The Deutschlandticket
Unlimited nationwide travel for €49 a month
The 'Deutschlandticket' costs just €49 a month and gives you unlimited travel across Germany using all forms of local and regional public transport.
That's a great deal for people living in Germany month after month. But as you can cancel with effect from the end of even the first month and pay only for the period up until then from a start date during the month that you choose, it can also work out to be a great deal for a relatively short trip in the country.
The key is that you must trigger the month-end cancellation by the 10th of the month in question.
The example below shows how someone (in fact, my niece) buying a Deutschlandticket in early June 2024, setting the start date as 14 June and triggering month-end cancellation by 10 June was charged just the pro rata fee for 14-30 June, i.e. €27.77, rather than the full €49.
Taking this to the extreme, if you were, for instance going to Germany for just the last 3 days of a 30-day month, you could buy the D-Ticket in the first week of the month, set the 28th as the start date, and trigger cancellation by the 10th. You would then be charged 3 30ths of the €49 monthly rate for those 3 days at the end of the month, i.e. €4.90 in total. And that is unbeatable!
Set up your details and buy the Deutschlandticket (set the first date you'll need the ticket as your start date, e.g. 14 June, as shown here). PayPal seems to work best as payment method. The 'Buy now' button is a slider. Slide the arrow across.
Trigger month-end cancellation of the Deutschlandticket by not later than 23:59 CET on the 10th of the relevant month (it remains valid up until the end of that month). Confirm that you want to cancel. (The screenshot below shows cancellation prior to 10 June 2024 to be effective 30 June).
You now have a Deutschlandticket valid until the end of your chosen month. (The screenshot below shows one cancelled by 10 June 2024).
As I said above, the 'Deutschlandticket' normally costs just €49 a month and gives you unlimited travel across Germany. But as you can see, by buying it as above, you need only pay pro rata for your first month, and then have it stop altogether.
* Exceptions
The only mode of transport excluded from the Deutschlandticket is intercity express travel (i.e. ICE, IC and EC trains). Otherwise, you can use it for all forms of transport (buses, trams, suburban trains, underground, etc.), including, if you don't mind the more leisurely pace of regional mainline train connections, for travel all around the country. From Cologne to Dortmund, for instance, it only adds about 20 minutes to the journey time.
For longer trips, using the Deutschlandticket can add several hours to the journey and involve multiple changes. From Berlin to Dortmund, for example, it adds around 3 hours. For those journeys, you may prefer to pay the regular fare for an express train (ICE, IC or EC).
You can compare the two options using the journey planner on the Deutsche Bahn website.
To see the trains covered by the Deutschlandticket set 'Transport mode' to 'Local only'. To see the express trains, set the mode to 'All'.
All-important timing!
Just like arriving into the box to meet a cross, timing is all important here! The Deutschlandticket is an ongoing monthly subscription: sign up too early or cancel too late, and you'll end up paying for months you don't want!
To stop the Deutschlandticket automatically renewing for the following month, you must activate the cancellation process by not later than 23:59 CET on the 10th of the current month.
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Disclaimer
The information on this site has been put together with great care. However, I'm only human and humans sometimes make mistakes. Please therefore double-check for yourself anything that you are relying on. And please e-mail me at the address shown on the Legal page if you spot any errors or omissions. All prices shown above were as found online in December 2023.
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