If you are staying in Frankfurt for 2 days, you might want to plan on actually seeing the city or visiting a few of the many museums there. (depending on your interests) Frankfurt is full of historical buildings, medieval churches, and was the center of Jewish culture in Germany for centuries.

Good day trips by train would be the Rhine, Büdingen & Gelnhausen, Limburg, Marburg, Bad Homburg, Seligenstadt, or Idstein.

The cheapest way to Munich is to buy a ticket 3 months ahead of time from the Deutsche Bahn. It will only cost you 29 €. There should be multiple trains per day. Takes about 3 + hours.

Did you mean the "Man in seat 61"? Not sure where the confusion is. He doesn't sell tickets, he just tells you how to get the most out of your train experience.

Thanks Ms. Jo.....Yes I did mean the Man in Seat 61.

He mentions something about The Schones-Wochenende ticket and the Quer-durchs -Land-Ticket which seem cheaper for 2 people. He advises this could also be purchased at the station on the day of the visit for a few euro extra.

I thought one of these tickets might be a more cost effective option depending on the day of the week I arrive.

I am not sure if these tickets are available to travel from Frankfurt to Munich.

And I do appreciate your suggestion of things to do in Frankfurt. Maybe a day in Frankfurt and a daytrip to the Rhine.

Thanks for your help!!

Those tickets you mention are valid on Regional trains only. Those will take you much longer to get to Munich than an ICE train will take and you will probably have to change trains in Würzburg. Yes, you can buy them on the spot, but they have some restrictions, like not using the Quer Durch Deutschland ticket before 09:00. For your trip, since you will be in Frankfurt for a couple of days, it makes sense to get your train tickets 3 months ahead of time for 29 € per person, rather than the other tickets. DB doesn't have the price increases up for 2016, but imagine they will be tomorrow. Right now those other tickets will cost you either 52 € or 44 €. I'd rather pay 58 € and get to Munich faster on a direct train.

Rather than the Man in Seat 61, use the German Rail Schedule and Fare webpage.

Even if you try to book at the earliest date possible for Savings Fare tickets, you might not find the lowest possible fares available. (I'm not sure if the lowest possible fares, and how many at that price, are actually offered for some popular routes and times.) If you can't find low enough fares, there are several other possibilities.

1. Select "All excluding ICE" under means of transport. You'll find several less popular connections, such as direct ECs from Frankfurt to Munich. These trains take 40 minutes longer, but often have lower fares available.

2. If the fast train lower fares are no longer available, the difference in price might make it sensible to take the slower regional trains. Anyway, you might want to stop over and see Würzburg on your way.

On weekend, the lowest fare is, at this time, the Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket at 44€ for two. For a workday, instead of a 52€ QdL-Ticket, you can buy a local, RMV, ticket for Frankfurt Hbf to Kahl, the first stop in Bavaria on the RE to Würzburg, for 8,25€/person and a Bayern-Ticket for Kahl to Munich for 28€ for two, 44,50€ for the trip. Take any hourly RE from Frankfurt Hbf to Würzburg, as long as it leaves Kahl after 9 AM. In Kahl, you don't have to get off; just change tickets.

Thanks All! I appreciate the help and good advice!!

I just did a sample fare search on the DB site for 4/7/15 and am seeing fares from Frankfurt to Munich for 59 euro, not 29. Do fares increase by that much in spring and summer? I am planning my visit for August.

Steve: Fares increase incrementally as soon as tickets start selling. Cheap fares at the most popular travel times sell out more quickly than the ones at less popular times Most of the morning fares for 4/7 are still at €29 and €39 right now. But they will go up soon too. In summer more people travel so fares will probably increase even more quickly.

It's not fast but you can get to Munich for about €31 or €44 for two if you like and not deal with the advance-purchase nonsense. At Frankfurt Hbf buy a RMV (local transit authority) ticket for €8.25 to Kahl. Also buy a Bayern Ticket day pass (€23 for one, €28 for two.) The Bayern Ticket is good from Kahl to Munich. Ride the regional trains only all the way from Frankfurt to Munich. You can buy these tickets at the last minute from a ticket machine. To find regional train schedules only, use the DB itinerary page and click on "only local transport" under "means of transport." (I believe Lee outlined this strategy for your already so this is just a restatement of the same point.)

Thanks guys. I think the slower routes should be fine. It's not extremely important that I get to Munich in 3 hours. If I can get a direct train for a decent price then I am definitely willing to do so. But if a non-direct route saves me some money that is okay as well. (I would rather put that extra savings towards food, beverages, taxi, etc). As you know, train travel in the States is not like Europe. The only time I have taken trains here is to travel from Albany to New York to avoid tolls and parking. I took a train last year from Paris to Lucerne and back. I thought the trip was enjoyable.