Berlin - Leipzig return trip

May I ask you for advice on best way to travel between Berlin and Leipzig. Trains seem very expensive for a relatively short trip. Are there ant drawbacks with buses to explain why they appear half the price of trains ? Many thanks !

The obvious point is takes almost double the time. And there seems to be a lot of competition for buses.

Depends when you want to go too, of course - if you're booking for tomorrow it will be more expensive than booking a couple of months in advance for both bus and train

long-distance busses are new to Germany (not allowed until 2013), so there's still fierce competition (and therefore dumping prices) for market shares in that sector. there once was a budget rail company called Interconnex on that route, but they folded in 2014 (guess why) - so DB is essentially the only rail company left. if you book trains in advance, you can get tickets as low as 19 Euro.

alternatively, there are regional offers (http://www.bahn.de/p_en/view/offers/national/regional/regional-offers-overview.shtml?dbkanal_007=L01_S02_D002_KIN0001_top-navi-flyout-offers-regio_LZ001), alas they work out neither cheaper nor faster than the bus.

Many thanks for your feed back. Megabus appear to have great low prices BUT just a couple of buses a day.Any comments on other operators ; postbus etc ? Is the ZOB bus station the only / best place to get buses ? Much appreciated .

Flixbus are market leaders, Postbus next, Megabus youngest competitor (yet established operator elsewhere in Europe). sorry, no personal experience.

as regards stations, depends on where you are staying. ZOB is usually a bother to get to. Zoo station and Alexanderplatz often more convenient, Südkreuz means you're quickly on the motorway.

If ZOB is the best depend what kind of condition you are looking for. It's situated near the congres center and you are in two minutes on the urban freeway or on the national motorway.

This topic has been automatically locked due to inactivity. Email community@lonelyplanet.com if you would like to add to this topic and we'll unlock it for you.