Travel in Germany

The most popular travel means of travel between cities in Germany are:

trains: fastest on short- & mid-distance, cheap if bought early
on roads:
- car rental: expensive but most flexible
- carpools: cheap but reliability varies
- long-distance buses: cheapest but slowest
plane: mostly expensive but fastest for distances over ~400km

By Train

The vast majority of trains is operated by Deutsche Bahn, Germany's national railway company.
Their biggest private competitor is Flixtrain.

These long-distance trains by Deutsche Bahn connect all larger Germany cities with frequent connections.
Find a connection with their Connection search^[1].
Get the best price with their Best price finder^[1].
- Ticket prices start from €17.90, even for very long connections.
With a Bahncard^[1], you can get a 25% or 50% discount on nearly any ticket.
- A Bahncard 25 costs €56,90, a Bahncard 50 €234 per year (2nd class).
- There is a 3-month trial version (Probe-Bahncard) for €17.90 / €72,90.

Flixtrain is a brand of Flixbus, Germany's biggest operator of long-distance buses.
Their network connects many cities, but trains run only 1 to 4 times a day
Prices are very cheap, starting from €3.
Trips can be booked together with Flixbus busses, so you can get one ticket for the whole trip (bus & train).
The Flixtrain connection search^[1] shows both Flixtrain and Flixbus connections.

Regional / local trains are mostly operated by Deutsche Bahn.
They connect close cities or cross / go around big cities.
- It is possible (but slow) to travel long-distances by using many regional trains in a row.
In June, July and August 2022, a special ticket will be offered: the 9-Euro-Ticket:
- a flatrate pass for €9 / month for unlimited travel in all regional trains.

With organised ride shares (Mitfahrgelegenheit), people who travel with their passenger car offer their free seats to other travellers.
Prices are similar to those for long-distance buses.
BlaBlaCar^[1] is the most popular ride sharing platform.

Car rental for travelling between cities is rather unpopular in Germany. It is mostly done when moving to a new place, and a van is needed.
The biggest rental companies are Sixt^[1] and Europcar^[1].

Because of Germany's fast train network, plane travel within Germany only makes sense for very long distances, e.g. Hamburg-Munich.
Find all flight connections with Google Flights.

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