With the timetable change at Deutsche Bahn, tickets are becoming more expensive, this is an iron law and it was the same this time in mid-December. But there is good news for families. What they are and how to plan a train journey with children – an overview.
the tickets
Take the children with you for free – on Deutsche Bahn, this is possible until they are 14 years old. When traveling by air, however, a ticket usually has to be bought for two-year-olds. Children under the age of six do not need a ticket at all on the railway, after which they have to be entered on the ticket of an adult – more precisely: an accompanying person at least 15 years old, but still pay nothing. Up until now, this only applied when they were out with their mother or father, grandma or grandpa. Family relationships have no longer played a role since the timetable change. The little brother goes with the big sister, the godmother with the godchild, and his friend is also allowed to come along. Up to four children can board free of charge for each accompanying person.
Tickets can normally be issued for a maximum of five people. That is not always enough, which is why there is the “DB Family Card” for large families: Then more than four children under 14 can be taken along free of charge – in this case, however, only with their parents or grandparents.
Even with most of the country tickets for regional transport and for the cross-country ticket valid nationwide, three children up to 14 years of age travel free of charge, regardless of whether they are related or not. Only North Rhine-Westphalia allows this only for their own children and grandchildren, there can be as many as you like.
For night trains with couchette cars – an interesting alternative on longer routes – different conditions apply: Usually only children under six are free, and only if they crawl into the narrow bed with their parents.
If children are traveling alone, they also have to pay – half the adult price. Then the Jugend-Bahncard for six to 18-year-olds pays off quickly: it costs 9.50 euros once, brings a 25 percent discount on every journey and can be used up to the day before the 19th birthday. The young super saver price has been new since the timetable change: ICE tickets are then available with Bahncard from less than ten euros.
The earlier you book, the greater the chances of getting a cheap offer. This does not only apply to youth tickets, but basically to the railways. The day of travel also plays a role: the more popular the appointment, for example before the weekend, before public holidays or during school holidays, the more expensive it becomes. After all, there is lately in the travel information on bahn.de. the possibility of activating the “best prices” option. The tedious detour via the “saver price finder” is no longer necessary.
The reservation
Finding free seats in a full train with two small children by your hand and a heavy travel bag on your shoulder takes sweat and nerves. It is therefore advisable to make a reservation, especially on longer routes, for families there are second class at a flat rate of eight euros each way for up to five people, with the DB family card also for up to eight children plus a maximum of two adults. In the first class, reservations are free of charge, provided that the seats are blocked when purchasing the ticket.
The seats in the toddler compartments that are available in all ICEs and in most EC / IC trains are usually quickly gone. They offer more space for luggage and strollers, sometimes also a changing table and, above all, the certainty that you won’t meet fellow travelers in them who feel disturbed by agile toddlers. In order to reserve a place there, one must add at least one child under the age of six to the list of fellow travelers when booking. Only then does the corresponding reservation window open.
As an alternative – or if the children are a bit older – there are so-called family areas in many ICEs, whereby the family-friendliness mainly consists of short distances to the toilet and the overhead lockers and the prospect that children will meet other children whatever the journey possibly makes something more varied. The option of reserving seats in a compartment is often forgotten. If there are four or five people on the road, the chances are not bad of staying to yourself there. And there is also a table for playing cards.
The luggage
The paradox of traveling with children is that the better it would be to travel with less luggage, the more it will be. Especially for small children you need not just one, but preferably three free hands so that everything works when getting in and out. This becomes difficult with a suitcase, diaper bag and stroller. Because there is hardly any parking space for the latter in the wagons anyway, a stretcher or a foldable buggy is the more sensible option. A backpack or a soft bag is easier to stow in the overhead compartment than a suitcase. Or you can send your belongings separately with the luggage service. In contrast to the children, their suitcases do not travel for free. But the parents are all the more relaxed.