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Get around Germany by train

Germany has a dense railway system, which reaches almost every part of the country. Unless you travel by car, the train will be your major mode of transportation. Crossing Germany from Munich in the south to Hamburg in the north will take only 6 hours at best. Driving by car would take around 8 hours.
The majority of the trains are operated by Deutsche Bahn ("German Rail"), the national railway company. Although privatisation occured a few years ago, all the shares are still held by the German government, though DB are planning to sell off the shares to private investors in the near future. The trains are usually reliable (delays of more than 10 minutes are rather uncommon), and a comfortable and safe way of travel. If not otherwise indicated, the information in this section is about DB-run trains.
There are some independent railway companies which run regional trains or aim at specific target markets, like business travellers.
Long distance : All major cities are linked by ICE (InterCity Express) and regular InterCity trains. The ICE are high speed trains, reaching top speeds of 330km/h; and even though they rarely cruise at such high speeds travel is faster than by car and quite comfortable. Be sure to get a reservation - it's not mandatory, but you may end up standing or sitting on the floor without one. Reservations are a MUST on Fridays and even Sundays because this is the main travel time for commuters returning home or to work for the weekend. Even first class will be very full on these days. ICE trains have high standards of comfort.
There are several railways of special interests in Germany. These include among others:

• the Rasender Roland on Rügen
• the Mecklenburgische Bäderbahn Molli in Bad Doberan
• the Harzquerbahn
• the Harzer Schmalspurbahn
• Lössnitz Valley Railroad
• the Wuppertaler Schwebebahn in Wuppertal
• the H-Bahn in Dortmund
• the Schwebebahn Dresden
• the Transrapid

Cog railways are in Stuttgart, up Drachenfels, up the Zugspitze Mountain and up the Wendelstein Mountain.

Get around Germany by Thumb

It is possible to hitchhike in Germany and most Germans speak (at least broken) English, so you will be understood if you speak slowly. Drivers rarely expect you to give them any money for the ride. The first letters of the German number plate (before the hyphen) indicate the city in which the car is registered. If you know the code for your destination it will increase your chances.
It is illegal to stop on the Autobahn itself, but hitchhiking from service areas or petrol stations is a good way of getting long rides (100-200 km). The hard part is getting onto the Autobahn, so it pays off to sleep near the gas stations if you are going far. At the gas stations you can get a free booklet called Tanken und Rasten with a map of the Autobahn and its gas stations. When getting a lift, agree with the driver where to get off, and make sure there is a gas station. Try to avoid the Auto Hofs. It is also quite common to arrange a ride in a private vehicle in advance through on offline agency or the Internet. Offline agencies like Citynetz or ADM do have offices in major cities, mostly near the city center or the main railway station. These offline agencies do charge a commission additionally to the cost for fuel you need to pay for the driver.
In the recent years online services to arrange rides in private vehicles became very popular. The main reason is that you do not have to pay the commission traditional agencies do charge. You only need to contribute towards fuel costs.

Get around Germany by car

Germany has a world-famous network of excellent roads and Autobahn (motorway) with no toll or fees for cars (trucks have to pay), but gasoline prices are kept high by taxation.
Car rentals are available in most cities, and one-way rentals (within Germany) are generally permitted without an additional fee. When renting a car, be aware that most cars in Germany have manual gearbox (stick-shift), so you might want to ask for a car with an automatic gearbox if that's what you're used to.
Another great way to get around without your own car is using one of the popular car pool services. You can arrange many connections over their respecive websites if you speak some German or have a friend that can help you out. Making contact is free of charge and getting a lift is often the cheapest way to get around. The two most popular hosts are Mitfahrgelegenheit and Mitfahrzentrale, for second one you have to pay an extra charge. If you have your own car, taking other people is also a great way of saving money and protecting the environment.
Especially in Eastern Germany you will note small, green, permanent arrows (only on printed signs, not the lights) at traffic lights, pointing to the right. When the lights are red, you are still ordered to halt, but if there are no cars approaching, you are allowed to carefully turn right, despite the red traffic light. (The whole system does not apply if there are no green arrows).
In many areas traffic lights are not hung over the intersection, but instead placed at the corners. You shouldn't creep into the intersection or else you won't be able to see the lights change. Yellow lights are considerably shorter in duration than in those in the US and Canada, and are also used as a warning that the light is about to turn green.

Get around by plane

The German flagcarrier Deutsche Lufthansa connects all major cities in Germany to each other and foreign destinations. Due to the comparatively short distances and relatively high hassle of air travel - especially when you travel with luggage - domestic air travel is used mostly for business purposes. Due to the boom of budget airlines very low price offers are seen in the internet and high competition in the industry will keep them low. Please compare prices for plane tickets to those of the railway tickets if you want to go to some major cities. Make sure though, that you get where you want to! Low-cost airlines are known for naming small airports in the middle of nowhere by cities 200 km away (e.g. Frankfurt-Hahn is not Germany's major international airport Frankfurt/Main).
The following carriers offer domestic flights within Germany:

1. Air Berlin incl. dba
2. Lufthansa
3. Cirrus Airlines
4. LGW
5. OLT
6. TUIfly.com
7. Germanwings
8. European Air Express
9. InterSky
10. LTU International Airways
11. Sylt Air

Get around by bus.

A few long distance bus lines exist within Germany, most of them orientated to/from Berlin. Besides, there are two very useful long distance bus lines, the "Neun-Euro Bus". If booked in advance, you can end up paying just nine euros for any trip on the bus line connecting Hamburg (+airport), Hanover (+airport), Kassel, Frankfurt (+airport), Mannheim and Heidelberg. The other line runs Mannheim - Heidelberg - Heilbronn - Rothenburg ob der Tauber - Nuremberg. For more information, check
Apart from these, there is a very dense network of regional and local bus lines. In rural areas though, many lines run only once per day. Regional and local express bus line designators usually contain the letter(s) CE (local), E (regional around Hamburg; in other areas, E is used for special runnings), S (regional), SB (regional and local) or X (local within Berlin), city bus line designators may contain the letter(s) BB ("Bürgerbus", not integrated within tariff unions), C or O. Always check the departure boards carefully: sometimes - especially at night or in rural areas - you have to order your bus by phone.