Has anyone bought train tickets in Germany/Austria from "Trainline.eu?"

Heard great things about it. Haven't had a chance to use it but seems easy to navigate. I would use it.

How do you plan to go from Passau to Salzburg - through Germany, like Mühldorf, or through Austria, like Wels? If you are taking the all German route, via Mühldorf, I would definitely get tickets from the Bahn website (if I got them in advance, at all). From Salzburg to Füssen, the most direct route is through Munich. Then, after Füssen you'll go back to Munich again.

You don't plan on doing it all in one day do you? Maybe Passau to Salzburg one day, then Salzburg to Füssen in one day, then Füssen to Munich? If you are doing that route, I would not buy your tickets in advance from any website. Buy them at the time at the station, just before departure. Use a 26€ Südostbayern-Ticket for Passau to Salzburg by regional train, purchased in Passau. Go from Passau to Mühldorf to Salzburg. Use a 31€ Bayern-Ticket purchased in Salzburg for Salzburg to Füssen, and use a 28€ Regio-Ticket Allgäu-Schwaben, purchased in Füssen for Füssen to Munich. This would give you the most flexibility. If you purchase these regional passes from a website, you have to specify a date when you make the purchase and the ticket will only be valid on that date. They are non-refundable. If you purchase them just before travel time, you know they will be valid the date.

You might save a little money going from Passau to Salzburg through Austria with an advance purchase OeBB Sparschiene Ticket, either from OeBB or Trainline, but this ticket will be both train and date specific, so you will lose a lot of flexibility.

Trainline.eu has been around for a number of years (under this name for 2+ years, as I remember) -- I have used it in France. For our last trip to Austria I used ÖBB, for Munich to Füssen used DB Bayern tickets.

We are seniors, so we get cheaper prices anyway, it seems. We are going from Passau to Salzburg for a few days ( I don't know or care what country we pass through, if it is just as fast and cheap). Then Salzburg to Fussen for a few days, then Fussen to Munich for a few days, then home. We have hotels booked, so I want to get there on a certain day, so I don't need much flexibility. I like knowing i have a seat on a train ahead of time, but maybe flexibility would be good. I can get 2--second class tickets from Passau to Salzburg for E 18 on OBB
for both of us. Then I know we have to be at the station at a certain time to get a train, but I don't have to deal with figuring out how to buy a ticket there. Is that so bad? Thanks for the options!

We are seniors, so we get cheaper prices anyway, it seems.

I'm guessing you are not very familiar with train travel in Germany and Austria, at least. The only senior discounts in Germany are for a Bahn Card, which would not be appropriate in this case. Nor does it appear that there are senior discounts in Austria, certainly not for the Sparschiene tickets you seem to want.

I don't have to deal with figuring out how to buy a ticket there.

Another indication you are not very familiar with train travel in Germany. Sorry, I'm not trying to be nasty, it's just that buying Länder and regional tickets just before travel in Germany is so easy. I've never bought one in advance, and I'm sure most experienced German travelers haven't either. If you are really concerned, you can buy them the day before and specify the day, but buying them weeks in advance is just not sensible. There are a few instances, like coming into Germany from another country and wanting to use a Bayern-Ticket from the border, where advance purchase would be necessary, but that is rare, and you could still buy the Bayern-Ticket online from the Bahn.

But the issue of Passau to Salzburg so perfectly illustrates my objections to Trainlines. It has limited options for **connections. It does show you the train specific, non-refundable 18,-€ (for two) Sparschiene tickets and a similar 28,-€ ticket, but there is no way to find on Trainlines the connection via Mühldorf using a 26,-€ (also for two) Südostbayern regional pass. All other connections shown on Trainline are over 60,-€ for two.

I've never found on Trainline a ticket for a connection in Germany for less than offered on the Bahn website, and the Bahn website offers you more flexibility than Trainline, so why use them?

Sally,

Regarding your questions about Trainline.eu.....

That's my preferred website for buying tickets in many countries. Registration on the site is required first, including a credit card, but after that the process is very user friendly.

They sell tickets at the same price as the rail networks, although that may not include some of the discounted tickets in Germany.

They sell tickets for trains in several countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain among others - I can't remember if that includes Austria). That provides "one stop shopping" and I can print the tickets out at home.

Thanks, Ken and Lee for your help. No, I have never bought tickets in Germany. I have only bought tickets in Italy, for a south to north trip in about 8 or 9 legs over three weeks. Tranitalia is cheap and SO easy once you get it, and I had all my tickets bought on their website, we showed up at the appointed time, so we were able to plan every day with no wasted time. plus, some cheap tickets seemed to go away if you didn't get them. They specified on their website that senior discount was only for Italians, so we didn't do that, but that is why I asked about Trainline. I don't know what I don't know. It was so easy to find tickets, and we don't need a certain time, so that one cheap time is fine, if I can do it right. In Italy, if you got to the station, and missed a train because you didn't know what time a train was leaving (because you didn't have a ticket), then you may have to wait an hour or two. So, I'm just trying to figure it out. I will consider what everyone has said. It just seems weird to buy a ticket in order to get a discount on the actual ticket, when the tickets on Trainline seem to be cheaper in the first place, without the Bayern Card. But I will look more carefully at what you have all said, and try to figure it all out! Thanks so much.

I just put in our ages when it said to, so why doesn't it stipulate that you need some kind of card to get a senior discount?

when the tickets on Trainline seem to be cheaper in the first place, without the Bayern Card.

Please, give me an example. I have never found Trainline to have cheaper tickets, even without the Bahn Card (the is no such thing as a Bayern Card).

Yes, I think the tickets were just cheap, E18 from Passau to Salzburg for a non-refundable ticket. I read their conditions, and when you register for an account, and you put in the birthdates of the passengers, they give you a senior discount when it is applicable, which they say is rare, but possible on some lines, so it really wasn't a senior price, I just thought it was . Also, a Bayern Ticket is only for Bavaria, but includes Salzburg (and maybe some other places near Bavaria, I don't know). You can look it up if you want to know more about it--it is second class only and non-refundable. It encourages people to take the train in and around Bavaria.

Oops, sorry--I realize I earlier said Bayern Card, when I meant Bayern Ticket.

The Bayern-Ticket is only non-refundable after you buy it, and there is no price benefit to buying it any sooner than at the station just before you travel (i.e., the price is always the same), which is why experienced travelers say to wait until you are ready to go.

The Sparschiene-Tickets start out when the tickets go on sale (6 months or so in advance) at 9,00€/P, but as travel time approaches and the lower price tickets sell out, the price goes up. So you have to commit to a specific day and time weeks in advance to get that price. Then if your plans change, the ticket is non-exchangeable, non-refundable. You can purchase that ticket for the same price from the Austrian Rail website.

However, as I said, there is a route from Passau to Salzburg entirely through Germany (Mühldorf). It take a little longer, but you can use a Südostbayern-Ticket, which is for a smaller area and a few euro less expensive, purchased just before travel with no specific train commitment. This option, which has the most flexibility, is not even mentioned by Trainline.

A Bahn-Card, which is not really effective for a casual rider, is a subscription card (renews automatically every year). It comes in three versions, 25%, 50%, and 100% discount on any tickets for the year. The Bahn Card 100 might be used by people who travel on business every day. It's difficult for people who only spend a couple of weeks in Germany to justify even a Bahn Card 25. But, the Bahn Card is discounted for seniors.

You can look it up if you want to know more about it--it is second class only

You look it up (here). There is also a 1st class Bayern-Ticket.

a Bayern Ticket is only for Bavaria, but includes Salzburg (and maybe
some other places near Bavaria, I don't know).

Here is the track plan for Bavaria, showing the stations outside Bavaria for which the Bayern-Ticket is valid - most notably to Kufstein, Austria, on the Inn river on the line to Innsbruck; Ulm, which is in Germany, but in Baden-Württemberg; and the Außerfernbahn, which goes from Kempten, Germany, to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, through the Austria Tirol from Schönbichl to Ehrwald.

And information for a later trip --SNCF does have senior discounts for riders 60+ which are triggered by entering birth dates on the booking form. Vive la France!

Thank you everyone! I had no idea there was so much invaluable help out there, but I appreciate all the information. I'm sure I can do this now!