughly half price — and that includes the fast ICE services. You simply select the number of travellers when booking online and enter each person's age. Anyone under 26 gets further reductions and more frequent offers on top.

If you travel often, a Bahn Card 25, 50 or 100 pays for itself. It gives a discount on every ticket you buy while it remains valid.

Book early for saver fares

Travelling alone? The savings come from booking well ahead online. Look for the Spärpreis (savings fare), which is sold online only and is limited in number per train. The earlier you commit, the lower the price.

Regional day tickets

Deutsche Bahn's regional offers are where the real bargains live. All of them cover regional trains only, not ICE or IC services, and all of them let you add companions cheaply.

• Quer-durchs-Land-Ticket — a day ticket for the whole country. €44 for one person, plus €8 for each of up to four companions. Split five ways and it works out at around €15 each.
• Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket — the weekend version, valid on Saturdays and Sundays only. €40 for one, €4 for each additional person, up to five in total.
• Länder-Tickets — valid for one day in a single federal state, available from ticket machines, online or at the station. Buy at the counter and you pay €2 more. Prices run from about €23 to €32 depending on the state, and the ticket covers unlimited regional transport for the day, including city buses and trams in most places. Up to four more people can join for €4 or €5 each.

A trick worth knowing: Basel Badischer Bahnhof, on the Swiss side of the border, is a German station. Buy the Baden-Württemberg ticket there for €23 (€19 if you are under 26) and travel the whole state for a day. I used exactly this to visit Konstanz on Lake Constance and Titisee in the Black Forest, both as day trips from Basel.

Also worth checking are the night trains and the Europa Special fares, which often undercut day services on long routes.

Flying on a budget

Low-cost airlines are useful for covering big distances, with caveats. Book early and book a return with the same carrier if you can — though you are not obliged to. One-way combinations often work better: fly Cologne to Rome with Ryanair, then take a train or bus onwards.

Ryanair and EasyJet are the main budget options; Germanwings sits slightly above them. Ryanair fares can start as low as €10–20, but you pay for any luggage beyond a cabin bag, and its airports are usually a long way from the city centre. Wizz Air, the Hungarian carrier, is another cheap option and flies from eleven German airports.

When searching, use the “Everywhere” destination option to see where the cheapest fares land on your dates. For a worked example, read how I visited four cities in three countries on a €100 travel budget.

Carpooling

Carpooling is the most economical and environmentally friendly option, and it doubles as a social one. On BlaBlaCar you create an account, enter your origin and destination, and browse drivers offering seats on your dates. Prices are low, and payment is flexible: pay securely through the site or hand over cash during the ride. It is a good way to meet locals and pick up tips about the place you are heading to.

The Autobahn has no general speed limit outside traffic jams, which makes for a memorable drive — and if you are the one driving, sharing the trip is a sensible way to split fuel costs.

For a cautionary tale about improvisation, read when a wrong train led to the right destination.

Buses

If the train fares do not fall your way and no carpool suits, the bus will almost certainly do the job. Germany's deregulated coach market is crowded and cheap. Meinfernbus, DeinBus, Eurolines and Flixbus all cover long distances at low prices.

Real examples: Cologne to Heidelberg with Meinfernbus for about €11, Berlin to Munich for €22, and Heidelberg to Stuttgart airport with DeinBus for as little as €7. Eurolines also sells inexpensive international tickets to Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels and Prague.

The trade-off is time. Buses are slower than trains, and a motorway jam can delay them badly. For short hops and tight budgets, it is usually still worth it.

If you are packing for a trip like this, see the travel accessories I actually use.

Photo of the carpooling scene by Omar Lopez on Unsplash.