German Rail Pass
The German Rail Pass, explained without the sales pitch
The German Rail Pass gives you a set number of travel days on the whole Deutsche Bahn network — ICE high-speed trains included — within a one-month window. Adult fares start at €223 for three travel days.
It is not automatically the cheapest option. If you are making two or three journeys and can book ahead, Sparpreis tickets usually win. The pass pays off when you are taking several long ICE journeys, or when you want to decide each morning where to go.
2026 fares
Deutsche Bahn now sells the pass in one form: Flexi. You pick the number of travel days and use them freely inside one month. The old consecutive-days version has been retired.
| Travel days | AdultOne traveller aged 28 and over | TwinTwo travellers sharing one pass | YouthTravellers aged 12–27 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 days | €223 | €380€190 each | €167 |
| 4 days | €254 | €432€216 each | €191 |
| 5 days | €281 | €478€239 each | €211 |
| 7 days | €326 | €554€277 each | €245 |
| 10 days | €407 | €692€346 each | €305 |
| 15 days | €507 | €862€431 each | €380 |
Official fares in euro, valid from 5 January 2026. Other currencies are converted at an indicative rate — your card is billed in euro. Source: Deutsche Bahn — German Rail Pass 2026 price sheet, checked on 4 September 2026.
Who can buy one
Only for travellers whose permanent residence is outside Germany.
If you live in Europe, you cannot buy this pass — the equivalent for you is the Interrail Germany Pass. Buying the wrong one means the conductor can treat you as travelling without a valid ticket.
Bookable online up to 11 months before the first travel day.
Travelling with children
- Under 6 travel free and need no pass
- Up to two children aged 6–11 travel free with an adult pass holder; up to four with a Twin Pass
- Each additional child aged 6–11, and every child aged 12 and over, needs a Youth pass
Two people share one Twin Pass. They do not have to travel together, but only one of them can use the pass on a given travel day.
Trains you can board
- Every scheduled Deutsche Bahn train, including ICE high-speed services
- IC and EC long-distance trains
- Regional trains: IRE, RE, RB and DB S-Bahn
- Trains of other operators that accept DB long-distance tickets
Cross-border stations included
- Basel Badischer Bahnhof and Schaffhausen (Switzerland)
- Salzburg and Kufstein (Austria)
- Liège and Brussels (Belgium) on ICE International
- Bolzano, Trento, Verona, Bologna and Venice (Italy) — reservation with surcharge required
What it does not cover
- FlixTrain and other non-DB long-distance operators
- City transport: U-Bahn, trams and buses are not included
- Seat reservations and international surcharges
City transport is the usual surprise: your pass gets you to Munich, but the U-Bahn once you are there is a separate ticket. See the Deutschlandticket if you will be using a lot of local transport.
Seat reservations
- Not required for travel inside Germany — you can board any train
- Required on some international connections and night trains, marked R in the timetable
- A pass surcharge applies on certain connections, such as ICE/TGV trains to France
More detail, including when a reservation is worth paying for anyway, is on the seat reservations page.
Rules summarised from Deutsche Bahn — German Rail Pass 2026 price sheet and the Deutsche Bahn German Rail Pass FAQ, checked on 4 September 2026. Conditions can change — always read the terms shown at checkout.