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Interrail France Germany 60 years Friendship Pass : Can I travel outisde of Germany with it ?

  • 14 September 2023
  • 6 replies
  • 214 views
Manon Jaillet
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Hi everyone ! :)

I’m about to begin my travel to Germany, and at the moment of reserving trains on the app “Rail Planner”, I’m seeing that I can also reserve trains from Hamburg (Germany) to Copenhagen (Danemark) for example. (but also to Italy, to Croatia, ...)

 

So here’s my questions :

  • First, is it really possible to travel outside of Germany with this pass ?
  • If yes, is it only with german trains ? Because on the app, it seems like I could also travel inside Danemark.
  • If yes, will it count as one “Outbound/Inbound” travel ? (because I still have to return to France after !)

Thanks and have great trips !!

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Best answer by Manon Jaillet 15 September 2023, 11:46

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A
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It is a Germany pass not an everywhere pass so no you can’t travel across Europe with it.

I am assuming it has the same validity as a normal Germany interrail which does have some limited use outside Germany, these are listed here

https://www.interrail.eu/en/interrail-passes/german-rail-pass

Manon Jaillet
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Thank you for your answer, but from what I see on the link, it’s possible to travel outside of Germany with the Germany pass !!

I tchecked it and here’s the answer :

With the Germany pass, you can travel to and from some cities of Austria, Belgium, Italy and Switzerland.

+ “Your German Rail Pass is also valid on several Deutsche Bahn IC trains and coaches” → so for example, i think it’s possible to take the IC train from Hamburg to Copenhagen !!

A
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Copenhagen is not included in the German Rail Pass. 

Please note that I don't work for Interrail/Eurail and that I don't reply to personal messages.
Manon Jaillet
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@AnnaB How do you know ? Did you try to go there with a German pass and it didn’t work ?

Because as I said, Interrail says that it’s possible to take some IC Deutsche Bahn trains, and the one to Copenhagen is a DeutscheBahn IC train, as you can see on the picture.

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The thing I don’t understand is : why on the app, with my pass, Interrail proposes to book those trains. But I wonder if it would count as a outbound/inbound train.

BrendanDB
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@Manon JailletCorrection, you said you think you can take this train to Copenhagen, operated (partly) by DB. Interrail doesn’t state that anywhere you can take the German rail pass to Denmark.

Also it’s the French-German Friendship railpass... There’s no point of it being valid in Denmark… It offers a chance to discover either France or Germany as a respective resident of Germany or France. Denmark has absolutely nothing to do with that offer.

There are probably some specific requirements too of these pass, even negating the destinations included in the German One country pass.

https://assistance.passefranceallemagne.fr/fr/support/solutions/articles/103000121057-qu-est-ce-qui-est-inclus-dans-le-passe-france-allemagne-

Link above mentions you can only use it In France and Germany. I have a friend working for French-German fraternisation organisation, and he conformed it.

Which means the other possibilities of the German Rail pass are not possible for you:

 

The last sentence means that these destinations need to or can be be reached by trains operated by DB. So to be clear: it says you can reach the destinations mentioned above with any train operated by DB: these can be IC, ICE, EC, regional trains… Any type of train, as long as it’s operated by Deutsche Bahn.

For example: no problem to use the German pass to/from Brussels, but you can only do this by ICE (a DB train). But you cannot do it with Thalys, nor with a combination of IC and regional trains operated by SNCB.

To repeat: Denmark is not included in this Friendship pass. You risk being fined big time.

If you really want to get to CPH. You can use your pass up until the border station (Flensburg) and continue with an ordinary ticket. Shouldn’t be that expensive when you book a couple of days in advance this time of year.

Manon Jaillet
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Here’s the answer I got from Interrail customer service :

Unfortunately, you cannot travel with your France Germany Pass to a third country like Denmark or Austria. As a matter of fact, you cannot even use the Pass to cross a third country like Belgium, Italy and Switzerland. 
 
All your journeys must be between Germany and France. You cannot also take the Thalys and Eurostar trains with your Pass. Please view this page for the valid railway company and routes you can use with your Pass.
 
The France Germany Pass is completely different from the Germany one country Pass on our website. Here are the differences:
 

  • The France Germany Pass is a gift give by the French and German government and comes with different conditions as the one country Germany Pass which has to be purchased from us.
  • The France Germany Pass has the outbound/inbound travel days and the one country Germany Pass does not have.
  • With the France Germany Pass you cannot cross a third country with the the one country Pass you have the opportunity to visit other countries like Austria.

 
Please do not use your Pass to travel to any other country, or cross any third country even if the App lets you plan this journey. You will be doing so at your own risk.

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