Looking for insight and info on itinerary and train Frankfurt - Munich - Innsbruck - Bamberg

If you are flying Lufthansa, Condor, American or Icelandair and plan to immediately leave Frankfurt, get the add on rail ticket for about $35 and you can take the next fast train at your convenience and stop en route for a few hours as you like.

https://www.eurocheapo.com/blog/is-germanys-rail-fly-a-good-deal.html

Also you can stop in Bamberg (or Würzburg) for most of a day for free between Frankfurt and Munich if you book the ticket with a stopover.

Be aware that Easter Monday is a public holiday in Germany and Austria. Trains and all public transportation will be going on a Sunday/holiday schedule. And don't expect to be able to do any shopping that day.

You're correct that the Flexpreis you see online is the same as you'll pay at the station: 105 euros per adult and the child free when traveling with you. There's no big advantage to buying online, other than skipping a stop at a ticket machine.

Thanks for the confirmation on the train ticket, Laura. I have tried, unsuccessfully, to acquire about a rail and fly ticket. United is my airline, and they don't know what I am referring to when I call.

Rethinking the itinerary. Seems like to much time spent on the trains once I started looking at schedules. Perhaps not going to Bamberg/Wurzberg. Any suggestions for another town closer to Munich? My son is interested in Medieval castles.

The fortress in Salzburg is about as medievally awesome as they come. After arriving in Frankfurt, I would suggest continuing by air to Munich as it will save you time and probably be a similar price to train tickets. Why didn't you just fly into Munich anyway? From Munich, I would then suggest going to Salzburg instead of Innsbruck. Innsbruck is kinda meh to me as a town. Salzburg is a wow, especially for the fortress. Lots to keep your family busy there, for certain. Trick fountains at Hellbrunn are also a hit as is Hallstatt and the Wolfgangsee area.

If you do insist on Innsbruck, then I suggest staying in Seefeld instead. Lovely alpine town near to Mittenwald, but a short train ride from Innsbruck. Be sure to visit the Leutasch gorge when in the area as well as enjoy the huge swimming facility. No medieval castles nearby, however.

https://www.trippy.com/vt/Germany-11-2-10221494/United-Airlines-Rail-Leg.html

Just to recap for any travelers that are confused by the details of the United Airlines German Train partnership (United flight originating in the U.S.A, landing in Germany, then transferring to a train for further travel to another city in Germany):

1.) You will not get a physical train ticket with seat assignments even if your United itinerary cites a specific train and seats.
2.) Nobody at any level of customer service at United will be able to help you. To get you off their back, they will give you one of the following answers when inquiring about how/when you will get your train ticket, and whether that ticket is flexible: a.) "You have to call Lufthansa", b.) "You have to call Deutsche Bahn", c.) "You have to call your travel agent", d.) "You can request your physical ticket online 72 hours before your flight", e.) "You can request your physical ticket 24 hours before your flight", f.) "You will get your physical ticket at check-in", g.) "You will get your physical ticket from the gate attendant", h.) "You will get your physical ticket at the gate upon arrival in Frankfurt", i.) “You don’t need a ticket, just show your flight boarding pass on the train” – All of these answers are wrong
3.) At check-in the United rep will insist that your bags will be checked through to the final destination (Stuttgart via Frankfurt in my case), but they will not. You must pick up your bags and carry them with you to the train.
4.) Your bags will not be at the normal baggage carousel for your flight landing in Germany. Proceed directly to the Lufthansa Air-Rail desk near the Fernbahnhof (not the regional Bahnhof). They will have your bags.
5.) The Lufthansa representative at the Air-Rail desk near the Fernbahnhof will issue you a physical ticket for a train to your final destination.
6.) The ticket is flexible to the extent that if you arrive late, your ticket will be issued for a later train, but it is not a free pass to get on any train anytime in any direction. Further, only a limited number of trains qualify for the Air-Rail program. For instance, if you miss the 11:20am train to Frankfurt to Stuttgart, you can’t just get the next train at 11:53, 12:53, 1:20pm, or 1:53pm. You have to wait until the next Air-Rail flight at 2:53pm, and if that one is full, you have to wait until 4:53pm, and when that one is delayed three hours, you just say screw it and rent a car.

You could also check here:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/united-airlines-mileageplus/1874414-rail-fly-united-germany.html

The ticket is flexible to the extent that if you arrive late, your ticket will be issued for a later train, but it is not a free pass to get on any train anytime in any direction. Further, only a limited number of trains qualify for the Air-Rail program.

I have never heard or experienced such restrictions. The DB website simply says
flexible in all DB trains (including ICE) except charter trains.

Thanks Tom_MN! I knew United made this complicated but had no idea it was THIS complicated.

For the OP, I agree that your initial plan has a lot of time spent on a train. I’d recommend skipping Innsbruck and do a day trip to Salzburg to visit the fortress instead. If you want a quaint town or village there are plenty of options in the foothills of the Alps south of Munich that can be done as day trips. For something VERY quaint head to the Markus Wasmeier Freilichtmuseum (www.wasmeier.de). It’s an open air folk museum giving you an idea what life was like way back when.

DJ

Trying to book on united.com in May from my home airport using the Rail/Fly code QYG as a destination in Germany (instead of FRA), the ticket comes up $110 more than just the flights to FRA alone, $55 each way for the rail ticket, or €45, which is more than advertised (€29) but not bad for an ICE train with no risk of missing it due to late flight arrival. And the free deposit of the luggage at the rail station is worth something, wouldn't have to drag the checked bag all the way from the terminal.

When I try to book in November, the difference is $90 or €38 each way for the rail ticket.

5.) The Lufthansa representative at the Air-Rail desk near the Fernbahnhof will issue you a physical ticket for a train to your final destination.
6.) The ticket is flexible to the extent that if you arrive late, your ticket will be issued for a later train, but it is not a free pass to get on any train anytime in any direction. Further, only a limited number of trains qualify for the Air-Rail program.

That's not correct. DB states explicitly that it's agents will not issue a ticket. The ticket has to be provided by the airline. The normal process is either to print at home from a page the address of which is supplied by the airline or to collect the ticket from am vending machine by typing in the pick up code provided by the airline. DB states also that a Rail&Fly ticket is valid on any long distance train. United cannot limit the validity of tickets to certain trains.

BTW, my R&F ticket for my next flight booked with Lufthansa is €34.