Germany RailPass vs P2P Tickets

Have you considered the "D" ticket? You could get it for August and it would save you significant money. Wouldn't work on highspeed trains, but works on everything else including local transport.

Any 30-day period you choose will work for the GRP strategy. But that prices out at nearly $1,000.

Have you booked flights already? Will you be flying into FRA airport and immediately catching a train to Munich, or staying in/near Frankfurt on arrival day? Your answer will impact your ticketing strategy for the first trip.

There are different ways of doing your itinerary for much less money... Day passes for regional trains offer enormous savings. Deutschland-tickets for some of your journeys in August could be part of your strategy instead and might prove even better. Both of these options offer good flexibility and unlike rail passes, they also cover transport within cities like Nuremberg and Munich.

Have you booked flights already? Will you be flying into FRA airport and immediately catching a train to Munich, or staying in/near Frankfurt on arrival day? Your answer will impact your ticketing strategy for the first trip.

We are flying into FRA and will be immediately catching a train to Munich. The trip from Nuremberg to FRA will be the day/evening before our flight the next morning so we're not necessarily trying to see much of FRA.

I guess the question is: Why not just fly into and out of Munich? Points?

Sorry, didn't see the obvious question,

American (DFW) doesn't have direct flights to/from MUN. Wanted to avoid connection changes out of LHR.

So let's assume you have already ticketed your flight to FRA. Options for reaching Munich:

• Check with American to see if you can get a rail + fly ticket to munich. This will be the cheapest time-flexible fast-train option.
• Establish a lengthy time cushion after your scheduled flight arrival time so that you have a good shot at using an inflexible pre-purchased "saver fare" on high-speed trains from the DB site: int.bahn.de/en
• Use regional trains only. It's close to 6 hours with 3 changes of train. No pre-purchase, €73/4 persons: https://int.bahn.de/en/offers/regional/day-ticket-germany
• Check Flix-bus for schedules and tickets for cheap fares and very long travel times

August 1-10 train needs and inner-city transport in Germany can be covered by regional train only using the Deutschland Ticket:

https://int.bahn.de/en/offers/regional/deutschland-ticket

If you go with the regional train option for FRA - Munich and regional only with the D-ticket for the rest, your total travel costs will be roughly $300 (€270)

With the Rail pass it will surely be $1,000 plus (assuming you will need some kind of inner-city transport, purchased as you go, which the GRP does not cover.)

Even failing to get a Rail&Fly, walk highspeed trains from Frankfurt Hbf with the local connector train from the airport will run you 455 EUR (assuming the youths are over 15), You can use Bayern tickets to get to Salzburg and Nuremberg for 59 EUR for the day including all local transport. Nuremberg to Frankfort airport with a QdL Ticket is 73 EUR and only 1 1/2 hours longer travel time than fast trains. So that comes to 646 EUR, or about $700. Since Nuremberg to Frankfurt airport is a fixed date, you could buy nonrefundable tickets now on a direct train at 7:57 am for 80 EUR now taking 2 hours and 23 minutes, just 7 more EUR ($8) than a Qdl ticket.

American (DFW) doesn't have direct flights to/from MUN. Wanted to
avoid connection changes out of LHR.

I try to avoid LHR as well. I will be flying AA to Munich via Charlotte on July 31. I live in NW Arkansas and when I travel to Germany it is either DFW to Frankfurt (my preferred route because of the AA's DFW International lounge) or via Charlotte to Munich. For me, it's easier to connect in US when heading East.

If you have changeable tickets, see if you can switch to Munich. It will be a little more money to AA, but might be less expensive and an easier trip in the long run.

I am sure this is an incomprehensible mess of suggestions for the 4 journeys you asked about right now.

First, can you help clarify your travel schedule? You asked about trains for July 30 - Aug 10 for your 10-night trip, but 10 nights starting July 30 would mean you fly out of FRA on Aug 9 (???)

1) FRA > Munich (4 nights, July 30 & 31 + Aug 1 & 2)
2) Munich > Salzburg (3 nights, Aug 3, 4, 5)
3) Salzburg > Nuremberg (2 nights, Aug 6 & 7)
4) Nuremberg > Frankfurt (1 night, Aug 8)

So do you have 10 nights, or 11?

Some clarifications that might help, leaving Journey 1 out of the discussion for now...

• Sam and I have both suggested regional trains for #2 & #3. Sam suggested day passes for these trains (2 days x €59 for 4 adults) that can be purchased as you go (Bayern Ticket..) These regional trains offer schedule flexibility, but on weekdays your travel cannot begin before 9 am on these day passes. Depending on the actual dates you intend to make your journeys, you may or may not have to deal with this restriction, which could impact your sightseeing time in Salzburg and Nuremberg.

• Journey #4: Sam mentions the "QdL" ticket (€73/4) which is also a flexible day pass for regional trains, which also has a 9 am restriction on weekdays. This is the same ticket that I linked to (Day Ticket for Germany.) The QdL ticket does not cover inner-city transport in Nuremberg or Frankfurt, just the regional trains.

• The Bayern Tickets + the QdL ticket total €191. The Deutschland-Ticket (4 persons x €49 €196 total, valid for Aug 1 > Aug 10 in your circumstances) would cover all 3 journeys by regional train. It could also cover the unmentioned journey from Frankfurt City to Frankfurt Airport. And unlike the Bayern Ticket and the QdL ticket, there is no 9 am travel restriction with the D-Ticket. Additionally... while the Bayern Tickets will cover inner city transport only on the dates for which you buy them - the same dates that you move from one travel base to the next, in other words - the D-Ticket covers all the other days of your trip. So for example, if you are going to Dachau, or to the BMW museum, or to Nymphenburg, you can use whatever means of inner-city transport you might need to get to these places from and back to your hotel.

Thank you all for your advice. It is difficult to gauge how much detail to include in my question w/o over-sharing. But I learned of several other transportation options that I had not considered and that will be helpful.

I also need to clarify our stay in Munich will be 5 nights (Arrive July 30; Depart August 4). I guess in my mind I see that as only 4 "touring" days since July 30 will most likely be spent recovering from the long day of travel.

Is there any advantage in purchasing the D-Ticket, Bayern Ticket, or QdL tickets in advance or better to purchase once we land in FRA and clear customs?

Again, thank you for ALL of the helpful suggestions. Much appreciated.

Bayern Ticket and QdL Ticket may be purchased at time of use from vending machines at the station. The Deutschland Ticket should purchased this month for August validity (won't be valid on your arrival day, July 31, since it is a monthly subscription). Since it is a subscription, you must cancel by Aug 10 or your credit card will be charged again for the following month. Details at www.mvv-muenchen.de