Travel

Germany: Public transport ticket guide (incl. 49 EUR Deutschland-Ticket)

I always do this comparative analysis when I plan my travels, so I figured why not post it and share it with you all. Hopefully it helps you save time with this one decision making. I will try to cover as much major cities, as well as the smaller cities I have visited. And I aspire to keep this updated as best as I can. If I do miss an update, or if you wish for me to cover another city, please drop a comment so that I’ll get notified to work on it.

Disclaimer: This topic can get as complicated as you want it to be, to include big family count, bicycle, pets. I’m keeping this simple to two adults travelling together. Will include extra comments if I know more.

Exclusion: This post doesn’t include city tourist passes (e.g. Munchen card), as it really depends how much attractions you are planning to do. You can easily deduct the tourist attractions entry fees from the city tourist pass, and check if the remainder is competitive against the transport card options below.

Shortcuts (Jump links): Berlin | Karlsruhe | Munich | Stuttgart

49 EUR per month Deutschland-Ticket

If you are staying in Germany for more than 1 week, it is almost always more interesting to get the 49 EUR per month Deutschland-Ticket. This monthly pass allows for all local transports (buses, buses, trams, subways, U-Bahn, S-Bahn, and some RE regional trains) It doesn’t cover long-distance trains such as IC, EC, ICE, etc.

Note that this is a monthly subscription product. While it allows for cancellation by month, it renews automatically, so be sure to cancel your subscription timely. You can buy it from Deutsche Bahn or RMV, but check also other regional network operator.

You would need to cancel Deutschland-Ticket subscription where you bought it. If you bought it from DB, you cancel with DB. You need to cancel by the 10th of each month to the end of the calendar month. Note also that the ticket is valid from the first day to the last day of the month. A few examples below,

  • If your trip is from 25th January to 5th February, you need two full months.
  • If your trip is from 15th January to 25th January, you would need to purchase AND cancel your ticket before 10th January to avoid being charged another 49 EUR for the month of February.

Berlin

BVG is the regional network operator. BVG network area is divided into 3 zones, A, B, and C. Zones AB should be sufficient to cover most tourist attractions. Refer BVG zonal map.

For Zones AB,

  • Single ticket: 3.50 EUR – valid for 120 minutes
  • Short trip ticket: 2.4o EUR – 6 stations on trams / 3 stations with S-bahns or U-bahns
  • 4-trips ticket: 10.80 EUR
  • 24-hour ticket: 9.90 EUR – valid 24 hours from time of validation
  • 24-hour small group ticket (up to 5 persons): 31 EUR
  • 7-day ticket: 41.50 EUR – valid from time of validation for 7 consecutive days until midnight of 7th day

Best option for you:

  • Most flexibility: 4-trips ticket, 10.80 EUR (equates to 2.70 EUR per trip)
  • Having 4 trips or more per day: 24-hour ticket, 9.90 EUR (equates to <2.48 EUR per trip)
  • Travelling in groups of 4 to 5 persons, and having 3 trips or more per day: 24-hour small group ticket, 31 EUR (equates to <2.58EUR per trip) – Groups of 3 or less, it is not worth getting the group ticket, cheaper to get individual 24-hour ticket
  • Travelling for 5 to 7 days: 7-day ticket, 41.50 EUR

Source: https://www.bvg.de/en/subscriptions-and-tickets/all-tickets

Karlsruhe

KVV is the regional network operator. KVV network area is divided into “waben” or “honeycombs” (zones). How much a trip costs depends on how many honeycombs are passed through.

Note that within Karlsruhe, it is required to have a two-zone pass. Refer KVV zonal map.

For two(2) honeycombs (zones),

  • Single ticket: 3.30 EUR (adult) / 1.80 EUR (child 6-14 years old) – note that single tickets are manual self-validation, i.e. you are required to fill in your name, date, and departing station
  • Day ticket (up to 3 honeycombs): 6.60 EUR (1 person) / 9.90 (2 persons) – valid until 6am the following day

Best option for you:

  • Travelling in 2, having 2 trips or more per day: Day ticket (2 person), 9.90 EUR (equates to <2.475 EUR per trip)
  • Travelling solo, having 2 trips or more per day: Day ticket, 6.60 EUR (equates to <3.3o EUR per trip)
  • 1 trip per day (for example last day leaving the city): Single ticket, 3.30 EUR

Source: https://www.kvv.de/fahrkarten/fahrkarten-preise/einzelpersonen.html

Munich

MVV is the regional network operator. The M zone should be sufficient to cover most tourist attractions. It extends all the way to Messe, 14km out of city centre where Adele concert was held. Refer MVV zonal map.

Note: Flughafen Munchen airport is NOT within M zone.

For M zone travel,

  • Single ticket: 3.90 EUR (adult ) / 1.90 EUR (child 6-14 years old)
  • Short trip ticket (up to 4 stops): 1.90 EUR (adult)
  • Stripe ticket (multi journey ticket of 10 trips): 17 EUR – can be used be multiple persons, every individual needs to be validated
  • Single day ticket: 9.20 EUR – valid until 6am the following day
  • Group day ticket (up to 5 persons) 17.80 EUR – valid until 6am the following day

Best option for you:

  • Most flexibility: Stripe (multi journey) ticket, 17 EUR (equates to 1.70 EUR per trip)
  • Travelling in 2, having 6 trips or more per day: Group day ticket, 17.80 EUR (equates to 1.48 EUR per trip)
  • Travelling solo, having 6 trips or more per day: Single day ticket, 9.20 EUR (equates to 1.53 EUR per trip)

Note: All tickets must be validated before boarding.

Look out for blue validation boxes before boarding the metro/train (Source: alamy.com)

Source: https://www.mvv-muenchen.de/en/tickets-and-fares/tickets-daytickets/index.html

For airport transfer,

  • Taking the S-bahn, you need the Airport-City day ticket with validity M-5 zones, which costs 15.50 EUR. Duration is approx. 40 minutes, every 10 minute intervals.
  • Lufthansa Express Bus, 13 EUR (single trip) or 20.50 EUR (return trip) for adult / 7 EUR (single trip) or 14 EUR (return trip) for child 6-14 years old. Fares are slightly cheaper if you buy online. There are two stops, i.e. Nordfriedhof (approx. duration 25 minutes) and Hauptbahnhhof (main station, approx. duration 45 minutes). Bus interval is every 20 minutes.

We prefer taking the bus. It is cheaper, clean, more convenient (big baggages can be stored under the bus), and doesn’t take much longer compared to the S-bahn. Also no risk of overcrowding.

That said, the Airport-City day ticket does cover all public transports for the rest of the day.

Stuttgart

VVS is the regional network operator. Zone 1 should cover most of the travel attractions. Refer VVS zonal map.

For Zone 1 travel,

  • Single ticket: 3.3 EUR (adult) / 1.60 EUR (child 6-14 years old) – valid for 3 hours from moment of purchase
  • Short distance ticket (up to 3 stops / 1 stop on S-bahn): 2 EUR – not valid on night buses – to be used immediately
  • Day ticket: 6.60 EUR – valid from the moment of purchase until 7am the following day
  • Group day ticket (up to 5 persons): 13.60 EUR – valid from the moment of purchase until 7am the following day
  • 4-trips ticket (4 sections for up to 4 persons): 12.80 EUR – every section valid for 3 hours after validation for a journey, but note that return journey is not allowed

Tip: Fares are slightly cheaper if bought online through the HandyTicket app, though reviews on the App store are saying it is not the most reliable.

Best option for you:

  • Travelling in 2, having 4 trips (not limited within a day): 4 trip ticket, 12.80 EUR (equates to 1.6 EUR per trip)
  • Having 5 trips or more per day: Day ticket, 6.60 EUR (equates to <1.32 EUR per trip)

Source: https://en.vvs.de/tickets

4-trips ticket needs to be validated before every use.

Look out for yellow validation box. For U-bahn and buses, it is normally inside the U-bahn/bus, near the door. For S-bahn, it is at the top of the escalators before boarding.

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