Founded in 2013 by three young entrepreneurs in Germany, Flixbus is a low-cost bus service (“coach” in Europe), whose initial mission was to provide a “reliable and green alternative” to carpooling and the Deutsche Bahn, Germany’s train system. However, the business quickly took off. In 2015, Flixbus expanded into the international market. Then in 2018, Flixbus acquired Megabus to add even more routes than ever before. Today, Flixbus travels to more than 2,000 destinations, offering more than 300,000 daily connections Europe-wide.

And prices are cheap: in some cases, less than €10 one way. The buses offer comfy seats, free Wi-Fi with plugs for your devices and an on-board bathroom. Although in most cases Flixbus doesn’t make any unnecessary stops, you can buy low-priced snacks and drinks on the bus.

The bus service also offers eco-conscious travelers the chance to help compensate for their carbon footprint. To help offset their individual CO2 emissions, travelers can opt to add 1-3% on top of their ticket price, which Flixbus donates to an internationally certified climate project.

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Tips for riding (and saving on) Flixbus

Below we’ve gathered some tips for hitching a ride on Flixbus, as well as some ideas on how to save.

1. Book your ticket as early as possible

You can book Flixbus tickets about four to six weeks before your departure date. To do so, visit Flixbus’s website or download their app.

Important: Prices go up the closer you get to the travel date, so to secure the best deals, we recommend booking as far in advance as possible. For most destinations, you have a wide range of options for departure times, and some long-distance journeys also offer a night bus where you can snooze as you go.

Related: Germany’s discount bus craze: How to score a €1 fare

2. Cancel or change your ticket through their website

If you need to make any changes or cancellations, it’s generally not a problem. Just go to Flixbus’s “change/cancel booking” section on their app or website and make the changes up to 15 minutes before departure. A cancellation fee of €1 will be charged per passenger and trip. And if you book a new trip with a higher ticket price, you will have to pay the difference.

Arrive at least 15 minutes early for a ride on Flixbus. Photo: MP

3. Board the bus with the right docs

On the day of your trip, Flixbus recommends you arrive at the designated station 15 minutes before departure. To board the bus, you need to show either a printed version or QR code of your booking confirmation. If your trip takes you across country borders, be sure you have all relevant documents with you, such as your passport or visa, as needed.

4. “Open Tickets” can save the day

If your bus is delayed or the trip has been canceled, don’t despair. It still may be possible to travel to your destination on an “Open Ticket.” All you need to do is hand your booking confirmation to another bus driver headed to your destination. Once you have done so, they will scan your ticket and re-book you if a free seat is available.

Please note there is no guarantee here. If no seats are available on the other bus or too many passengers wish to re-book, you might not get a spot. The Open Ticket can also only be used for direct connections, not trips where you’re required to transfer at another location.

5. Know the baggage policy

As far as baggage goes, for each bus ride, you are allowed one small carry-on and two pieces of luggage marked with your name and address. The carry-on should contain all your valuables and be no larger than 16.5 x 12 x 7 inches and weigh no more than 15 pounds. Normal luggage should be no larger than 26 x19.5 x 10.5 inches and each passenger is limited to 66 pounds of luggage in total.

Extra luggage: If you need to book extra luggage, you can do so for a fee of €5, provided you contact customer service at least 48 hours in advance and the bag weighs no more than 33 pounds.

Please note this does not include on-board baggage, which is always limited to one carry on. If you need to bring bulky baggage, such as ski equipment, musical instruments or bicycles, you can do so for an added fee of €9. Again, to arrange this, you need to get in touch with customer service at least 48 hours in advance. Learn more about the baggage policies on the Flixbus website.

6. Save even more with group discounts

If you’re traveling with others, Flixbus offers a group discount on their regular service for groups between 3 to 40 people. You can add on the group discount during the booking process as long as you book at least one day in advance. If you’d like a bit more flexibility or wish to travel in a group to destinations not normally covered by Flixbus’s normal schedule, it is possible to charter your own bus at charter.flixbus.com.

7. Riding with kids or limited mobility travelers

Children and minors (15 and under) travel at a reduced ticket price. If you’re traveling with a child aged three and under, you must bring a car seat along which can be secured by a two-point seatbelt provided on the bus. Children and minors between 10 and 14 can travel alone if they have written permission from a legal guardian, and as long as they do not cross any international borders. Adolescents 15 and above are free to travel alone with Flixbus, but be sure they have all necessary documents if they’re crossing into different countries.

To arrange travel for passengers with disabilities or limited mobility, contact Flixbus customer service two weeks at the earliest or seven days at the latest before the date of the trip.

A few last-minute notes about Flixbus

Although Flixbus is definitely an amazing travel option for travelers on a shoestring budget, the company has seen its share of controversy. The media has occasionally covered stories of Flixbus’s “unfillable contracts with sub-contractors” which has led to both “excessive working hours for drivers and low salaries.” However, official inspections have appeared to disproved this claim, demonstrating that the working conditions are better than previously assumed.

But recently there has been speculation that Flixbus’s rock bottom prices might soon be a thing of the past. When Flixbus acquired Postbus in 2016, they gained around 80% of the German long-distance bus market, creating more or less a monopoly, which the media has criticized. Because they now have far less competition, Flixbus’s prices could well go up in the future. Our advice? Book now and enjoy the cheapest deals while they last.

Looking for more ways to travel for cheap in Europe? Use CheapoSearch to find affordable flights and car rentals.

Your tips for riding Flixbus

Have you taken a ride on a Flixbus? Tell us about your experience and share your tips for a smooth ride in our comments section below, and thanks!

The post Riding Flixbus: Tips for riding Europe’s largest budget bus service appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Since the 2013 liberalization of a law preventing most long-distance bus service in Germany, the market for Greyhound-style travel around the country has been booming. Steep competition between new carriers has led to low fares on some routes starting at just €1 as well as a rapid expansion of service to both nationwide and international destinations. Much like the low-cost carrier boom a decade earlier, the uncertainty of the fresh bus market meant lots of cheap travel opportunities and exciting experimentation as these young companies attempted to maximize their profitability and market share.

At the beginning of 2015, the merger of FliXBus and MeinFernbus was announced. Together, these two companies carry 75% of Germany’s long-distance bus passengers. Their merger won’t be complete until August, but it offers both benefits and potential costs to travelers. Let’s have a closer look at what this merger could mean for this travel market.

Same service, more regular scheduling

While the two companies are still in the process of sorting out their overlapping schedules and destination maps, one of their top priorities is to eliminate simultaneous or close departures to the same destination. They have stated publicly that their intention in such cases is not to decrease the number of services to these destinations, but rather to spread them out to offer more regular service on the same routes.

Using a hypothetical example, if there were once FliXBus services between Berlin and Hamburg leaving at 9 and 10 am and MeinFernBus departures leaving at 9:15 am and 11 am, the new company would attempt to offer half-hourly service with the same buses at, say, 9, 9:30, 10, and 10:30 am. This gives the consumer more choice, reliability, and flexibility when it comes to selecting travel times.

More stable (read: higher) prices

At the same time, however, we can also predict that decreased competition between these two companies will result in fewer low-price seats, especially at popular times. Where once (like in the above example) there were two bus companies within 15 minutes of each other vying for passengers with cheap tickets, there will now only be one bus for the merged company to fill.

Price-sensitive passengers may be able to adjust their travel to less-popular times in order to score lower-cost seats, but those who are unable to pick a different departure time will more often find themselves paying a rate close to the “full price” of the ticket – often double or three times the advertised discount price. This upward price pressure will compound if the remaining 25% of the bus market has difficulty holding their share in the face of one behemoth competitor.

Tighter network, more international destinations

Having quickly captured the overwhelming majority of the domestic bus market, these merged companies have the potential to do two things that will be great for bus riders. The first is the opportunity to differentiate their overlapped regular services slightly in order to reach an even greater number of destinations across the country. If we consider again the route Berlin-Hamburg, perhaps every four hours the bus detours from the direct route to also pick up and drop off passengers in Schwerin. Similar tweaks could fill out the map across the rest of Germany, bringing even more travelers into the bus fold and deepening the existing network substantially.

Second, the increased economy of merger means that resources will be freed up to expand its routes further outward, offering additional overnight and international bus routes, thereby expanding low-cost travel opportunities and improving competition (even with train companies) in bordering countries as well.

We’ll keep you posted on the further effects on low-cost bus travel as FliXBus and MeinFernBus finalize the details of their merger over the coming months. In the meantime, grab those cheap €1 euro fares while you can and let us know your thoughts!

The post Bus company mergers in Germany: What does it mean for budget travelers? appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

The Oldies

Berlin Linien Bus

Due to Berlin’s unique status as an enclave of the West, long-distance bus service from the city had been grandfathered into the aforementioned law, making bus travel to or from Berlin on Berlin Linien Bus the only available such option in the country. With ties to Deutsche Bahn and a well-established network, BLB is sure to survive, despite plummeting market share. It regularly offers restricted €9 fares on its routes to Hamburg or Dresden. Every few months, BLB offers a Berlin Groupon deal at the same low price, valid on virtually any bus on any day.

Eurolines

Having ended their relationship with German booker Gullivers, the transcontinental Eurolines bus service now sells tickets for international destinations from Paris to Riga directly. While this is definitely the place to look if you’re ultimately traveling outside of Germany, don’t overlook their extensive domestic offerings as well, especially if you’re traveling in the western part of the country. While new competitors have focused solely on building inner-German networks, you can expect growth and therefore more competitive pricing in the international bus market—especially in areas bordering France, Denmark, Poland, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic—in the coming years.

The Newbies

FlixBus

With a network spanning the entire country, Munich-based FlixBus is the most popular new competitor. Sale prices from Berlin start at €5 for Rostock, Leipzig and Dresden, and €15 for Braunschweig, Osnabrück, Münster, Würzburg, Amberg, Nuremberg or Munich. Also note the international lines connecting airports in Bremen, Memmingen and Munich to the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria and the Czech Republic.

MeinFernBus

With main north-south arteries running from Berlin to Munich or Frankfurt and beyond, MeinFernBus offers lots of unique travel options across the country at a low price. Berlin to Dresden or Rostock starts at €6, to Leipzig €8, to Hamburg €14 or to Munich €16. International connections are currently available to Zurich, Innsbruck and Luxembourg.

ADAC Postbus

These yellow buses are best for plying the well-worn western corridor between Dortmund and Frankfurt. New routes launching February 2014 will better connect the eastern and central regions of the country with the existing network. Tickets start at €8 between Berlin and Leipzig, €15 for Berlin-Hamburg. Purchase online or at any post office or Postbank counter in Germany.

City2City

With its limited network, consider City2City only if you’re traveling in the former West Germany.

DeinBus

This company offers routes in four distinct areas of Germany without connections between them (at present). It’s well worth a look, especially for regional travel in the southwest. They also offer international links to Prague and Maastricht.

ALDI/Univers

The German discount grocery chain has partnered with bus company Univers to offer fixed-price bus tickets for the most popular connections around the country. Book online with the ALDI Reisen website.

The post Riding the budget bus lines in Germany with fares from €5 appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.