Tbh, I used to think booking a flight on a Tuesday was the only trick. Then last week in Lisbon, I met a guy who showed me his spreadsheet for scoring cheap train tickets across Europe.

4 comments

4 Comments

My buddy in Berlin swears by booking German train tickets exactly 90 days out. He saves a ton on the fast ICE trains that way, especially for weekend trips. It's a fixed rule that works better than guessing.

emmaclark1mo ago

Actually, tickets for long-distance trains in Germany go on sale 180 days in advance, not 90. The 90-day tip might work for some routes, but you can often find the very first cheap "Sparpreis" tickets a full six months before travel.

ray3567h ago

Booking my Munich to Hamburg trip last year, I checked at both 90 and 180 days out like @emmaclark said. The absolute cheapest fare popped up right at the six month mark. By the 90 day point, those specific super saver seats were long gone. I still got a decent price then, but not the rock bottom one. It's worth setting a calendar alert for that full 180 days if your dates are fixed.

blair_taylor321mo ago

Makes sense to check both windows then...