Dresden by train from Munich or Frankfurt

Frankfurt airport to Dresden, Eisenach.
Munich airport to Dresden, Weiden (Oberpfalz). Best way from the airport is bus to Freising, then train to Weiden, either direct or with a train change in Regensburg (which would not be a bad stopover as well). That way you can use a Bayern Ticket on your arrival without any advance booking required. 25 EUR for 1st person, 6 EUR for each additional person. There is also a cheaper Servus Ticket for 20 EUR plus 6 EUR for the others, but does not include the bus ticket, which shouldn't be much.

Quaint, scenic and off the beaten path usually means a detour, since fast trains don't stop there. But there are a few nice stops along the fast routes:

Munich - Dresden
Bamberg - a world heritage site with a beautiful old town and a impressive cathedral. The local cuisine, and the beer, is also quite nice.
Naumburg - something like Bambergs untouristy sister. Also with a nice old town, although not as picturesque as Bambergs, and with a equally impressive cathedral

Frankfurt - Dresden
Erfurt - hands down the best stop between the two cities. Erfurt is not a small town, but offers one of Germanys biggest preserved town centres.

There is also a cheaper Servus Ticket for 20 EUR plus 6 EUR for the
others, but does not include the bus ticket, which shouldn't be much.

How many people?

The bus from MUC to Freising Bhf is 2,80€/P, 5,60€ for two. For one person it would be cheaper to buy the Servus ticket and the bus separately (22,80€ for one, 31,60€ for two, 40,40€ for three). For two or more, the Bayern-Ticket would cost less (25,00€ for one, 31,00€ for 2, 37,00€ for three).

You might want to take a look at Hof as an intermediate stopover. It's as far as you can get from the airport with either a Servus or Bayern-Ticket, so the ticket into Dresden the next day would be less than coming from Weiden. (According to the Bahn, the Regio120 ticket from Sachsen is valid for Hof to Dresden for 20,-€ pP.)

wayne,

I've travelled the route from Frankfurt to Dresden, but used a Regional flight. It added a couple of hours to my trip, but I didn't want to waste time in an intermediate location. My flights were arranged on a code share basis, so my checked luggage was delivered direct to Dresden.

Ken, sounds to me like the OP wants to "waste time" at an intermediate location. Otherwise, I would have suggested ways to do it in one day, including a leg by long distance train so he could make it a Savings Fare ticket. Come to think of it, Freising is a nice town for an intermediate stop. Take the bus from the airport to Freising Bhf (2,80 pP), spend the night there, enjoy dinner under the trees at the Biergarten at Weihenstephan, then take the regional trains from there to Dresden via Hof (7 hrs). Ticket it to Bad Schandau with the EC from Dresden to Bad Schandau to get a Savings Fare (from 29,90€ pP); then just "miss" the EC connection in Dresden.

Thanks for all the excellent replies.Just to clarify my position---I will be travelling solo---after approx 14 hours on the flight to Germany from Singapore I didnt want to sit on another aircraft for a couple of hours, or a train for up to 6 hours to get to Dresden---hence the "wind down" easier train journey to "somewhere" on the way to Dresden. I have been to both Frankfurt and Munich before and didnt really want to spend another day at one or the other. Thanks again for the input.

I can understand you not wanting another long ride, but Dresden is only 4.5 hours from Frankfurt Airport, direct every 2 hours. Which airline, some have a partnership deal with DB to allow onward rail travel at a flat rate which is a bargain for longer journeys. Search for Rail&Fly. Erfurt is about half way on this ride, the centre is worth seeing, so if you really have to get off this would be a good place.

Thanks again for the help, Steve I have had a look at Erfurt on the Rick Steves site and that looks a good place to stay for a day or two, so into Frankfurt it will be.. I will investigate the fly rail issue with the carrier I am going to use (Singapore airlines) to see if they have a deal.

Martin thanks for the "heads up" on Erfurt.

Singapore Airlines has it.
https://www.bahn.de/p/view/mdb/bahnintern/services/mobilitaet_service/rail_fly_airrail/2016/mdb_234060_20161020_railandfly_airlines.pdf

Singapore Airlines have done it for a long time, it's why I asked.

Basically, has to be booked through the airline. You get an e-ticket valid for travel in connection with the flight (so need the flight ticket as proof on board the train). You can travel without reservation so don't have to worry about flight delays. As I remember, you can travel next day if the flight is a late arrival (or previous day for early departure). But I'm not sure whether you can overnight en route, so if you go for a stay in Erfurt it will probably only be valid as far as there.

Possible in either or both directions as long as flight tickets match.