Rail Passes

Where did you get that price from? I am immediately suspicious of any price in '$', because they don't use '$' in Germany or Italy, were you going to a re-seller?

I just did a search on the DB (German Railways) website ( https://www.bahn.com/en/view/index.shtml ) for a random day in November (booking for next year not yet available), and I got the following price (out Monday, back Friday):

München Hbf Venezia Santa Lucia dep: 11:34
Venezia Santa Lucia München Hbf dep: 13:50
2 travellers, (Age: 50, 50 Years) 1st class
279,60 EUR

That is the price for both of you!
I would also say 1st class is not necessary, 2nd class is perfectly adequate.

For Dinkelsbühl you can buy a Bayern Ticket, a one-day pass for the whole of the state of Bavaria, for €31 for 2 people.

Before you consider buying a rail pass, read this webpage: https://www.seat61.com/Railpass-and-Eurail-pass-guide.htm#railpass-or-point-to-point-tickets

The GRP will get you to Venice if you pick the right trains.

You can also pre-purchase saver-fare tickets well in advance at bargain prices. Look at April 14, 2018 for example, at the DB itinerary page - €69.90 each way per person from Munich to Venice in first class or €49.90 in 2nd. Prices for these tickets rise as tickets sell and require a commitment to take trains at a certain hour on a certain day.

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

You cannot take a train to Dinkelsbühl - no train service there. There may or may not be a convenient bus connection - check the schedule. But other day trips by train within Bavaria can be done very cheaply with a BAyern Ticket. day pass (€15.50 each for a couple.)

If you decide on the rail pass don't buy it now - buy it just before you leave or in Germany. Refunds involve a substantial fee.

$416 each is ridiculous. Where are you looking? You might want to consider flying as the distance is significant. Venice is hardly a “side trip” from Munich.

Is that initial assumption correct, that a German rail pass is valid all the way to Venice? I don't think so.

Another reason not to buy a GRP now is that there can be a special offered by Deutsche Bahn between now and next summer. They've done that in the past.

Dinkelsbuehl is not a good day trip from Munich as it takes almost 4 hours to get there with regional trains and a bus. On a week day, the earliest you could leave is 9:35 so you would not get there until 1:30 pm. A hybrid, would be to buy a ticket to Donauwoerth for 42.20 EUR for two on the 7:34 Regional Express, and a Bayern Ticket for 31 EUR EUR. When you get to Donauwoerth, you continue after 9:00 to Noerdlingen using the Bayern Ticket, then bus to Dinkelsbuehl, arriving at 10:15. You can return with the Bayern Ticket in the evening. This is all based on the current schedule.

As far as validity to Venice, this bit of verbiage from the DB website explains, My boldface.

Area of validity
Valid on all trains operated by Deutsche Bahn including the stations Basel Bad Bf (Switzerland) and Salzburg (Austria) and the ICE to Lüttich and Brussels (Belgium). In Austria and Italy on the EuroCity trains operated by DB and ÖBB to Kufstein, Innsbruck, Bolzano/Bozen, Trento, Verona, Bologna and Venice (DB-ÖBB EuroCity train)

Thanks everyone for the quick replies. We will continue our planning and research for the trip using the links and resources you have suggested. It seems that a rail pass might not be the way to go. I will use the DB website directly in the future.

"Is that initial assumption correct, that a German rail pass is valid all the way to Venice? I don't think so."

The German Rail pass now includes specific routes to destinations in 10 additional neighboring countries. See the map on this brochure from DB.

Russ, thanks. That's good to know.

Russ great resource. I very often travel with rail