Bus, Train, or Plane - Go Euro

I've been living in Germany for about 2 years now and have had a lot of fun exploring Germany and other surrounding European countries. One of the biggest expenses of traveling are the transportation costs. Fortunately, Europe is densely populated with amazing sights to see in a much smaller geographic area (compared to Canada). There are numerous travel options available, but sometimes the choices can be a bit overwhelming. I've listed the main options that I've used since moving to Europe, from most affordable to priciest.

Bus
Long distance buses are relatively new to Germany because trains used to have a monopoly on city-to-city travel. Now there are a lot of options available, like FLiX Bus and Dein Bus. This is by far the least expensive way to get around and most buses are equipped with WiFi. The downside is that the buses can sometimes be delayed and the spaces are a bit tight.

Train
Train is my favourite way of getting around. There is more space than the bus and it's easier to walk around (some trains have dining cars too). The downside is that trains can be slightly more expensive than buses, but are usually less expensive than flying.

Train stations are usually located in the city center, as opposed to airports which are located in the outskirts of the city, which means you don't need additional transportation to get to the city. In addition, there isn't the hassle of security for riding the train. So when you add up the extra commuting time to get to the airport, plus security and commuting to your final destination after arriving at the airport, you can easily shave off two or more hours of commuting by taking the train.

 In Germany, there are a few discount train options available. There is the 'happy weekend ticket' (Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket) which you can only purchase on Saturday and Sunday for €40 (plus €4 for each additional passenger, up to a maximum of 4). This ticket allows you to travel anywhere in Germany by train for the day.  Sounds great, but you cannot use the high-speed train services, which means that it will take a lot of transfers and time if you want to go far (i.e. Stuttgart to Hamburg). Nonetheless, this ticket is great value, since it also gives you the flexibility to hop-on and off the train for the whole day.

Also, there are regional day tickets which are not restricted to the weekends, but only allow you to travel within one or a group of neighbouring sates. For instance the Baden-Wüttemberg ticket allows you to travel on all local train services within  Baden-Wüttemberg for the day. The cost is €23, plus €5 for each additional passenger, up to a maximum of 4.

Plane
Plane is the fastest long-distance (> 300 km) travel option. One of the lowest cost carriers in Europe is Ryan Air, which can actually be cheaper than the train in some cases. However, their travel routes are limited. To find what the best combination of travel method is for you, I've found a website that compares the three main travel methods, finding the optimal combination based on time and price: Go Euro.

If you're in Tübingen, don't forget to say hello!