Traveling in Germany?

Question

I'm flying to Munich in a few weeks. I'll be working there for about a month, and I was hoping to travel around a bit on the weekends - namely, to Prague and Zurich. But rail prices seem very expensive, and I'm a broke graduate student. Is there anyway I can get a discount on the train? Or is there a cheaper way to travel? Thanks for any advice.

Answer 1

You can check the Bahn website:

http://www.bahn.de/international/view/en...

but there are always special offers like the 'Dauer Spezial' where you can get a ticket 4 29€ to travel wherever you want in Germany but there are also special offers for travelling abroad. The Night trains are are cheap so I could get a ticket from Frankfurt to Vienna for 29€. There's just the fact that there are just a few cheap tickets avalaible and sometimes they are sold out but you can check that on the website!

Answer 2

HI, if you are on a really tight budget, you can either take the bus or get a ride with someone else.

Buses run all major European cities and prices are cheap. Main bus station in Munich is at the Fröttmaning underground station. From there you can go to any city in Europe.

Or you could call the "Mitfahrzentrale". They offer rides with private cars. Drivers have to identify themselves with passport, and they pay a fee to this organization. Therefore as a passenger you have the security that the driver is registered and you are insured.

You usually have to pay a price according to distance and how many other passengers are going. I used to do this a lot when I was a student.

http://www.inside-munich.com/travel-to-m...

Answer 3

It is cheap to live in germany. but the question is how i come to germany. is that right?! i would go by plane. there are discount airlines like easyjet or air berlin and LTU. you don`t have to fly with Lufthansa. that is too expensive. i traveld to tunisia last year. than i flew with tunis air to tunisia. that airline is very save. if it is something wrong lufthansa repair that. and the mistake is away

Answer 4

How to get to Prague and the Czech Republic on the cheap from Munich:

1) Normal train. It is 59 EUR return to Prague - discounted special offer. Buy at the train station in Munich.

2) with Bayern-Ticket to the Czech border and on-ward tickets bought from the Czech conductor. 56 EUR return, less if you travel with a friend or 4. Very slow. Only worth if you got 3-4 days and want to see Cesky Krumlov too. Take the train to Passau, then the bus to "Mühldorfer, Haidmühle". Then catch a train from Nove Udoli to Cesky Krumlov. Stay in Cesky Krumlov for a whole day, then catch the train to Prague. Plan the trip carefully with www.bahn.de and take note of the departure times of the bus from Passau as well as the train from Nove Udoli.

http://www.bahn.de/regional/view/mdb/pv/...

For trips within Bavaria with Bayern-Ticket I can highly recommend Salzburg, Regensburg, Passau and Nuremberg.

Another cheap way to travel is the bus. Limited to a few destinations, but it might be worth looking into.

http://www.eurolines.com

Answer 5

Check into a German Rail pass or they have special tickets on the weekends usually where you can ride with several people and it is really inexpensive but they are the slower trains, but who cares if you are not going that far and it can save you a lot.

Another way could be a bus depending on how far you have to go. I usually use rail passes. They also sell Bahn cards which allow you to purchase tickets at discounted prices too but the cost of the Bahn card may cost you as much as the Rail pass for the month!! You can get 4 days or more within a month all day on any train in Germany for just over $200 last i looked, may have gone up in two years but not by much i am sure and you get get twin rail passes too, and if you plan to leave Germany their are Eurail passes too good for all of the EU.

Renting a car can be expensive and many potential problems.

Answer 6

If you are under 26 you can get a youth rail pass from Rail Europe.  You also might want to check out some of the discount airlines in Europe....sometimes they have great fare sales.  We lived in Italy for 5 years and traveled extensively by car, train, and plane.  I always had to research the costs of each to find out which mode of transportation was the most affordable.  It can change depending on the time of year and the sales going on.  I have written some information traveling by car, train, and also flying within Europe.  There are some links to discount tickets on the site as well.  You can check it out here:   http://www.travelersguidebook.com/German...

or....   http://www.travelersguidebook.com/German...

I hope that you have a wonderful time in Munich and that you get to see as much of Europe as possible!

Answer 7

Look for cheap last minute flights out of munich on discount airlines.  That way you'll know the weather where you're going before you book the flight.  Since you don't have that long to travel (I did weekend trips too) you don't want it to rain and you don't want to spend 14 of your 48 hours on a train.  

When I was in Zurich I was able to fly round trip for about $100, but that was almost 2 years ago before the euro got horribly strong.  Definitely look into it, there may be cheaper flights out of munich than zurich.

Answer 8

In Germany there are weekend tickets that up to 4 people can travel on for about $40.  They cover city transportation also and can be used all weekend.  On weekdays there are Lander Tickets.  Your travel must be within the same Federal State with both of these tickets.  You can also buy a pass that allows 4-10 days travel (different prices) within 1 month.  Have a great time.  You will probably meet people that will be glad to have you travel with them.  See as much as you can. On your way to Zurich stop by Appenzellerland and take the cable car up the Ebenalp, then walk back down.  Absolutely beautiful Swiss scenery - cows with the big bells, a view of Lake Constance and the Alps.  Oh, see whichbudget.com for cheap airfares within Europe.

Answer 9

I recommend you also http://www.mitfahrzentrale.de

almost for free.