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YES! A Deutschland Ticket is good for regional trains such as those marked RE or S at int.bahn.de. |
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NO! A Deutschland Ticket is not good for long-distance trains including ICE, IC, EC, ECE, RJ, RJX, EN, NJ at at int.bahn.de. |
A month's unlimited travel in Germany for €63
Germany offers unlimited travel on regional transport nationwide for €63 per month (2026 price).
This is the successor to the popular (but temporary) €9 ticket created after the pandemic to address the cost-of-living crisis. Unlike the €9 ticket, the Deutschlandticket is a permanent product. It's a bargain!
How does a Deutschland Ticket
work?
How to buy a Deutschland Ticket
How to
find trains you can use with a Deutschland Ticket
How does a Deutschland Ticket work?
Good for regional trains & urban transport all over Germany
The Deutschland ticket is good for all regional trains run by DB and other operators across the whole of Germany. Regional trains are the ones marked R, RE, RB, IRE or S-Bahn in the timetable at int.bahn.de. It's also valid on other types of regional & urban public transport including buses, trams & U-Bahn.
It's even valid on the famous Harz Railway, including steam-hauled trains, but not on the branch to the Brocken.
But not valid on long-distance trains
The Deutschland ticket is not valid on ICE & IC trains or similar long-distance trains classified EuroCity (EC, ECE), Eurostar (EST), TGV, Railjet (RJ, RJX), Westbahn (WB), Flixtrain (FLX) or Snälltåget.
So yes, you can cross Germany with a Deutschland ticket if you like, but only on slower regional trains. Think of it as trying to fly from New York to LA using only turbo-prop aircraft!
Valid within Germany, but also on a few cross-border trains
Start by assuming the Deutschland Ticket is only good for travel within Germany. But there are a few regional trains where you can use a Deutschland Ticket to/from a neighbouring country.
These include cross-border regional trains to/from Salzburg in Austria, to/from Venlo, Arnhem, Hengelo & Enschede in the Netherlands, to/from Basel Bad Bf & Basel SBB in Switzerland, to/from Zgorzelec in Poland.
But only on regional trains (marked R, RE, RB, BRB and so on), not long-distance trains (marked ICE, IC, EC, ECE, RJ, RJX, WB, TGV, EST and so on).
If you want a list of exactly which routes are covered, you can find one at int.bahn.de/en/faq/deutschlandticket-which-trains (please let me know if that link changes)
Valid from the 1st to last day of the month
Unlike normal railpasses or season tickets which can start on any date you choose, each month's Deutschland ticket is valid from the 1st of the month to the last day of the month. So if you bought one on 30 May, that would be a 'May' Deutschland ticket valid from 1 to 31 May and you'd only get 2 days use out of it, 30 & 31 May - but it would still cost €63!
Children
It's aimed at commuters, so there's no child version. However, you can buy adult-rate Deutschland Tickets for your children if you like. Simply buy one Deutschland Ticket at a time, one for you and another for each child, adding each Deutschland Ticket to your own Apple or Google Wallet to show the conductor.
Usually only sold as a rolling monthly subscription
As it's aimed at commuters, most retailers sell Deutschland tickets as a rolling monthly subscription. You can cancel this subscription it at any time, even after paying for only 1 month, but many retailers require you to cancel before the 10th of the month to avoid paying for the following month's Deutschland ticket. I recommend buying from seat61.tranzer.com as it avoids the need for a subscription.
If you only want a Deutschland ticket for one month
You could set up a subscription and cancel it before the 10th of the month, but it's easier to buy from seat61.tranzer.com as I explain below.
How to buy a Deutschland Ticket: seat61.tranzer.com
Buy for just 1 month, no subscription, no booking fee, international credit cards accepted
There are many retailers, but most only sell Deutschland Tickets as a subscription requiring a direct debit from a German bank account. Some don't have an English version, some require a German address or German phone number. Some will only accept German credit cards.
The solution is to buy from seat61.tranzer.com, powered by Dutch company Tranzer, authorised to sell Deutschland Tickets.
Seat61.tranzer.com is in plain English, no subscription needed, it accepts international credit cards and works fine with UK, US, Canadian, Australian, Dutch, French or any other non-German zip or post code. It doesn't even need a phone number and there's no booking fee. Result!
You can buy a Deutschland Ticket for a specific month with a one-off payment by credit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, and load it into the Apple Wallet or Google Wallet on your phone (you'll need one or other of these smartphone wallets to use the ticket).
There's no need to remember to cancel anything afterwards, no risk of missing your subscription cancel-by date and accidentally paying for two months. They may email you later asking if you want to pay for another month when your current month expires, if you do you'll have to make another payment, if you don't reply they assume you don't want to continue and won't take any further payment. Feedback welcome.
To buy for two or more travellers:
Each passenger can buy their own Deutschland Ticket on their own phone. Or you can buy a Deutschland Ticket for each traveller one at a time on your own phone, adding multiple Deutschland Tickets to your own Google or Apple Wallet - but then you'll all need to travel together, you won't be able to travel separately.
Or you can buy the tickets one at a time on a laptop or desktop, entering the name(s) and email address(es) of your companion(s) for each ticket. Each traveller will receive their own email and can add their ticket to their own wallet on their own phone.
Just make sure you enter each traveller's name and date of birth correctly as written in their passport, you cannot change this or get a refund afterwards. The classic mistake is people who use their own name for two tickets!
How to find trains you can use with a Deutschland Ticket
Use the German Railways website, int.bahn.de, and toggle on Deutschland-Ticket connections only.
