The Schöne Wochenende (Happy Weekend) Tickets of Deutsche Bahn (German Railways) are no longer available. The last date for booking this ticket was 8 June 2019. The Quer-Durchs-Land-Tickets and Länder-Tickets are good alternatives and available for local train travel any day of the week.
For cheap unlimited travel on local German trains over weekends, Deutsche Bahn’s bargain Schönes Wochenende Ticket (Happy Weekend) is hard to beat.
The cheap Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket (literally Happy Weekend Ticket but more commonly referred to in English as Weekend Ticket for Germany) is one of Deutsche Bahn’s greatest savings deals. The ticket is valid for groups of up to five traveling together on Saturday or Sunday using only local and regional trains in Germany. It is a great deal for saving on railway fares in Germany, especially when traveling only short distances or visiting sights in towns without high-speed trains. The Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket has a base fare of €44 for the first traveler with each additional traveler up to five adding €6. It is best bought online from German Railways or at station vending machines.
The Schönes Wochende Ticket is remarkably cheap and thus not surprisingly comes with special travel restrictions. The most important include:
The Schönes-Wochenende-Tickets, Quer-Durchs-Land-Tickets and Länder-Tickets are Deutsche Bahn’s saving tickets for travel on local trains only. The tickets have a lot in common but there are important differences too:
The Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket, when bought online or from ticket machines, is €44 for the first passenger and then add €6 for each additional traveler up to a maximum of five (€68). Additional passengers cannot be added after purchase and names must be entered in ink before the first journey commences.
At station ticket counters, the Happy Weekend Ticket is usually €2 more expensive. Train tickets generally cannot be bought on Germany local trains – failure to buy a ticket prior to boarding will result in heavy fines per person.
Buy in German from Deutsche Bahn: Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket, or in English from German Railways. (If the link has moved, look for the Schöne Wochenende or Weekend Ticket link (under Offers) on the English website of German Railways.
In many areas, bicycles are transported for free on trains. In others, each bicycle requires €5 Fahrradticket (Bicycle Ticket), which allow unlimited transportation on all local trains for the day.
Small dogs travel for free if inside a transportation container, otherwise a dog counts as a person. Dogs do not qualify for free travel under the “own children” rule.
The Schönes-Wochenende-Tickets offer great savings over regular train fares provided traveler is on weekends and on local trains only. During the week, the Quer-durchs-Land Tickets provide similar savings while Länder-Tickets provide even bigger savings any day for travel in smaller areas. Deutsche Bahn has numerous further discount fares available on high-speed, long-distance trains as well while non-resident can also get great value out of the German Rail Pass.