Study in Germany

The public transport in Germany works efficiently. With buses, street cars and the underground trains you can achieve your goal quickly and -and thanks to the season ticket- you don't need to spend a lot of money on travel.
For those who don´t have the season ticket, you should buy a weekly or a monthly one. This is usually a cheaper alternative, and means you don't have to buy a new ticket each time you want to use public transport. From the morning until the evening the transport runs frequently. At night, the transport doesn't run as often or in some areas not at all.

Taxi

Taxis are all over Germany. You can book one over the phone or look for a taxi stop. Taxis are comfortable, but depending on the city not a bargain. A Taxi number for the whole of Germany is: 0900 100 8294

The net in Germany belongs to the Deutsche Bahn. You can travel in Germany without a problem. For long trips the faster train is the Intercity-Express (ICE). For shorter distances there are the Stadt-Express (SE), Regional-Express (RE) and Regionalbahn (RB). You can find special offers for these networks which can make your travel inexpensive. You can find more information at the Deutsche Bahn´s website. The Verkehrsclub Deutschland offers a Bahnreisebörse, where you can find someone who wants to travel with you and this way you save some money.

Payment

You can buy your train tickets in the ticket machine at the stations or in the travel office. In case you go into the train without a ticket you should talk to the guard and purchase a ticket from him. If you fail to do this you could be faced with an expensive fine

Booking

It is advised to book a place in advance if you plan on making a long distance trip. Its inexpensive,and it saves on standing in crowded trains for a long time. You can book it either on the Internet or at the desk.

Heavy baggage

If you want to travel with large baggage, you need the Kurier-Gepäck-Ticket. The Baggage will be collected and taken to the asked address. You can find the ticket and the information about the conditions at the Ticket desk, or in the Internet.

Bus lines are a cheaper alternative to the Air or Train Travel. Here and here you can find some more information.

 Flying offers lots of possibilities specially, if you want to travel to a distant destination. If you want to fly inside of Germany it must be a very carefully thought-out decision. The distance between the cities is short, but the time you need to get to the airport, and the line you usually have to wait at the check in point are not that short. Usually there are buses and trains that run to the airport. It is expensive and a charge for the environment. If you still want to fly: the big flying companies have special offers for specific trips and the cheap-flights companies are constantly offering new bargains.

Here you can see all german airports.

Here you can look for flights and book them.

Mitfahrzentrale

A cheap and environment friendly possibility to go from A to B is the Mitfahrtzentrale. And it works this way: Drivers who are going to travel put an advertisement on the Internet and take travelers with them. They share then the costs of the fuel. The forums Mitfahrgelegenheit und Mitfahrzentrale are the most popular ones.


Driving License

Generally the foreign driving licenses are valid only six months. But for those who have the residence abroad it's easier because their driving permission has no limits. Those who have their residence in Germany can only drive six months long. Otherwise they would have to obtain an International driving permit. Exception: driving licenses from the EU and the EEA. For some countries this change means a theoretical and a practical exam.

You will find the rules for your country in the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency from your city. Before the circumscription of the driving license it will be translated by a German agency for instance: foreigners Automobilclub. Exempt from that are Andorra, Hong Kong, Monaco, New Zealand, San Marino, Switzerland, Senegal, Cyprus and Hungary.

To circumscribe your driving license you need your valid driving license (with a German translation), passport photo, your registration of the address office, Insurance and your passport or Identity card.

The taxes for the circumscription are between 25 and 35 euro. The best time is at least three months before the expiration of the deadline.