1. Is it permissible to combine an official business trip with a private stay?
Yes. Under the Federal Travel Expenses Act (Bundesreisekostengesetz – BRKG), it is generally permissible to combine an approved official business trip with a private stay. The following conditions must be met:

• The official purpose must take precedence.

• The private stay must be declared and approved in advance.

• The employer (public authority) must not incur higher costs than would have arisen from a purely official trip – a cost comparison is required for this purpose.

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2. How long may the private stay last?
The private stay may not exceed five calendar days.

If this period is exceeded, the trip will generally no longer qualify as a combined business trip within the meaning of travel expense regulations. In such cases, reimbursement of travel expenses may be reduced or denied altogether.

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3. What is the required cost comparison?
In the case of a combined trip, a mandatory cost comparison must be carried out between two scenarios:

• A hypothetical purely official trip (without a private stay)

• The combined trip actually undertaken

Reimbursement is limited to the costs that would have been incurred for an exclusively official trip.

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4. Which costs must be taken into account in the cost comparison?
The cost comparison must be complete and detailed. This means that all cost components must be included, in particular:

• Airfare (including all ancillary costs, e.g. baggage fees, seat reservations, etc.)

• Rail tickets (including reservations)

• Accommodation costs

Important:
The comparison must not be limited to the base ticket price alone. Especially in the case of air travel, additional costs such as baggage fees must also be taken into account.

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5. What happens if the combined trip is more expensive?
If the combined trip actually booked is more expensive than the hypothetical purely official trip, only the lower amount will be reimbursed. Any additional costs must be borne privately by the traveler.

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6. How are accommodation costs handled?
Only overnight stays that are required for official purposes are eligible for reimbursement.

Overnight stays during the private portion of the trip are not reimbursable.

In the case of a continuous hotel stay, it must be clearly identifiable:

• which nights were for official purposes,

• and which were private.

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7. What about per diem allowances (meal allowances)?
Meal allowances are granted exclusively for travel days that are officially required.

There is no entitlement to meal allowances for days of the private stay.