Buying and using tickets for German rail travel

Welcome to ShowMeTheJourney's guide to booking train tickets for journeys within and from/to Germany, the info covers the core basics of what you can expect to encounter when making bookings.
The aim is to provide context for the tickets and journey options you should encounter, in usual circumstances, when making a booking either online or at the station.
SMTJ has striven to ensure that the advice we present is as accurate as possible, but a guide such as this cannot cover every combination of journey options.

If you want to go right ahead with a booking, you can go direct to the booking agents, accessible from the content menu, which sell train journeys within and both to and from Germany.
Though before doing so, having an idea of what's available is recommended, hence the in-depth answers the questions you're most likely to have about German rail tickets.

In summary the six things most worth knowing about tickets for long-distance train journeys in Germany are:

1. Tickets can usually be booked up to 6 months ahead of the travel date.
2. The further ahead you can book, the greater the savings to be made.
3. 1st class seat reservations are now no longer automatically applied when booking the cheaper types of ticket - Super Sparpreis and Sparpreis
4. When purchasing Super Sparpreis and Sparpreis tickets for journeys by express train, you can opt to add a 1st class upgrade AND / OR add a seat reservation - the seat reservation costs are €5.20 in 2nd class and €6.50 in 1st class.
5. Reservations are now only automatically included when upgrading 2nd class Flexpreise and Flexpreise Aktion tickets to 1st class, or when booking to travel 1st class with Flexpreise and Flexpreise Aktion tickets.
6. Tickets are specific to the different train services, so for example, you can't book a ticket for a journey by a IC train and then hop on an ICE express train instead.

Either click a question in the Content Menu to jump straight to the info you need, or take 5-10 minutes to discover all of the aspects of booking tickets for German train journeys which will save you time, money and confusion.

What all of the types of ticket which can be booked for journeys by express trains; the ICE, IC services on routes within Germany, have in common are:

• can be usually booked from 6 months ahead of the travel date (booking periods can be shorter in Sept/Oct and Feb/March)
• adults aged 15 and over can take up to four children aged 6 -14 at no additional charge (5s and under travel for free in any case)
• those aged 65 and over can travel at a discounted rate

1: Super Saver / Super Sparpreis Tickets
The most heavily discounted tickets, though the prices will in effect rise between being placed on sale and the travel date.
Key features:

• priced from €17.90 (though can be cheaper if DB is running a promotion and during a promotion 'Super Sparpreis Aktion' tickets can be available )
• only valid on the specific departure selected when booking
• cannot be refunded or exchanged to an alternative departure
• 2nd class does not include a seat reservation, can be added when booking for €5.20 per person.
• upgrades to 1st class available - price depends on route and departure, but no access to the DB lounges at stations
• upgrade to 1st class does not include the seat reservation, can be added when booking for €6.50 per person
• also available on most express train routes to and from Germany = Super Saver Europe / Super Sparpreis Europa tickets

There are also Super Saver Young / Super Sparpreis Young Tickets
They can be booked and used by those aged 15-26 at the time of travel.
Same key terms as Super Saver / Super Sparpreis Tickets but prices on certain express train routes within Germany are available from €12.90.
Though this from €12.90 price is seemingly, and perhaps inevitably, more widely available on comparatively short routes, including:

• Berlin ↔ Hamburg
• Berlin ↔ Dresden
• Koln ↔ Frankfurt
• Koln ↔ Hannover
• Munchen ↔ Stuttgart
• Frankfurt ↔ Stuttgart

2: Saver / Sparpreis Tickets
A less restrictive type of discounted ticket, though the prices will in effect rise between being placed on sale and the travel date.
Key features:

• priced from €21.90 (though can be cheaper if DB is running a promotion); those aged aged 15-26 at the time of travel can travel from €16.50 on certain routes
• only valid on the specific departure selected when booking
• can then be cancelled up until the day of a departure for a fee of €10, with the balance returned in the form of a travel voucher
• inclusive of 'City Ticket' which enables travel to and from the station at both ends of the trip by bus, S-Bahn, U-Bahn or tram
• 2nd class does not include a seat reservation, can be added when booking for €5.20 per person
• upgrades to 1st class available - price depends on route and departure, but no access to the DB lounges at stations
• upgrade to 1st class does not include the seat reservation, can be added when booking for €6.50 per person
• also available on most express train routes to and from Germany = Saver Europe / Sparpreis Europa tickets does not include public transport outside Germany

3: Flexible / Flexpreis tickets
These are non-discounted tickets, the prices are normally fixed irrespective of how far head you book.
Key features:

• valid on any departure on the travel date
• can be cancelled or exchanged to another departure up until the travel date for no additional charge
• inclusive of 'City Ticket'
• 2nd class does not include a seat reservation, can be added when booking for €5.20 per person
• upgrades to 1st class available - price depends on route and departure, seat reservation is included and ticket holders have access to DB lounges at stations
• also available on most express train routes to and from Germany = Flex Price Europe Tickets

4: Flexpreis Aktion tickets
These tickets can be offered when DB is offering a promotion, and they are cheaper than Flexpreis tickets.
Key features:

• valid on any departure on the travel date
• cannot be refunded or exchanged to an alternative departure
• inclusive of 'City Ticket'
• 2nd class does not include a seat reservation, can be added when booking for €5.20 per person
• upgrades to 1st class available - price depends on route and departure, seat reservation is included and ticket holders have access to DB lounges at stations

Not if you will taking a local train; either an S-Bahn or Regio train, or if you be travelling longer distances* by the Regio trains.
*Some Regio train services to/from Munich/Munchen are an exception.

In contrast tickets for the express IC trains and ICE trains, will be more expensive if you buy them at the station on your travel date

When travelling between German towns and cities there can be a choice of up to three different train services;
(1) Regio trains,
(2) IC trains and;
(3) ICE trains.

This does matter when booking tickets at the station.
The tickets for the Regio train will be the cheapest option; and as tickets for Regio train services usually aren't discounted, they won't be cheaper if you book them online - so it's best to buy them at the station just before boarding.
If you use a ticket counter, the booking clerk may assume you want to take the Regio train and if you use a ticket machine the cheapest price will be for the Regio trains.

Because tickets for the Regio train are cheaper they can't be used to travel on an IC or ICE train.
So once you have booked such tickets you can't just hop on any next train to your destination, you may have to hang back and wait for the next Regio train service to depart.
If you board an IC train or ICE train with a ticket that's only valid for a Regio train, you will have to pay a price difference to the conductor when your ticket(s) is inspected on the train; but it's a scenario that's best avoided!

If you're planning to make a long distance journey within Germany by EC trains, IC trains or ICE trains, then you can make big savings if you book online in advance.

Though what soon becomes apparent is the wide choice of departures, routes and prices you will be typically offered, but use the advice below and you should be able to book and save with confidence!

In contrast you can't usually make savings if you want to travel on the Regio trains, because tickets for journeys by these trains aren't* usually discounted
*The Regio trains in Bavaria are an exception, so if you will be taking a Regio train from Munchen/Munich, try to book it in advance online.

The minimum price you will see for a journey by an ICE train is often €17.90, but this can still be cheaper than Regio (RE) trains over shorter distances.
If your journey is around 60 - 90 mins and there is a choice of IC, ICE and RE trains, don't assume that the RE trains will automatically be the cheapest option.

Though if the journey by ICE is under an hour, it's likely that paying last minute at the station for a journey by Regio train will be cheaper, compared to booking the ICE in advance.
Plus you won't be tied to a specific departure if you opt to take the Regio trains.

Tickets for train journeys within Germany by IC trains or ICE trains or EC trains can now USUALLY be booked 6 months ahead.

Though keep in mind that the booking windows can be shorter when LOOKING up journeys between the middle of August and the middle of October - but not when travelling during this time.

The further ahead you book tickets for long distance journeys by EC trains*, IC trains and ICE trains, the more likely it is that you will save money.
That's because limited numbers of discounted tickets are made available online for journeys by IC, IC/EC and ICE trains.
*= Those international EC trains can travel for long distances within Germany.

The cheapest advanced tickets for journeys within Germany are named ‘Super Sparpreis’ tickets.
(DB also uses ‘Savings/ Sparangebote’ terminology; it can depend on which language version of the site you are using).

The next most expensive type of tickets are the 'Sparpreis' tickets, they're also discounted, but are less restrictive than the 'Super Sparpreis' tickets, but the key feature of both types of Sparpreis ticket, is that they can only be used to travel by the specific train selected when making a booking.

The extension of the booking window to 6 months ahead, has resulted in the cheapest possible price of 'Super Sparpreis' tickets being only €17.90 for SOME (not all) exceptionally long journeys, such as Koln/Cologne to Berlin or Basel Bad Bf.
However, on the longer routes that do have tickets from €17.90, there MAY not be many of these €17.90 tickets available if you're not booking more than 4 months ahead.

Using Bahn Cards:

DB offers multiple types of Bahn Cards which are railcards which can be used to obtain a 25% or 50% discount when booking tickets for train tickets in Germany.

What's particularly useful if you will be planning a holiday with numerous rail journeys in Germany is that Bahn Cards valid for 3 months are available, which are given the name of Trial Bahn Cards.
The prices are:

• A Trial Bahn Card 25 which gives 25% off 2nd class journeys = €17.90
• A Trial Bahn Card 25 which gives 25% off 1st class journeys = €36.90
• A Trial Bahn Card 50 which gives 25 - 50% off 2nd class journeys = €72.90
• A Trial Bahn Card 50 which gives 25 - 50% off 1st class journeys = €146

If you're happy to commit in advance and book non-flexible, discounted Super Sparpreis tickets for specific departures, the prices of many long-distance German rail journeys in 2nd class start at €17.90.
Therefore you need to make only four trips with a card which gives 25% off 2nd class journeys, for the Trial Bahn Card 25 card to be a money saver.
However, those €17.90 ticket prices can be hard to track down if you're not booking more than a couple of months in advance, so prices of €39-49 can be more typical.
At those prices you only need to make two long trips (one return journey) for the card to be worthwhile.

However the Trial Bahn Card 50 cards are only worth buying if you want to avoid the more restrictive terms of using Super Sparpreis tickets and Sparpreis tickets, because the 50% discount is only applied to the more expensive Flexible tickets.
When booking Super Sparpreis tickets and Sparpreis tickets, the Trial Bahn Card 50 cards don't live up to their name and only provide for a 25% discount.
Though as Super Sparpreis tickets can't refunded or exchanged, the combination of Trial Bahn Card 50 card + flexible tickets provides protection against a trip having to be cancelled.

The D-Ticket aka The Deutschland Ticket:

The Deutschland Ticket, also known as the D- Ticket, is a new option for exploring Germany by train.

It's significantly cheaper than national rail passes and offers the option to travel further, compared to using the 'Lander' regional day tickets,

The D-Ticket can be used for a money-saving holiday trip in Germany, but because the primary purpose of the ticket is to make travel cheaper for regular users of trains in Germany, there are four aspects of using a D-Ticket, which need to be front of mind:

1. The ticket won't be cheaper if booked in advance, but whether you obtain the D-Ticket at a station ticket office or book it online you have to take a subscription, a monthly re-occurring fee.
   So you will need to remember to cancel at the conclusion of your trip, before the next payment is due.
2. D-Tickets are valid for month, but the period of validity begins on the first day of the month, regardless of when you purchase the ticket, or the date of your first day of travel.
3. It can't be used on the express train services; the ICE trains and the IC (EC) trains.
   The train services on which the D-Tickets can be used, regardless of which company is operating the trains, are:

• The local trains in German urban areas and cities which are known as S-Bahn services
• The local trains away from the major German cities, which are the RB services and are branded Regio services.
• The faster RE trains which connect cities and skip more stations than the S-Bahn and RB services; plus they also operate over longer routes not taken by the express trains - they also branded Regio services.

4. D-Tickets are sold at a flat rate, so there are no discounts for children or group travel

The national 'Quer-Duch-Lands' Ticket:

Also known as the Day Ticket, this Quer-Duch-Lands-Ticket allows for travel anywhere in Germany for a day, as long as you travel only on Regio and S-Bahn services and not on the express IC and ICE trains.

Though using this ticket becomes a particularly good option if you will be travelling in a group.
That's because the base price for one Adult is €42, but up to four other adults can travel on the ticket for only an additional €8 per person.

This ticket can be used for making a long-ish day trip by train, OR a multi-destination single day itinerary, OR as a cheaper, but slower alternative to taking the ICE and IC trains when the cheapest express train tickets have sold out.

Regional 'Lander Passes:

If you are planning a day trip by train within a particular region in Germany, these regional day tickets can be great value for money, they cost from €23 - 31 for an individual, but up to four other people can be added to the ticket for only €3 - 7 per person.
Meaning that, for example, five adults can explore anywhere in Bavaria in a day by train for only €52.

Though these 'Lander' tickets can be used to travel only on Regio and S-Bahn services and not on the express IC and ICE trains.

If you want to travel between regions, then the Quer-Duch-Lands-Ticket can be a good option.

Two Other Tips for Saving Money on German Train Tickets:

1: Choose your departure with care:

DB utilises a system of sliding scale prices for discounted tickets and this is seemingly dependent on how popular a particular train is, or is likely to be.
As a result the very cheapest 'Super Sparpreis' tickets are not seemingly available on all trains.

Therefore the more flexible you can be re: departure and arrival times on your date of travel, the more you can save (generally).
Search through the departures on the day on which you want to travel to find the cheapest fares.
DB offers every possible combination of trains between two destinations, so pay special attention to the number of changes of train and the journey times.
The cheaper prices may only be available if a change of train is involved, or on a less direct and longer route.

2: Change the default options when looking up a journey:

This advice particularly applies if you will be making a comparatively complicated journey within Germany, with one or more changes of train.

When looking up a journey on the DB website, its search engine automatically assumes that you'll want to make the journey in the fastest possible time AND that you'll want to travel by an ICE train, if they're an option on your route.
But it you proactively turn off the 'show fastest connections' on the DB home page, you will then also see slower journey options, which may be cheaper.

Super Sparpreis tickets cannot be refunded or exchanged if you subsequently change your travel plans, or miss the train you are booked into in circumstances not attributable to DB; such as a taxi getting stuck in traffic.
They can only be used on the specific departure you selected when booking, with the only exception being when a train delay causes a missed connection.

But a 'Sparpreis' ticket is more flexible, if you want to cancel your travel plans up until the day of a departure, you can pay an admin fee €10 to receive a voucher equivalent to the cost of the ticket, which can be used for future bookings with DB.
On the travel date, if train delays are not occurring, Sparpreis tickets cannot be transferred to an alternative departure, meaning that you will still have to re-book another ticket at the last minute, if you miss a train due to circumstances outside the control of DB.

Though it can be worth carefully comparing the price of 'Super Sparpreis; and 'Sparpreis' tickets as the price difference can be as little as €5; particularly if you will be heading for a city centre served by local S-Bahn trains, such as Berlin, Frankfurt (Main) or Munchen/Munich.
The 'Sparpreis' tickets include these local journeys by S-Bahn trains but the Super Sparpreis tickets don't.

Actually changing trains can be cheaper than taking direct trains, so when looking up a journey, un-ticking the 'prefer fast connections' options can be a money saver.

Some ICE routes have some departure options, in addition to direct trains, which have changes of train factored into the timetables.
The service alternates between direct trains in one hour and indirect journeys with connections in the next hour; a pattern that's repeated throughout the day.
And opting to make an indirect journey can be cheaper than the direct trains.

Routes on which this is an option include:

• Hamburg and Hannover ↔ Stuttgart or Basel via Karlsruhe and Freiburg
• Koln/Cologne ↔ Ulm and Augsburg
• Koln/Cologne ↔ Basel via Karlsruhe and Freiburg

Those journey options with changes of train have theoretically simple connections between trains.
Usually they involve simply crossing a platform from one train to another; and with the second train departing within 10 mins
However, these connections are NOT 100% guaranteed, though SMTJ has experienced connecting services being held back for up to 25mins.

Though if you miss a connecting train, due to the late arrival of a preceding train, any tickets/reservations can be swapped to a subsequent train free of charge at a Reisezentrum travel desk.

The DB ticket booking site also has a neat facility to extend the minimum connecting time between trains, when booking journeys that involve a change of train.
When making connections between IC/ICE trains, extending the connection time/ 'duration of transfer' to a minimum of 30 mins is recommended; particularly if you will be travelling long distance at a weekend.
The step by guide guide to using the DB website, which you'll find below, explains how to do this.

This varies according to the route you will be taking.
Occasionally the IC trains and ICE train take different routes between cities, with the ICEs taking the high speed lines while the IC trains still follow the conventional older routes; and when the ICs trains are notably slower, they're nearly always cheaper, particularly if you won't be booking months in advance.

The option to choose slower, but generally cheaper, IC trains is available when travelling between these cities (and more):
Dusseldorf and Koln ↔ Frankfurt (Main) or Stuttgart
Frankfurt (Main) ↔ Hannover and Hamburg
Berlin ↔ Hannover

However, IC trains and ICE trains also share certain routes, but on these routes such as Berlin ↔ Hamburg and Munchen ↔ Stuttgart, the IC trains departing at popular times can be more expensive than less popular ICE trains, so you won’t always save by taking IC trains.

Reservations are now only automatically included when upgrading 2nd class Flexpreise and Flexpreise Aktion tickets to 1st class, or when booking to travel 1st class with Flexpreise and Flexpreise Aktion tickets.

When purchasing the cheaper Super Sparpreis and Sparpreis tickets for journeys by express train, you can opt to either:

• travel 2nd class and add a seat reservation for an additional fee of €5.20.
• book 1st class / upgrade a 2nd class ticket to 1st class and add a seat reservation for an additional fee of €6.50.

When booking Flexpreise and Flexpreise Aktion tickets for travel in 2nd class, you can add a seat reservation for an additional fee of €5.20.

If your journey involves more than one EC, IC or ICE train, you will only have to pay one reservation fee, as it will cover all the trains you will be taking.

It is also possible to book reservations at a later date separately from the ticket booking, both online or by using DB branded ticket machines at stations.
Although if you do book your reservations later and your journey involves more than one train, you will then have to pay for separate reservations per train.

Select specific seats

When you opt to reserve, or automatically assigned reservations when booking 1st class Flexpreis tickets/ Flexpreis Aktion tickets, DB tends to assign seats randomly.
So if you want your seats to be:

• by a window or on the aisle
• adjacent to a luggage rack
• in a compartment (when available)
• in a Quiet Zone
• at a table
  you can select any seats which are still available on the seating plan
  Note that facilities such as compartments and Quiet Zones may be in an entirely different coach / carriage to that in which the seats you have been initially assigned are located.

All ICE trains have family compartments and / or family areas, but when making a booking for a party of adults + children, if you opt to add a reservation, you won't automatically be assigned seats in these family areas.
So you will need to find and select them (when still available) on the seating plan.

• On ICE 1 trains the larger family compartments are in coach 6 or in coaches 5 and 9, with additional smaller compartments in coach 5
• On ICE 2 trains they both in coach 25 and coach 35
• On ICE 3 trains both the family compartments and family areas are in coach 25 and coach 35
• On ICE 4 trains they are both in coach 9, or in coaches 24 / 34.
• On ICE T trains the family area is in coach 24, and on some ICE-T trains there is also a family compartment in coach 26, which is also the restaurant car.

These have recently changed for the better.

• For journeys by the express trains, the EC, IC and ICE trains, an adult (on German railways an adult is a person aged 15 and over) can now take up to four children aged 6 - 14 with them at no additional charge.
  The change is that this policy only previously applied when parents or grandparents were accompanying the children.
  Their ages will need to be entered when booking, so you can't just turn up at the station and hop on board; the kids will still require tickets, but in effect they will be complimentary.
  These new terms also apply to 1st class tickets and it doesn't matter which type of ticket is chosen; and it also applies to international journeys by these specific trains (except for the ICE trains to/from Paris).
• For journeys by the the Regio and S-Bahn trains the former child ticket policy applies, namely a parent or grandparent can take up to four children aged 6 - 14 with at no charge
• Children aged 5 and under travel for free on all trains.
• Children aged 6-14 travelling unaccompanied by adults, or when travelling in a party of more than 6 people will be charged 50% of the adult rate.

When booking tickets with the German national rail operator DB's ticket booking service, it is possible to select an age 65 and over as option- and this can then apply a discount, depending on the route and departure time etc.

Small dogs which can be placed in pet-carriers can be taken on board any train as hand luggage and there is no charge for doing so.

Dogs which can't be fitted in carrier/container, because they are larger than a typical domestic cat, require tickets,
So when booking online for a journey by ICE or IC trains with DB, the German national rail operator, add a larger dog as 'a passenger'.
The price charged will be 50% of the adult rate
If you want to travel 1st class you will need a 1st class ticket for the dog.

However, most journeys by Regio trains are not available on the DB booking service, so if you will be taking these trains, you can book the ticket for you and the dog at a station ticket counter.

If you opt to book a digital ticket you will be sent an email confirmation.

You can then either;

• Open the email on your phone and then save the ticket to your phone as a PDF. You can then show your phone to the conductor on the train, what they will need to see is the square barcode.
• Print the ticket and take it with you.
• Download the DB Navigator app; once you register, your bookings will be contained within the app.

OR pay the fee to have tickets posted to you.

Take your time when booking tickets on DB as it can be important not to miss the fairly small exclamation marks on the journey selection pages.
The exclamation marks on a black circle can indicate schedule changes such as arrival times being different to the norm.

However, if you see a red mark and accompanying red text, always click on the the 'Show details' arrow to discover what's been changed from the norm.
In an extreme example, such as that below, the info can be informing you that the end-to-end journey won't be possible by train.
Though when that is the case, DB will still sell tickets for the journey.

DB recently made major changes to how it sells tickets online for end-to-end train international train journeys from and to Germany.
The good news is that the number of countries to which online tickets can be booked to and from has been extended; it now sells tickets for journeys* between Germany and Austria, Belgium Croatia, Czechia / Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Hungary, Luxembourg, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands.
*= Not every route can be booked online, but most can be; find out more more about this on the step-by-step guide above.

Even better news is that DB now sells end-to-end tickets online for many journeys from and to these countries, which involve a change of train outside of Germany.
This has hugely increased the number of journeys which can be booked on the comparatively easy to use DB website.

Though not so good is that DB no longer sells rail tickets for journeys between Germany and The UK (not connected to The UK no longer being a member of the E.U.).

What to look out for when booking:

How DB sells international tickets, in terms of the booking path you will follow on the website, is now dependent on one of three factors;

• whether you will be taking a direct train,
• if the journey involves a change of train at a German station,
• if the journey involves a change of train and/or at a station outside of Germany.

When looking up a journey you will see red buttons to take you on to the next stage of the booking process; the text on these red buttons will EITHER state 'To offer selection' OR 'Determine Price'.

When the button states 'To offer selection' the end-to-end prices of the journey, will be shown, irrespective of how many connections are required to complete the trip.
Also when you see 'To offer selection, the booking path is the same as what's followed, when booking tickets for journeys wholly within Germany.

You will see 'To offer selection' if the journey involves travelling by these direct trains:

• DB-SNCF trains to/from France
• EC trains to/from Croatia, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Slovenia, Switzerland and The Czech Republic.-
• IC trains to/from The Netherlands and Switzerland
• ICE trains to/from Austria, Belgium, Switzerland and The Netherlands
• Railjet trains to/from Austria and Hungary.

You will USUALLY* also see 'To offer selection' buttons for these types of international journey:

• those which involve making connections into other trains within Germany - and then a direct train from Germany;
• those which involve making changes of train in Germany and/OR MULTIPLE changes of train in the countries in which you will be completing your journeys; IF these countries are Austria, Belgium*, Denmark, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland and The Netherlands (*If the journey doesn't involve taking a Thalys train service between Germany and Belgium);
• those which involve making changes of train in Germany and/OR no more than 1 x change of train in the countries in which you will be completing your journey - IF these countries are Czechia/Czech Republic, Hungary and Sweden.

*The exceptions primarily involve journeys on which a train/route in the other country is provided by a different company to the main national rail operator; though that doesn't apply to journeys within Switzerland.

In contrast, you will USUALLY see a 'Determine Price' button if the journey involves:

• a direct journey by Thalys trains;
• taking an ICE to Bruxelles and then travelling on to France by TGV trains;
• both changing trains in Germany and changing trains in France, Hungary or Italy;
• journeys which involve multiple changes of train in Hungary and Sweden;
• journeys with a change of train in The Czech Republic, when on route to another country,
• travelling on a Nightjet train (most overnight trains from and to Germany are Nightjets).
• journeys which involve taking an international overnight train from Germany and then making onward connections in the other country.

If you see 'Determine Price' then you may or may not be able to book the ticket online with DB; though if DB IS selling the journey, you will follow a different 'international journey' booking path.
Using the 'Determine price' booking path is described on the step-by-step guide to using the DB website shown above.

If DB won't enable you to book the journey online, it will offer you the opportunity to make a telephone booking.
Examples of these journeys which seemingly CAN'T be booked online with DB, when you see the 'Determine price' include:

• those that involve taking a Thalys train from Germany and then connecting into another train,
• journeys from Germany to Austria or Hungary, which involve changing trains in Czechia/The Czech Republic,
• journeys which involve changing trains in Poland,
• onward connections from an international overnight train.

The short answer to this is yes; IF you will be booking a long distance journey by daytime express train, or an overnight train; AND book in advance before the limited numbers of the cheaper tickets are sold out.

The discounted tickets for international journeys are now called 'Super Saver Fare Europe', cheapest of all when available - and 'Saver Fare Europe', the German name for these tickets is 'Super Sparpreis Europa' and 'Sparpreis Europa'.
When looking up an international journey on DB, if you see a 'To offer selection' button, then DB will offer these Saver Fare/Sparpreis types of ticket for the end-to-end journey.

The plus of booking these tickets is that you nearly always won't have to be concerned about making all of the connections; if a train delay causes you to miss a connection, your ticket will almost certainly be valid on subsequent trains.

If instead you see a 'Determine price' button then having clicked on it, if you are ultimately offered the opportunity to book a ticket online, you will then usually be offered a range of prices.
But carefully check the terms and conditions associated with these prices, the cheapest prices will combine discounted tickets for the train from journey AND the most heavily discounted tickets on the onward train(s).

Though what won't be initially obvious, is that later in the booking process, you will ALSO be able to select different types of ticket per train; when different types of ticket are available.
Although even when you're taken down the 'Determine price' booking path, you shouldn't have to pay extra charges if you subsequently miss any specific train you are booked on to in the event of a train delay.

The short answer to this question is no there is not.

Super Saver Europe / Super Sparpreis Europa tickets tickets are only valid on the specific departure selected when booking and cannot be refunded or exchanged to an alternative departure.

Saver Europe / Sparpreis Europa tickets are also only valid on the specific departure selected when booking, but they can then be cancelled up until the day of a departure for a fee of €10, with the balance returned in the form of a travel voucher.

In contrast Flexpreis Europa tickets can be exchanged or refunded.

If your journey to/from Germany involves travelling on a train service with mandatory reservations, the seat reservation will be included with your booking on DB, regardless of whether you book 1st OR 2nd class tickets.

This also applies if your international journey involves connecting in another country, into a train service with mandatory reservations; such as a TGV service in France or a Frecce train in Italy.
In other words whenever a seat reservation is required, it will be included in your booking, you won't have to proactively add it.

On the other train services to/from Germany on which seat reservations are available, but optional; if you book a 2nd class ticket(s), you will have to pay a €4 reservation fee per person in order to have assigned, guaranteed seats.

The train services to/from Germany, on which the reservations are an optional extra for 2nd class ticket purchases, include:

• the ICE trains between Germany and Austria, Belgium, Switzerland and The Netherlands,
• the Railjets between Germany and both Austria and Hungary,
• the EC/IC train services between Germany and Czechia, Hungary, Switzerland and for most of the year, Denmark.

However, if you book a 1st class ticket(s) on DB, for a train service with 'optional' reservations, you will have guaranteed seats assigned as a complimentary benefit.

So if you want to travel 1st class, it can be worth booking tickets for such journeys on DB (or Omio and Trainline), particularly when travelling to Germany; if you book 1st class on the alternative websites in the countries you are travelling from or to, it's unlikely that you will receive a complimentary reservation.

The reservations differ on the overnight sleeper trains (when ICE and IC trains are used for overnight journeys, the reservations policy is the same as for the daytime services).

If you book an overnight journey by a sleeper train, a EuroNight or a Nightjet service, DB will initially assign you a seat; because reservations are compulsory on such services.
The first price you will see will be the price of travelling in a seat, the overnight trains convey seats as well as couchettes and sleeping cabins - but if you click the red 'Continue' button, you will be able to select reserved berths in couchettes and beds in sleeping cabins.

Though it's no longer possible to book reservations on the overnight trains separate to the the ticket booking process, meaning that rail pass users can no longer book overnight train reservations on the DB website

This second version of ShowMeTheJourney is exciting and new, so we are genuinely thrilled that you are here and reading this, but we also need your help.
We’re striving not to let anything get in the way of providing the most useful service possible, hence a facility has been set up with DonorBox which can be used to support the running costs and make improvements.

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