Editing Germany/Travel

{{Head
|Travel in Germany
|Means, Operators, Saver Fares
|Here are the most popular means of travel between cities in Germany.}}
* by '''train''': fastest on short- & mid-distance, cheap if bought early
* by '''bus & car''':
** car rental: expensive but most flexible
** rideshares: cheap but reliability varies
** long-distance buses: cheapest but slowest
* by '''plane''': most expensive but fastest for distances over ~400km

== By Train ==
* The vast majority of trains are operated by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Bahn Deutsche Bahn], Germany's national railway company.
** You can travel all their trains for 1, 2 or 3 months with a "flat rate" ticket:
***  {{AffLink|Interrail|interrail}} if you a citizen or resident of an European country
***  {{Link|Eurail|eurail}} otherwise
* Their biggest private competitor is [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flixtrain Flixtrain].

=== Fast trains (ICE, IC, EC) ===
* These long-distance trains by ''Deutsche Bahn'' connect all larger Germany cities with frequent connections.
* Find a connection with their {{AffLink|Connection search|bahn.connection-search}}.
* Get the best price with their {{AffLink|Best price finder|bahn.best-price-finder}}.
** Ticket prices start from €17.90, even for very long connections.
** A calendar view of best prices for a connection gives you [https://bahn.guru/ Bahn.guru] (inofficial). 
* With a {{AffLink|Bahncard|bahn.bahncard}}, 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 ===
* 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 {{AffLink|Flixtrain connection search|flixtrain}} shows both Flixtrain and Flixbus connections.

=== Regional trains (IRE, RE, RB, S-Bahn)===
* 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 is offered: the [[Germany/Travel/9-Euro-Ticket|9-Euro-Ticket]]:
** a flat rate pass for €9 / month for unlimited travel on all regional trains.

== By Bus & Car ==
=== Long-Distance Bus ===
* Germany has a dense network of several long-distance busses (''Fernbus'').
* Buses are mostly reliable but often slower than trains.
* The main operator in Germany is {{AffLink|Flixbus|flixbus}}.
* [https://www.busradar.com/ Busradar] is a search engine for many bus connections in Germany (and Europe).

=== Rideshare ===
* At organized ride shares (''Mitfahrgelegenheit''), people who travel by their passenger offer their free seats to other travelers.
* Prices are similar to those for long-distance buses.
* {{AffLink|BlaBlaCar|blablacar}} is the most popular ride-sharing platform.

=== Hitchhiking ===
* Hitchhiking is popular in Germany.
* [https://hitchwiki.org/en/Germany Hitchwiki] gives more tips and lists convenient spots to start a hitchhike.

=== Car Rental ===
* Car rental for traveling 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 {{AffLink|Sixt|sixt}} and {{AffLink|Europcar|europcar}}.

== By Plane ==
* 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 [https://www.google.com/flights/ Google Flights].

{{Notes}}