BayernTicket

With the Bayern-Ticket, you are not bound to a specific train. You can travel on any regional train, at any time on that date after 9 AM.

Some poeple might say it is worth stopping at Prien and going to Ludwig's Herrenchiemsee island palace.

You don't really have to purchase the Bayern-Ticket online. You can purchase it that day in Salzburg. When I was there in 2012, the Austrian Rail ticket automats sold the Bayern-Ticket. If you buy one online in advance, the price won't be any less, but it will only be valid on the date for which you purchased it.

If you buy the Bayern Ticket, you can hop on any regional train in all of Bavaria. You're not booking anything, so you can ride any train you like.

Are there any cities between Salzburg and Munich that are worth stopping? I'm not sure where exactly the regional trains stop, but either Rosenheim or Priem am Chiemsee would offer nice diversions for a few hours.

When you go through the booking process on the Bahn website, you pick a journey for which the Bayern-Ticket is the best deal, but, as the website says,

"Valid for any number of journeys on the day of validity, no matter the connection indicated".

In other words, you needed to pick a connection for which the Bayern-Ticket was "suggested" to book it, but that doesn't mean that you have to use it on that route. It is a Bayern-Ticket, just like you would buy from any automat or counter, valid for unlimited trips on regional trains anywhere in Bavaria, that day from midnight weekend days or 9 AM work days, until 3 AM the following morning.

You can buy a Bayern-Ticket at the kiosks at the station -- much more convenient than buying online, in my opinion.

"You can buy a Bayern-Ticket at the kiosks at the station -- much more convenient than buying online"

Generally true. However, suppose you are coming into Germany for the first time on this trip from the Czech Republic on a regional train, and you want to go on to Rothenburg. There is a station at the border where you could get off and buy the Bayern-Ticket, but the train only stops for a minute, so by the time you buy the ticket, you will have missed that train and have to continue on the next train, an hour later. Now I have heard that the conductor can sell you the Bayern-Ticket on the train, but I've never tested that theory, and it would undoubtedly cost more. No problem, buy it online before you go.

Or, if you were going to be coming into Salzburg on another train with a short time to make the connection to the reional train to Munich, so you wouldn't have to stop to buy the Bayern-Ticket.

BTW, the online Bayern-Ticket comes with the validity date printed on it, so make sure you are going to be use it on that day, because it's non-transferable, non-refundable.

I don't think it's been mentioned yet but Salzburg is considered the last German station for your Bayern daily pass, you won't need to get any other ticket unless you continue on into Austria past Salzburg.

Also, one of my favorite views in Europe (maybe the world) is of Salzburg's old city center when it's lit in the evening from a footbridge over the Salz (I think Muellnersteg but it might be the Makartsteg). The footbridge is between the Augustiner brewery and the old center.

Thank you for all of the great info! So appreciate it.

Thank you for all of the great info! So appreciate it.