🧳 Wegweiser Travellers

Package holidays, flights, trains, luggage, accommodation, rental cars, entry, customs, insurance and crisis preparedness: clear answers for private travellers from and after Germany.

Legal position: September 2026. Adopted but not yet applicable: the EU reform of air passenger rights (applies 12 months and 20 days after publication in the Official Journal; publication not confirmed) and the reform of the Package Travel Directive (applies from 29 March 2029). Until then the existing law applies. ETIAS has not yet started. Sources checked were statutory texts (BGB), and pages of the Auswärtiges Amt (Federal Foreign Office), customs, Bundesnetzagentur (Federal Network Agency), Eisenbahn-Bundesamt (Federal Railway Authority), Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (Federal Aviation Office), the Federal Ministry of Transport and the Verbraucherzentrale (consumer advice centre). Many points are supported only by search results and are marked as such in the text. Sources and open points: Sources and limits. Information, not legal advice.

Frequently searched

🛫 Flight: delay, cancellation, denied boarding 🏝️ Package holiday: withdrawal, defects, insolvency protection 🧳 Luggage: loss, damage, delay 🚆 Train: passenger rights in case of delay and cancellation 🛂 ID card, passport, ETA, EES and ETIAS 🩺 Travel insurance and illness abroad

All topic areas

🧭Overview and helpFirst overview, legal position 2026 and contact points.2 topics 🧳Booking and contractPackage holidays, accommodation, booking portals, rental cars.3 topics ✈️Flight, train, shipDelay, cancellation, luggage, compensation and arbitration.4 topics 🛂Entry and customsID card, passport, EES, ETIAS, customs, children and animals.3 topics 🩺Health and safetyTravel insurance, illness abroad, travel warnings.2 topics 💳Money and phoneCredit card, cash, roaming.1 topic

🧭 Overview and help

First overview, legal position 2026 and contact points.

🧭Overview: your rights when travellingWhich rules apply to which trip, what changed in 2026 and what applies only later. 🤝Advice and contact pointsNationwide documented bodies for complaints, arbitration and advice on travel problems.

🧳 Booking and contract

Package holidays, accommodation, booking portals, rental cars.

🏝️Package holiday: withdrawal, defects, insolvency protectionWhat a package holiday is, when you can withdraw, what applies to defects and how your money is secured. 🏨Accommodation and booking platformsHotel or holiday flat booked online: no statutory right of withdrawal, but cancellation rules and the question of who your contracting party is. 🚗Rental car and vehicle abroadRental car on holiday: deposit, insurance, handover record. For your own car abroad, this page points elsewhere.

✈️ Flight, train, ship

Delay, cancellation, luggage, compensation and arbitration.

🛫Flight: delay, cancellation, denied boardingWhat you are entitled to in case of delay, cancellation and denied boarding, and what the 2026 EU reform changes. 🧳Luggage: loss, damage, delayDamaged suitcase or delayed luggage on international flights: liability limits under the Montreal Convention. 🚆Train: passenger rights in case of delay and cancellationCompensation from 60 minutes' delay, onward travel, help and where to file your claim. 🚢Ferry and cruiseRights in case of ferry delay or cancellation under the EU maritime regulation, and special features of cruises.

🛂 Entry and customs

ID card, passport, EES, ETIAS, customs, children and animals.

🛂ID card, passport, ETA, EES and ETIASWhich document you need, what EES and ETIAS mean for Germans and what applies to Great Britain. 🛃Customs: what you may bring backDuty-free allowances on return from non-EU countries and declaring cash of €10,000 or more. 🐕Travelling with children and animalsID for children, consent declaration and the rules for dogs and cats in the EU.

🩺 Health and safety

Travel insurance, illness abroad, travel warnings.

🩺Travel insurance and illness abroadWhich travel insurance policies make sense, what the EHIC health insurance card covers and what it does not. ⚠️Travel warnings, crisis preparedness, Auswärtiges AmtWhat travel warnings mean, how to register on the crisis preparedness list and what help embassies provide.

💳 Money and phone

Credit card, cash, roaming.

💳Credit card, cash and roamingWhere paying and phoning abroad get expensive and how to avoid fee traps.

For reference

📕Keyword indexAll terms from A to Z, with links to the matching topic pages. 📜Sources and methodWhere the information comes from and what is expressly uncertain. 🏠Other target groupsTo the overview of all Wegweiser portals.

A question about your situation that this page does not answer? Write to us or use the contact form – we will tell you which office is responsible and what to bring. Free of charge, without individual legal advice.