Transition times between trains from Munich

What is the date of your trip?

Safest would be an early (6:51 am) train direct to Srasbourg, then a connection to Colmar. Even if that train runs late, the connecting trains to Colmar are very frequent, like every 30 minutes.

The very early direct train to Strasbourg is nice, but you can lengthen the stopovers for the later departures if you want to leave later.

Enter Stuttgart Hbf under STOPOVERS at the DB site with :30 minutes stopover time (or whatever minimum time you want.) Then click on SAVE, then ACCEPT.

Times will vary by date. For a random date in May, I used a 30-minute layover minimum and found a 7:47 am departure with a 53-minute layover in Stuttgart and a 36-minute layover in Strasbourg. Arrival in Colmar was at 13:21. Should work.

Also found an 8:19 - 13:21 journey with 33 minutes in Stuttgart and 36 in Strasbourg - using a 20-minute layover minimum.

The railways know that their passengers prefer being on a moving train, rather than a cold platform. So they make these transfers as short as possible. SBB for example will even schedule extra trains if needed in order to be able to keep transfers short.

I would go via Stuttgart, as that is the fastest route. Going through Switzerland will make the route longer, and you are not going through the scenic part of the country.

I would take the route with changes in Karlsruhe and Offenburg. Why? Because on that route there are no trains with compulsory reservations involved, so if you miss a connection you do not need to exchange your ticket. You just wait for the next train. Trains are at least hourly on all the segments. That route is usually also the cheapest.

WengenK, noted on not going through Switzerland. There is a route on my date of travel (May 15) that leaves Munich and stops in Stuttgart for 9 minutes and then goes to Strasbourg. There is one that leaves a little later that goes to Karlsruhe and then to Strasbourg that has 16 minutes in between trains. The one going to Strasbourg is significantly cheaper, so I am prone to choose that one.

I looked at the next train to Strasbourg from Stuttgart after I arrive on that route in case I miss the exchange. It does look as though trains leave every 30 minutes from Stuttgart to Strasbourg. The next one is a 20 minute wait, but added time because it stops in Karlsruhe first. If I had to take that, I guess we could even if we didn’t have a reservation for that route?

Sam, date of travel is May 15. I saw the 6:51am train and it makes the most sense. But timewise, we are a family with three younger kids and, transparently, I think it would be hard to get us awake, fed, and ready in time.

Regarding just taking the next train: This depends on the type of train. If you cross in to France on an ICE or TGV service you need a reservation. So if you miss a connection you theoretically need a new ticket. But I would not miss a train queuing to get my ticket exchanged. Just hop on the next train anyway. Till Strasbourg the crew is DB and these are a lot more flexible than the SNCF staff is. Within Germany you never require a reservation.

If you cross on the RS4 (via Offenburg) you do not need reservations. You also do not have reservations on the TER from Strasbourg to Colmar.

I think the 8:19 am departure with the 30 minute minimum connection time is your best bet. That is a 5 hour trip, not that much longer than the 4 1/2 hour other journeys and it is actually a lower price unless you make it a 7 hour journey with more connections. Assume by "young children" they are 6 to 14 yo.