Rail Pass worth it for our itinerary?

A local RMV ticket for the 2nd class Frankfurt airport to Bacharach costs $13.56 (today, 11,95€) per person. That's a little more than the 4th day of a 4-day German Rail youth pass. That makes the cost of the other three days of the GRP 355€ or 118€ per day.

The fastest way from Dresden to Berlin by rail (2:02) is the EC that runs every 2 hours. The trip for 2 cost 82€, full fare in 2nd class. Regional trains take one hour longer and a Quer-durchs-Land-Ticket costs 52€. I see a SparPreis (advance purchase, specific train) fare for two of 39,80€, so there is ample opportunity with a little disciple (catching a specific train) or spending a little more time to save up to 78,50€ on this trip vs the perday cost of a rail pass.

Munich to Dresden by the fastest trains takes over 6 hours (6:10-6:18). The fully flexible fare is a little pricey, but you can go by regional trains for 52€. The trip takes just 6:29, only a few minutes longer than the fastest route and you have the same flexibility that you would have with a rail pass.

Bacharach to Munich is your longest leg, 4½ hrs if you leave Bacharach on a regional train at 9:36, change in Bingen, then a Eurocity train (EC) from there. I see an advance purchase fare for that connection for a month from now for 49,80€. Going by regional train would cost more (52€) and take 2½-3 hours longer. This is one place I would definitely make the commitment to the specific train.

So, if bite the bullet and commit to the R/EC connection from Bacharach to Munich, that's just about 50€. If you spend about 1½ hours longer, total, using regional train between Munich and Berlin, you can use two 52€ Quer-durch-Land tickets. Then you'l spend about 24€ for the local ticket from FRA to Bacharach. That's less than 178€ ($202) for point-point tickets for the trip, vs $392, almost twice as much, for a rail pass.

The 3-day German Rail youth pass (1st class only it seems - €211 each at DB - I don't see a 2nd class youth pass on the list) would cover your 3 longer travel legs. But instead of €422 you could pay €292 for the 3-day 2nd-class twin pass (valid for two of any age.)

https://www.bahn.com/en/view/offers/passes/german-rail-pass-conditions.shtml?dbkanal_007=L04_S02_D002_KIN0060_GERMAN-RAIL-KONDITIONEN_LZ01

FRA to Bacharach will cost €11.95 each on local/regional trains - so about €24/2.

That brings your total to €316.

So if you're going to buy the 3-day rail pass I'll differ with Lee on this Day 1 journey to Bacharach... if you go for an extra railpass day instead of the local ticket, the 4-day twin pass costs only €314.

Now, you can perhaps do better than the twin pass price if you purchase individual tickets for those 3 longer trips. It depends on your travel dates and departure times what sort of prices you will find. With advance-purchase saver fares, you must lock in the exact trains you will use in advance. The rail pass allows 3 days of your choosing on any trains you like.

If you are thinking of doing a Rhine Cruise, the best one is Bingen - St. Goar (1.5 hours.) Bacharach lies right in the middle, making a stay there slightly inconvenient for cruising. If you stay instead in St. Goar, you take the train to Bingen and then cruise to St. Goar. Very straightforward. If you stay in Bacharach, you take the train to Bingen, bypass Bacharach and cruise all the way to St. Goar, then take a second train back to Bacharach.

If possible you might want to cruise on Day 1. Instead of heading straight to Bacharach by train, take the train to Bingen, get off, and then cruise to St. Goar. (Then, if Bacharach is your home base, you have only a 10-min. train ride from St. Goar back to Bacharach. And if you're using a rail pass day on Day 1, there's no need to buy an additional ticket to return to Bacharach - the pass covers FRA-Bingen and St. Goar-Bacharach (and any other train journeys you like that same day.)

Staying in St. Goar doesn't mean you shouldn't visit Bacharach. It's only a 10-min. train ride. Same is true for Oberwesel (only 5 min. south of St. Goar. )

I see Lee has updated his post with a generous price analysis using non-railpass strategies. His analysis shows the price advantage of the regional train day passes (Quer durchs Land ticket in this case) as well as the slower travel times that go with them. But you might have other considerations with these tickets as well:

• the number of train changes you will have (vs. the number of train changes using the fast train itineraries.)

• the 9:00 am restriction on these tickets (valid only from 9 onward.)

• the availability of eligible regional trains for using the QdL ticket after 9:00... In other words you cannot assume there's a train at 9:00... for example... The first post-9 am Munich-Dresden departure for that 6 hr 21-min. trip is at 10:44, which puts you in Munich at 17:05. That's pretty late if you were hoping for some sightseeing that day. A railpass OTOH would allow you to use any trains you like. The 7:18 train puts you there at 13:35. The 8:22 train puts you there at 14:05.

So... even though these tickets are cheap and time-flexible, they may or may not fit your schedule. YOU must check.

The Sparpreis or saver fare (advance-purchase) options he provides for Bacharach-Munich (€49.80) Dresden-Berlin (€39.80.) are very good prices. But...

• Your actual price will depend on your travel date and travel time. Prices rise as tickets sell, so for great prices like these, there is some pressure to lock them in ASAP. I picked a date about one month out (July 12) and every single departure for Bacharach-Munich between 7:00 am and 10:00 am is €108 - 180!

• Refunds in advance are possible but expensive, then you must arrange new tickets. So you must be solidly committed to your itinerary in an hourly sort of way.

• You must use all the long-distance trains on your Sparpreis ticket exactly as scheduled.

I almost always use one or more Sparpreis tickets myself when I travel in Germany - they CAN be a great deal. But any analysis read here is hypothetical without YOUR exact dates and travel time preferences. YOU must do your own homework if you wish to take advantage of the savings options.

German Rail passes: The 4-day Twin pass flexi-version GRP price (€314 total for two, or €78.50/day) that I provided comes from the DB website. If you two are traveling together all the time, there is no reason for using the more expensive youth passes for making comparisons. At https://www.germanrailpasses.com I DID find a price of $408 (€357) for 4-day youth flexi passes to cover two youths. But these passes appear to have no advantage whatsoever over the twin passes.

The GRP pass can be purchased once you arrive in Germany at one of the aid stations - this could be an advantage in that your plans might change between now and then; also, you can get personal help getting the right pass, and some in-person instructions for use.

https://www.germanrailpasses.com/plan-your-trip/travel-resources/aid-offices-germany

The German Rail Pass does cover all your routes and you can hop on any train on your covered travel days, so it's very easy to use. Cost comparisons you have above. The Twin version of the pass (in either class) is a few dollars or euros less per person than the price for a single Youth traveler. The only benefit of the Youth rates would be if you wanted separate passes so you could split up during your train travel or if you needed to buy passes for an odd number of travelers, instead of a pair.