When are Deutsche Bahn ICE tickets available for December 2023?

[YesWeCam]

I'm trying to book Deutsche Bahn tickets from Karlsruhe to Paris on Sun Dec 31.

When I went to DB English website, it says tickets aren't available for that date - the "Date is outside of timetable period." This is true for any date from Dec 10 onward at the moment. But when I check SNCF it has tickets for that train on sale - there are no Saver tickets at the moment, but Flex and Premium tickets are available. The SNCF website says that more trains will soon be available.

- When are DB ICE tickets usually released for December?

- Is it worth waiting for 'more tickets to become available soon'?

- What's the best site for buying DB ICE tickets? SNCF? DB? Other?

Thanks in advance

 

[biko]

- When are DB ICE tickets usually released for December?

Tickets for the new timetable will be released 11 October. NS International has a handy guide: https://www.nsinternational.com/en/schedule

- Is it worth waiting for 'more tickets to become available soon'?

Full price tickets are a lot more expensive than sparpreis tickets, so yes.

What's the best site for buying DB ICE tickets? SNCF? DB? Other?

No idea specifically about ICE between Germany and France, but I would expect DB for ICE services

 

[paul_munich]

Sell on Bahn.de for 2024 is supposed to start from 12.10 on.

 

[30907]

No idea specifically about ICE between Germany and France, but I would expect DB for ICE services

This particular route is jointly operated with SNCF and, curiously, both countries' fare structures apply, so it is actually worth checking both.

In this case, SNCF are selling the ICE trains and offering Prems fares at EUR 39 on a couple of trains; on a quick check I don't think DB will be cheaper.

New Year's Eve is a Sunday which depresses demand.

 

[AlbertBeale]

I've found that since TGV times for services from France into Germany seem to be available (and hence tickets go on sale - from SNCF at least) ahead of the availability of German train times (perhaps especially around timetable changes), then for a journey where you usually need to change trains in Germany anyway it's worth booking as far as you can on the TGVs while they're still at an affordable price, and then add the German-service leg of the journey once it's available to book.

 

[rvdborgt]

I've found that since TGV times for services from France into Germany seem to be available (and hence tickets go on sale - from SNCF at least) ahead of the availability of German train times (perhaps especially around timetable changes), then for a journey where you usually need to change trains in Germany anyway it's worth booking as far as you can on the TGVs while they're still at an affordable price, and then add the German-service leg of the journey once it's available to book.

On the other hand, DB offers through tickets from/to (almost) any German stations using these cross-border TGVs and ICEs, so that usually also brings price advantages.

 

[YesWeCam]

This is exceptional advice, thank you all!

 

[AlbertBeale]

On the other hand, DB offers through tickets from/to (almost) any German stations using these cross-border TGVs and ICEs, so that usually also brings price advantages.

Yes - true - which makes it all a bit of a gamble whatever you do!

 

[Austriantrain]

ÖBB timetables for 2024 will go online today and tickets should be available, but only for domestic journeys. Nightjet tickets in particular will only be available from mid-October, once DB also releases its timetable.