Plan your itinerary well in advance of your trip. You must have your pass before entering Germany.
Decide how many days during the four-week period covered by the pass you will need train service. Your trip does not have to be four weeks for you to buy a Rail Pass. If your stay is 20 days, for example, and you will travel by train from the Frankfurt airport to Berlin (first train trip), Berlin to Cologne (second train trip), Cologne to the Rhine River on a daytrip (third train trip), Cologne to Munich (fourth train trip), and Munich back to the Frankfurt airport (fifth train trip), you will need a five-day Rail Pass. In addition, if you are traveling with a companion, you can buy a Twin Pass for less than two separate Rail Passes. However, both people must be on the train together for each train ride. Furthermore, young people between the ages of 12 and 25 can buy Youth Passes for a discounted price.
Find a vendor for your Rail Pass. Use a local, national or international travel agent, or buy the pass online from resellers or directly from Deutsche Bahn at www.deutschebahn.de.
Contact the vendor in person, by telephone or online. Tell them which Rail Pass you desire. Provide a valid credit card number or other payment method. Be sure to get a confirmation number.
Validate your German Rail Pass at a German train station before your first ride. Do this on the first day you use the pass, which is not necessarily the first day of your trip.
