2023-06-08 20:10:00
Traveling by train can be quite expensive – despite the DB savings offers. But that doesn’t have to be the case, as you have already learned from “Stern TV Spezial”. Our experts, RTL consumer advocate Ron Perduss and rail blogger Lennart Fahnenmüller, have put together tips on how to lower the ticket price for your rail journey.
Book route via Auslandsbahn
Many of the routes you travel in Germany are served by trains coming from abroad. For example, there is a through train from Prague to Hamburg – part of the route runs from Berlin to Hamburg. If DB only offers expensive tickets for this section of the route, it’s worth taking a look at the Czech Railways website – cheap tickets can still be available there, advises RTL consumer protection expert Ron Perduss.
An example:
With the Deutsche Bahn, the trip from Berlin to Hamburg may cost 75.90 euros in the economy price. But with the Czechs it’s completely different: go to the Czech Railways website, set the language to English and then search your connection. With a bit of luck, you can find the same route for only 944 CZK – the equivalent of 40 euros.
The same also works on the Cologne-Nuremberg or Nuremberg-Frankfurt routes – trains that go on to the Czech Republic or come from the Czech Republic also run there.
Another example:
If you want to travel from Hamburg to Nuremberg, this can cost 115.90 euros in the saver price, for example.
But you can also on the ÖBB website Enter the route from Hamburg to Vienna via Nuremberg. And – surprise: On the same day, the ticket now only costs 96.20 euros. Although your ticket would be valid to Vienna, you already get off in Nuremberg and still have saved around 20 euros compared to booking with Deutsche Bahn.
Der Chiasso-Trick
If you want to travel abroad, do not book the entire route with Deutsche Bahn, but split the route up! A trip from Frankfurt to Milan costs from just under 80 euros to 135 euros if you book it with DB. You can push the price down to 35.70 euros, reveals Bahn expert Lennart Fahnenmüller.
How it works? For example, you want to travel on Sunday 18 June. With Deutsche Bahn, this costs 79.90 euros for the through train.
It’s cheaper this way: book the train to Chiasso. Because the DB savings price applies up to this Swiss border station.
In Chiasso you change to an Italian train – you can buy the ticket book online in advanceit costs 5.80 euros.
Total price: 35.70 euros instead of 79.90 euros!
City trips to Marseille, Stockholm or Paris for little money
Do you love city trips? Railway expert Lennart Fahnenmüller has three tips for you. In winter, for example, you can go to the Mediterranean for little money. To do this, take the through TGV that runs daily from Frankfurt. The terminus is called Marseille-St-Charles.
During the week (for example on November 7th) you can travel from Frankfurt to Marseille for 39.90 euros. But even on Wednesday, June 13, there are still cheap tickets available – for 59.90 euros.
Are you a Sweden fan? Then you can take the train from Hamburg to Stockholm. For example, on Wednesday, July 5, the trip costs 56.90 euros.
Or would you rather go to Paris? From Karlsruhe, for example, there is the continuous ICE for 79.90 euros on July 6th.
But that’s cheaper! If you have the Deutschlandticket, then first take the Regio to Kehl. For 4.60 euros you can continue from Kehl to Strasbourg.
For only 20 euros, the TGV then travels from Strasbourg to Paris – book the ticket online with the French railways SNCF – the website you can set in Englishif your French is not good enough.
Total price: 24.60 euros instead of 79.90 euros – if you already have the Deutschlandticket.
Get the 49 euro ticket for 1.65 euro
The Germany ticket for 1.65 euros? This works out! With some transport associations you only pay the pro rata price if you don’t want to buy it for the whole month – for example on the Munich S-Bahn.
Enter the desired first day of validity – and you only pay for the days that you actually need the Deutschlandticket. Important to know: In the following month you pay the full price of 49 euros.
More tips
Book last minute tickets!
You can still find cheap train tickets on the ltur website. It’s worth a look!
Book a group ticket!
Are you alone and want to save? Book a group ticket and look for passengers with whom you share the price – or book in a group via portals such as
Follow our expert on Twitter
Lennart Fahnenmüller also has good tips on Twitter – you can find him at @lenny_du_north
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