Munich in July

Stay near the München Hauptbahnhof, the main railway station that will connect you to all your trips.

If you can spend a day in the Frankfurt area right after arrival, that would allow you a sufficient time buffer to take advantage of the train (time and date) specific, advance purchase, Sparpreis fares as low as 20 euro pP. Elsewise, you will need to spend 105 euro per person for 2nd class in a direct high speed ICE to Munich. That trip will take 3½ hours. Or you could save 19 euro pP by taking slower express train like Intercity (IC) or Eurocity (EC) with multiple connections in just over 5 hours. There are other, less expensive but slower options.

With the right airline, you could have booked a Rail&Fly for 33 euro for an open ticket vallid on any train, including the ICE, to Munich whenever you arrive, but that's probably water over the dam.

You can still look for a Sparpreis ticket from Munich back to Frankfurt for as low as 19,90€ pP.

The Dachau trip is just a local trip within Munich, although it is outside the innenraum (inner zone). For that use a Munich XXL Group day ticket for 16,10€. That is an all-day transit pass for all three of you in the inner two zones of Munich. It's valid for both the S-Bahn to Dachau Bahnhof and for the bus from there to the Dachau Memorial.

For other days in Munich, you will probably stay within the inner zone, so Innenraum Gruppen Tageskarten (inner zone group day tickets) will be all you need. at 12,80€ per day. You could save a little if you put your three "explore Munich" days together and buy a three (consecutive) day inner zone group ticket for 29,60€.

The Salzburg trip and the "castle" trip can be done using a Bayern-Ticket (37€ for 3 people). This is an all day ticket (after 9 am workdays) valid for unlimited travel on regional trains (and most buses, such as the bus from Füssen Bhf to the castles).

As for using the Bayern-Ticket and Meridian regional trains to Salzburg versus more expensive trains with a railpass, the time difference (~1½ hrs vs ~2 hrs) is not, IMO, worth the added cost. Also, the Bayern-Ticket is valid for any transport in the MVV (Munich Metro), S-/U-Bahn, trams, and buses to get to either the Hbf or Ostbahnhof, whereas a railpass only covers the S-Bahn. On workdays, the pass would be usable anytime, whereas the Bayern-Ticket would only be valid after 9 am on a workday.

There is an additional day ticket to use to Salzburg - the Guten Tag ticket from Meridian. This ticket is also valid only after 9 am work day, and only includes the Meridian trains - from the Hbf or Ost. It's 2 euro cheaper at 35€ for three. If you are within walking distance of Hbf or Ost, why not? But if you need local transit to get to the station, the Bayern-Ticket is a better deal.

If you get off your flight and buy a ticket for the next train departing to Munich, tickets cost €105 per person in 2nd class (about $125, depending on exchange rate.) Tickets booked well ahead can be much cheaper, but have no value if you miss the train. For this reason, it would be simpler to get a German Rail Pass for 3 or more days of travel within a month, starting at $206 per person. The pass is valid on any trains without reservation, including all services between Munich-Salzburg (roundtrip in one day), not only on the slower trains that could be covered with a regional Bayern ticket. The Bayern ticket for €37 ($45) would be an option for the castle day trip, unless you're planning to use a bus tour, or adding a 4th day to the German Rail Pass costs the same at $13 per person. Although the suburban S-Bahn network is also covered by passes on your counted travel days, the trip to Dachau is the cheapest one to buy locally or to include when choosing a Munich local transit pass.

"I am struggling with where to stay that is convenient to transportation."

So you are spending 8 of your 9 nights in central Munich? The Hbf station will be the most convenient, but Munich is actually not a very good base for at least 2 of your day trips - the "castle" trip and the Salzburg trip. It's nearly 5 hours round trip on trains and buses to the Hohenschwangau stop for Neuschwanstein. Salzburg, a place where at least a full day is in order, will require nearly 4 hours of transit time.

4 full days (#3,4,6, and 8) plus the nights and a number of hours in Munich on days 2,5,and 7 OTOH seem a bit much to me. I would work on a plan that includes at least a night or two somewhere else as well. Salzburg and/or Füssen will add some charm to your overnight stays.

Back to Day #1... after a long international red-eye flight, I'd probably try to avoid another 3.5 arduous hours in transit. I would do as Lee suggests - catch a train from FRA into Frankfurt (around 10-15 minutes) for a bit of exploring in the afternoon hours and spend night #1 there near the station. Later, when you return to Frankfurt (or FRA) to fly out, you will have most of Day 10 in Munich or wherever, then catch a train that arrives later in the evening in Frankfurt - no exploring needed.

Thanks for the helpful advice! It does make more sense to stay in Frankfurt the first night!

These changes might work better. I will start pricing it!

Day 2: explore Frankfurt.
Day 3: train to Munich.
Day 4: Munich
Day 5: Castle trip
Day 5: Munich
Day 6: Dachau
Day 7: Munich
Day 8: train to Salzburg
Day 9: explore Salzburg
Day 10: train to Frankfurt
Day 11: fly home

The 3 day Eurail pass looks like a good deal.
Thanks for the advice!

Even if the flight is already booked, check whether your airline still allows you to add Rail&Fly tickets (I think that some airlines, but not all, allow this). If it does, it is probably still the best option to get to Munich and back to Frankfurt. Lots of airlines participate in Rail&Fly; it seems that call center agents do not always know about this, so a quick Google search should be the starting point.

There is a ton of stuff to see in Frankfurt so glad to hear you are staying here 2 nights. What kind of things are you interested in? Dates? There is sure to be a fest happening.

We are looking at July 10-21.
I haven’t bought flights yet so will look into the rail and fly option!

The 3 day Eurail pass looks like a good deal.

Not by a long shot (a long, long shot).

I see plenty of offers from the Bahn for advance purchase Sparpreis tickets from Frankfurt Hbf to Munich Hbf in July for about 60€ for three people, 20€ per person.

Further, I see offers from the Bahn for Sparpreis tickets for about 90€ for three people for Salzburg to Frankfurt. That's 30€ per person.

Munich to Salzburg can be done for 37€, less than 13€ per person.

Altogether, that's 63€ per person for the most expensive 3 days. A three day pass (actually one twin pass and one youth pass) averages $206 per person. Now at the current exchange rate, 63€ is less than $80. Depending on your bank card, you might have a 1% to 3% charge to your card for the transaction, but that still comes nowhere near $206 per person. The $/€ exchange rate could go up by July, or whenever you purchase your tickets, but it shouldn't go up that much.

This all depends on the exchange rate when you purchase your tickets and when you purchase your Sparpreis tickets. Sparpreis tickets prices are tiered. The price goes up as travel time approaches. If you wait, the price might go up for the Sparpreis tickets, or the exchange rate could become less favorable. You have to do the math at the time you make your purchases, but right now, I can't see the pass as a good deal.

By the way, you're looking at a 3-day German Rail pass combination, not a Eurail pass.

We enjoyed the Marienplatz, the Frauenkirche, the Viktualienmarkt & the Munich Zoo ( Tierpark Hellabrunn). Enjoy your trip!

Lots of airlines participate in Rail&Fly; it seems that call center agents do not always know about this

A list of participating airlines and conditions of use can be found here (scroll down to bottom). And yes, it has happened to me that not even Lufthansa agents knew about the R&F program, even though LH was the first Arilne to introduce it.

Your new itin. looks better. However you have two "Day 5s."

Assuming you fly out on 7/10 (Day 1) ... let's look at your transport needs. You have 7 legs of travel, 5 days if you don't count the FRA airport transport on Days 2 and 12. Rounded prices below are for 3 travelers:

Day 2, 7/11: FRA into Frankfurt = €5 each, 3 RMV tickets = €15
Day 3, 7/12: Frankfurt to Munich @ 7:54 am or 8:54 am = €19.90 each, DB saver fare ticket for 3 = €60 (pre-purchase ASAP)
Day 5, 7/14: Castle trip = 3-person Bayern Ticket = €37
Day 7, 7/16: Munich to Dachau to Munich = group day ticket "XXL" = €16
Day 9, 7/18: Munich to Salzburg = 3-person Bayern Ticket = €37
Day 11, 7/20: Salzburg to Frankfurt @9:40 am = saver fare ticket for 3 = €75 (pre-purchase ASAP)
Day 12, 7/21: Frankfurt to FRA = 3 RMV tickets = €15

Total = €255 ($317)

GERMAN RAIL PASS option (purchased at DB, likely your best price.)
5-day passes, 1 twin for two (€335) + 1 youth (€185) = €520 = $647 Add two FRA airport transfer days (€30) plus extra bus costs for Dachau (the rail pass doesn't cover it.)

Total = €550+ ($684+)

(You could look into 7-day rail passes, or 3-day passes instead (cost = €452) + paying individually for your Bayern Tickets, but the total price will be roughly the same or more.)

So if you can get your flight together, and get those two saver fares bought, individual tickets are the way to go. Except for the two saver fare tickets, you buy all the individual tickets above right at the station from ticket machines. The saver fare prices will definitely go up unless you purchase them soon.

I would also note that the current saver fare to Munich is cheaper than the Rail and Fly option. Also, since you are overnighting in Frankfurt on 7/11, there is very little chance that a flight delay will interfere with a saver fare that is train specific on 7/12.

Thanks so much. I was overwhelmed with trying to figure out transportation. You have all provided great advice! Will finish Hotel plans and then book everything next weekend!

Hi Nancy,

From your list, you can easily see the Aamkirche, Peterskirche, Frauenkirche and the Marienplatz all in the same walking tour. They're close together and it's pretty quick to step into the churches for a view. If you have Rick's book, there is a good walking tour that covers all of them (as well as his app).

You mentioned being art geeks but not which periods you prefer. In addition to the museums you referenced, I'd also check out Lenbachhaus if you have any interest in the Blau Reiter (Blue Rider) period, as well as the Neue and Moderne Pinakotheks. The Egyptian museum is also terrific. They're all fairly close together. I might skip the Deutsches unless you happen to be in the area as it is sprawling, under renovation and not very centrally located.

Definitely worth looking into Rail & Fly

If Pittsburgh, I am assuming the good rates you are referring to are via Condor?

https://www.condor.com/eu/book-plan/extras/railfly.jsp

Delta has a flight for $681. Plus I already have many miles from them. Condor was much more expensive, plus you have to click through about 5 pages of add on items to get to the price!
We did decide to go right to Munich after arrival. Since we will be tired anyway we can just rest on the train and start fresh in Munich the next day! Next visit we will focus on Frankfurt and Berlin. Probably add Prague to check out my grandparents native village!

Another decision point is whether to make the castles a day trip, or just stay overnight in Hohenschwanstein or Füssen. Any thoughts?

Day 1: arrive Frankfurt 8:45am. Train to Munich. Check in place near München Hauptbahnhof.
Day 2: Munich
Day 3: Munich
Day 4: Dachau
Day 5: Munich
Day 6: Munich

Option 1:
Day 7: day trip to castle (tour company or self-guided?)
Day 8: Munich
Day 9: train to Salzburg

Option 2:
Day 7: train to Füssen. Castle tour. Stay overnight
Day 8: explore area. Train to Salzburg (passing through Munich!)
Day 9: Salzburg

Both options
Day 10: Salzburg
Day 11: train to Frankfurt
Day 12: fly home. Splurging on an extra day :)

Thanks so much for the transportation advice. Extremely helpful in developing a budget!
Nancy

Day 8: explore area. Train to Salzburg (passing through Munich!)

You could go via Reutte and Innsbruck instead. Not necessarely faster but way nicer. To bring up connections on either the DB or ÖBB website request an intermediate stop in Innsbruck.

Revised plans. Procrastination paid off and flight to Munich dropped dramatically!
I think I have the transportation mostly figured out but hope you have great tips!
1 adult and 2 kids both 18.

July 14: Day 1: arrive Munich 2:10pm. Ride to lodging near Marienplatz. Ticket type?
Day 2: Sun: Rick’s walking tour Marienplatz. Dinner at Hofbrauhaus - reservations needed?
Day 3 Mon: Munich Residenz, English Garden, Neue Pinakothek - walking
Day 4 Tue: Dauchau - Group day XXL
Day 5 Wed: Neuschwanstein- Bayern ticket
Day 6 Thu: Schloss Nymphenburg, Sea Life - Group day XXL?
Day 7 Fri: Eagles Nest - tour company. Recommendations?
Day 8 Sat: Check out. Train to Salzburg- Bayern ticket. Dinner concert at Schloss Mirabell
Day 9 Sun: Salzburg - Fortress, whatever catches our fancy!
Day 10 Mon: Salzburg - SOM tour
Day 11 Tues: checkout. Train to Munich -Bayern. Stay at Airport Marriott (free-frequent traveler)
Day 12 Wed: fly home!

Lodging recommendations?
I think I will get the 14 day palace ticket since there are so many I want to see!
Thanks!
Nancy

Day 7 Fri: Eagles Nest - tour company. Recommendations?

David and Christine Harper's tour is very highly rated. You need to reserve in advance, and if you show your RS book when paying for your tickets, you get a small discount. Even if you have pages torn out. We got a few bucks off that way. Tour was around 4 hours long and worth it.

i did a private tour with David Harper, whose company is Eagle's Nest Historical Tours; the tour was excellent. The standard group 4-hour tour is €55 per person; a private 4-hour tour is €250. I think you would enjoy either tour, but to me, it's worth the extra €85 to have the full attention of the guide. As noted above, you get a small discount with RS book.

Berchtesgaden/Eagle's Nest is a very short bus ride from Salzburg. It may be worth adding a day to Salzburg and doing Eagle's Nest from that base as opposed to doing it from Munich.

Good advice. I see how it makes more sense to check out of Munich on Friday and then go to Salzburg. So Friday is travel, then Eagle’s Nest tour on Saturday!

Thanks

One final thought on Salzburg. If you and your family are tired of German food by that point, check out the Afro Cafe -- best falafel I've ever had. Good coffee, too.

Thanks for all the great advice on this forum. Made all lodging arrangements through VRBO. Moved around some things and this is our final schedule.

July 14: Day 1: arrive Munich 2:10pm. Lodging near English Garden.
Day 2: Sun: Rick’s walking tour Marienplatz.
Day 3 Mon: Munich Residenz, bike tour for kids while I hang out at Neue Pinakothek
Day 4 Tue: Dachau then decompress in English Garden
Day 5 Wed: Schloss Nymphenburg, Sea Life. Maybe BMW museum
Day 6 Thu: checkout. Train to Füssen. Explore
Day 7: Neuschwanstein and hiking unless we find bikes to rent!
Day 8 Sat: Check out. Train to Salzburg- Dinner concert at Schloss Mirabell or Fortress.
Day 9 Sun: Salzburg - whatever catches our fancy!
Day 10 Mon: Salzburg - Eagles Nest on our own. Maybe salt mines if we kept to our budget!
Day 11 Tues: checkout. Train to Munich - Stay at Airport Marriott (free-use points)
Day 12 Wed: fly home!

I tried to balance free time and must-see list!
My son has had great fun checking out places and talks about the trip all the time so maybe the balance is ok!

Thanks again to everyone who posts helpful information throughout this forum! Here is our trip summary so far. We are on Day 4 in Munich. 2 more nights here, then off to Fussen for 2 nights, then Salzburg for 3 nights, ending up at the Marriott Moxy (Munich Airport hotel) for our last night.

Day 1 we arrived at lodging (VRBO) around 5:30pm so just had dinner and got groceries! There were flight delays in Pittsburgh and Frankfurt. We ate at Alte Heide restaurant that was about 5 min walk. Great food!

Day 2 - Explored Marienplatz. It was Munich pride fest so lots of booths and a stage on the square. We saw the glockenspiel show at 10am and then I did the 3 Pinothetek museums since only 1E on Sunday. Did the audio tour at the Neue but skipped it at the other 2. Kids rented bikes after museum #1 and explored the city, mostly Olympiapark. We met up at Hofbrauhaus for dinner. The food was pretty good but the service was awful. Long waits to get a beer and I had to get up to find my own silverware after the long wait for the food. No shops open on Sunday was a big surprise.

Day 3 - Schloss Nymphenburg most of the day. This was an amazing place! We hiked around the grounds, stopping in to tour some buildings. After hiking we explored the main palace. Beautiful! We ate a picnic lunch then checked out the museums to see the fancy carriages and then porcelain collection. We bought the 14 day palace ticket since these are a priority item for the kids. We plan to use it at the Residenz today, and then for Neuschwanstein and Dachau palace. Afterwards we went to Olympiapark for dinner. Took ride up Olympiaturn to view the city.

Day 4 - we plan to start at the Residenz and then check out churches and shops at Marienplatz.

@Nancy.... I cant wait to hear your opinion on the Residenz and the Asam church.

Day 4 reality: we started the day at the Residenz. It took us way to long to find the entrance. If we had just turned left after exiting Odeonplatz station we would have saved half hour! We loved this palace! The tour is extremely organized with arrows directing you from area to area. The building took a lot of damage during the war but the restoration efforts were amazing. The Queen Mother’s apartments were a bonus! There were lots of signs describing each room. There is an audio tour but we decided to split up at our own pace and meet at the ticket lobby. My son zipped through it, I read most things and my niece was way behind us reading everything. We met in the courtyard for a nice picnic lunch and then headed to Marienplatz.
In the afternoon, Andrew went on his own to rent a bike and met us for dinner. Emily and I visited four churches and shopped around Marienplatz and Victualmarkt. Asam’s Church was surprisingly dark and gloomy inside. St. Peter’s was our favorite but Frauenkirche and St Micheal’s were beautiful as well.

Thanks for coming back to give a report!

"No shops open on Sunday was a big surprise."

Yes, this is always buried in guidebooks, but I wish it were emblazoned on every page! It's a real adjustment that almost every store in the entire country is closed on Sundays. If you do need or want something on a Sunday in Germany, Austria, or Switzerland, head to a train station. Stores in train stations are allowed to be open longer hours, including Sundays.

Trip update:
Day 5- we spent the day at Dachau concentration camp memorial. Most of the time was reading everything in the Museum. We will definitely go back to finish exploring everything. It was very haunting how awful these people were treated. I don’t even know how to describe it. The kids were glad I dragged them here.
In the late afternoon we went to Dachau palace since we had the Bavarian palace card and it was free. We wish we had gone back to Munich instead. But at least the tortes were amazing! We ended our day at the Chinese beer garden in the Englischer Gardens and had a good dinner!

Day 6 - travel day to Füssen. 2 long delays made it a 4 hour trip. We stayed at a fabulous VRBO property that is above a restaurant that has excellent food. It was nice to relax and slow down after Munich. The kids hiked to a nearby lake while I just walked through the park.

Day 7 (today) - castle day! We made ticket reservations in May and were really happy when we saw the huge line while our reservation line only had a few people in front of us. These castles were fantastic! We are all really glad we took these two days to experience the castles and this town of Füssen. Emily liked Hohenschwangau the best while Andrew and I liked Neuschwanstein more. The kids especially liked the bread on display from 1891. Not moldy looking like you would think! The artwork on the walls was fabulous!

Tomorrow morning we leave here for a 4 hour train ride to Salzburg! Made dinner reservations for the St Peter dinner concert tomorrrow night because the kids liked that menu the best!

Enjoy the concert! We (me, DH, and sons 15 & 11) attended it on Easter night and had a wonderful time. The food was good and the entertainment fantastic.

The food was great and the music was fantastic :)

Day 8 - we left Füssen on the 10am train but did not arrive into Salzburg until 3:45 due to a long train delay about halfway between Munich and Salzburg. Our apartment from VRBO is nice and the hostess is very charming. We took a taxi to the concert at St Peter and had an amazing time!
Tomorrow is Eagles Nest and then Watzmann-Therme water park, Monday is exploring Old Town and various sites. The Fortress is the only planned site. Still undecided about the Salzburg card for Monday but we’ll figure it out tomorrow!