Deutsche Bahn family ticket now permanent

From Sunday 1 November, families and small groups can again travel on German long-distance trains at a flat price. The Deutsche Bahn family ticket, first sold as a summer holiday special, is now a permanent part of the rail operator's range. A return trip for up to five people in second class costs 99.99 euros and a one-way trip 59.99 euros, with seat reservations included. Sales started on 26 October. The offer is not always the cheapest option, so check the rules and compare prices before booking.

How the Deutsche Bahn family ticket works

The ticket is valid in second class on ICE, IC and EC trains within Germany. It covers either one adult with up to four children or two adults with up to three children. Under Deutsche Bahn's conditions, anyone aged 15 or older counts as an adult, and at least one child aged 14 or younger has to travel. The passengers do not need to be related, so grandparents, godparents, family friends or a parent travelling with their child's friends can use it as well.

Seat reservations for the whole group are included, the main difference from a normal ticket. The family ticket behaves much like a Sparpreis, Deutsche Bahn's discounted saver fare: it is tied to the booked trains, and its price does not change with demand. According to the consumer organisation Stiftung Warentest, the offer appears in Deutsche Bahn's normal booking search, but only if at least one child is entered as a passenger. Warentest also warns that if the only child cannot travel, for example because of illness, the adults cannot use the ticket on their own. According to Deutsche Bahn's offer page, the ticket can be cancelled in exchange for a voucher up to one day before the first day of travel, for a fee of 10 euros.

A Deutsche Bahn spokesperson told dpa that there is no fixed quota for the Deutsche Bahn family ticket on any train or route. However, as with saver fares, the ticket can sell out on heavily booked connections, so families who book at short notice for popular times such as Friday afternoons may find fewer options.

Why the offer is back

The family ticket follows a long-running complaint about Deutsche Bahn reservations. In mid-2025 the company scrapped the family seat reservation (Familienreservierung), which had allowed up to five people to reserve seats together for 10.40 euros. Since then each seat has had to be booked and paid for separately, which drew heavy criticism from families and passenger groups. The family ticket was introduced as a temporary offer for the 2026 summer holidays.

Deutsche Bahn chief executive Evelyn Palla announced in early October in the newspaper Bild am Sonntag that the ticket would become permanent. According to Deutsche Bahn, almost 100,000 more families travelled by train in the summer than a year earlier, using either the family ticket or saver fares. Stiftung Warentest reported that, according to the company, more than 800,000 people used the family ticket during the summer. The rail operator says demand from families has been rising for years.

Regional trains cost extra

The flat price of the Deutsche Bahn family ticket only applies to journeys made entirely on long-distance trains. If your route includes a regional train, for example to reach a smaller town or to connect to a main line, the price rises to 81.99 euros one way and 143.99 euros for a return trip. Deutsche Bahn lists these prices on its offer page, and both Stiftung Warentest and the consumer portal Finanztip report the same figures. Warentest adds that a City-Ticket for local public transport at the departure and destination stations is not included.

For families who already own a Deutschlandticket, the monthly pass for local and regional transport, a different combination may be cheaper. Warentest recommends checking whether it makes more sense to use the Deutschlandticket for the regional section and buy separate long-distance tickets only where needed.

Is the Deutsche Bahn family ticket worth it?

Children already travel free on German long-distance trains. Children up to and including 14 years ride without charge when they travel with someone aged 15 or over, and from the age of six they simply need to be added to the accompanying adult's ticket. That is why Finanztip warns that the family ticket does not automatically save money. Its rule of thumb: the offer is likely to pay off when the normal fares for the adults together would cost more than about 100 euros for the return journey.

Seat reservations affect the comparison. According to Stiftung Warentest, a seat reservation in second class costs 5.50 euros per person and journey, so a family of five travelling there and back would pay 55 euros just for seats. Warentest says the family ticket is worth it on pure long-distance routes once a saver ticket costs around 45 euros plus reservation fees. In its own test with a family of four on Friday to Sunday trips, normal saver fares on the Munich to Leipzig and Stuttgart to Frankfurt routes were always more expensive. On Hannover to Kiel, which involves regional trains, a saver fare booked three months ahead cost 141.96 euros and was roughly on par. Its conclusion is that for two adults aged 25 or over, the family ticket is the cheapest option in most cases.

What expats should know before booking

For international families, the Deutsche Bahn family ticket can be a simple way to visit relatives or friends in another German city, or to show visiting family around the country, without paying for each seat separately. Because the passengers do not need to be related, it also suits a parent travelling with a visiting grandparent and the children, or two families sharing a trip.

Before booking, make two searches: one with the family ticket and one with normal saver fares, where you add the children free of charge and decide whether you really need reserved seats. If you travel off-peak or book several months ahead, a saver fare may be just as cheap. The family ticket ties you to specific trains, so allow enough time for connections. Frequent travellers who redeem rewards should know that BahnBonus now uses demand-based point prices for free trips. If you rely on regional transport for everyday trips, our report on the Deutschlandticket and its users gives useful background.