Arriving @ Frankfurt Airport - Train to Munich

I don't understand "transfer window". There are direct ICE trains to Munich about every half hour in the morning and the at least once per hour in the early afternoon. By best, do you mean cheapest? What Saturday in May? Where are you getting your information?
For instance, on May 3, I see there is a sparpreiss fare of 29 euro at 10:29. Since the walk up price is 101 euro, my gambling nature would make me buy that one with a 2 1/2 hour window. If the plane is 1 1/2 hour, so be it, I would have had to pay the walk up price anyway.

If you leave yourself a 2½ hour window and the trip by the fastest train takes 3¾ hr, that's 6¼ hour total. That's about the same time as it takes by regional train, so -

when you arrive, at the ticket automat in the Regionalbahnhof, purchase a two person Bayern-Ticket for 27€. Then buy 2 RMV (local transit district) tickets to Kahl am Main for 7,80€ each. That's less than 43€ total. Take one of the every-15-min S-Bahn to the Hauptbahnhof, go up to the main level and find the RE to Würzburg (somewhere around tracks 8-11). At Kahl, you don't have to change trains, just start using the Bayern-Ticket (Kahl is the first station in Bavaria). Change in Würzburg for a regional train (or two) to Munich.

The transit time is about the same, the fare is less, and you don't have to use a train-specific, non-refundable ticket.

If you wait until you arrive, your only option will be full fare tickets or regional trains. If you purchase full fare tickets in advance, I don't think you can use an earlier train, but you can book full fare tickets for the earlier train and use a later one on the same route if you are delayed (I did that last fall).

No reason to get 2 Bayern-Ticket in advance. The price doesn't go up and they don't sell out. Just buy them at the time of travel.

Thank you both very helpful!!

@ Sam - I was looking on BAHN.com and using Google Maps. BUT - since google didn't show later May (we are traveling on the 24th) I looked at April. Maybe that was a mistake because I'm seeing the same thing as you for May 3rd which would be perfect for us.

@ Lee - I will look into that option too!!

:-)
Bree

I'm sorry, but why don't you just fly open jaw directly into Munich? That'd save you money and it'd be the most efficient way to travel. Then, you wouldn't have to worry about getting there on schedule.

"why don't you just fly open jaw directly into Munich?"

Because they are using FF miles and they can only get FF tickets to FRA. I've seen this so many times. Just one of "advantages" to FF miles.

Another option is to go to Bacharach (or Heidelberg) for the night and use a Savings Fare from there to Munich the next morning.

Just to show the variability of sparpreis fares, May 3,10,24 have 49 euro total for two, at 10:29. On May 17, that train does not run for some reason, but the 10:02 does at 49 euro for 2. On May 31, the price goes to 69 euro for 2.
People have different travel philosophies and risk tolerances. Mine is to buy the 49 euro, and if I roll snake eyes, I can always use Lee's "sneaky cheap" way with the Bayern ticket. It involves 3 changes (4 if you want to save 20 minutes of travel time). There is something to be said for traveling direct, especially if traveling heavy. On the other hand, folks just looking for the bottom line cheapest price would go straight to the Bayern ticket method. Others, with deep pockets and low risk tolerance, would just take the walk-up price of 202 euro once they landed.

Who knew traveling involved such a marvelous set of decisions.

We booked the tickets and then had to change our travel plans but its WAY more expensive now to change the tickets to fly into Munich then to just take the train from Munich to Frankfurt.

I think we will buy tix about 2hrs after we land which is a little roll of dice - but we would rather not transfer trains (husband doesn't sleep well on planes but does on trains).

Thanks for all the help!

• Bree

Hi,

Even you miss your ICE direct connection to Munich, I would suggest sticking around at Frankfurt Hbf. and wait for the next direct ICE to Munich Hbf., unless you're pressed for time getting there. I don't like changing trains esp with luggage. If it can avoided on a regional train with the lugagge, all the better. If it has to be, then from an ICE. Otherwise, I take the direct ICE.

I don't advise buying advance-discount tickets to match up with an airline arrival. In most countries, the discount tickets are not refundable or changeable. In the case of DB, the SparPreise ticket rules in their shopping cart say that exchanges cost 15 euros (plus any change in the available ticket price) and are only available up until the day before departure, not later if you miss the train.

If you also need a return trip to Frankfurt or other train travel within Germany, then the German Twin pass for $225 per person is a good value and allows you to hop on any trains during three travel days within a month. Compare this to the full fare of 100 euros per person that you would pay to buy one-way Frankfurt-Munich ICE tickets at the airport.

There you have it, different philosophies for different folks.