🧠Overview: your rights when travelling
In brief
How well you are protected depends on how you booked. A package holiday from a single provider is better protected than separately booked components.
- Package holiday: the tour operator is liable for the whole trip.
- Individual booking: flight, hotel and rental car are separate contracts.
- Flight, train, ship: EU passenger rights apply in addition.
New in 2026: the EU has reformed air passenger rights and the Package Travel Directive. Both reforms do not apply yet. Until then the existing law applies. The Entry/Exit System (EES) has been rolling out at the Schengen external borders since 2025/2026. The travel authorisation system ETIAS has not yet started. For Germans, neither changes anything for travel within the Schengen area.
Since 2026, Germans travelling to the United Kingdom need an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) and a passport.
Step by step
- Clarify the type of bookingCheck whether it is a package holiday or whether you booked individual services.
- Keep your documentsKeep the booking confirmation, receipts, photos and e-mails.
- Report earlyReport defects and disruptions immediately to the tour operator or company.
- Watch the deadlinesLook at the relevant page for the deadlines in your case.
Deadlines
- Reforms (air passenger rights, package holidays) have been adopted but are not yet applicable.
- Many exclusion and complaint deadlines are short, often only days or months.
- For trips outside the EU, different rules sometimes apply; check the destination country.
- This page is information, not legal advice.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals
Structure
Travel law consists of several layers: package travel law in the Civil Code (BGB, §§ 651a ff.), EU passenger rights (Air Passenger Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Rail Regulation (EU) 2021/782, Maritime Regulation (EU) No 1177/2010), the Montreal Convention for air travel, and general contract law for individual services such as hotels and rental cars.
Reforms 2026 (not yet applicable law)
Air passenger rights: after Council and Parliament reached an agreement on 15 June 2026, the European Parliament approved on 7 July 2026 according to Ă–AMTC; the Council confirmed on 13 July 2026. The new rules apply 12 months and 20 days after publication in the Official Journal; whether and when this has happened is not confirmed. See the page on air passenger rights.
Package Travel Directive: Directive (EU) 2026/1024 (CELEX 32026L1024): published in the Official Journal on 8 May 2026, entry into force 20 days after publication, transposition by 29 September 2028, application from 29 March 2029. Until transposition in Germany, §§ 651a ff. BGB apply unchanged.
Entry
EES: start 12 October 2025, full operation since 10 April 2026. ETIAS: the official EU site no longer gives a start date; the start is to be announced months in advance; reports mention 2027.
Scope
For cars and driving licences abroad see the target group vehicle owners (Wegweiser kfz-halter). This platform covers private trips, not business trips.
State law (sample BY/NRW/BE)
Sample only, not exhaustive; state law differs. Your claims in relation to travel, flights, trains and luggage rest on federal and EU law; no significant state law on this was identified. Public holidays and school holidays are a matter for the states (Bavaria: Feiertagsgesetz, gesetze-bayern.de); not checked in full text for NRW and Berlin. For letting holiday flats see the group Small landlords (Kleinvermieter).
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.