best train price options Strasbourg to Munich

Looking at early December, there is a TGV to Stuttgart with an 8 minute change to an ICE to Munich offered at 29 Euro pp. You can get this with a 54 minute change to an EC train, but the price goes up to 39 Euro pp. Its still a pretty good price considering the walkup price is 82 Euro pp. Just enter your acceptable connection time in the box on the DB reservation page.

If you put the date and time into the DBahn planner it will give you both the arrival platform and departure platform in Stuttgart. I've looked and it varies depending on train. The TGV mostly comes in around platform 6 or 7, and the ICE leaves from early or mid teens. That cound be a bit of a walk for a very very slow walker. It would be best if you deal in exact times.

Thank you so much. It took me a while playing on the site to understand how to get the transfer times changed and see how you got those prices. As soon as the next week opens up, I'll be able to purchase the tickets but I do have one further question. Working through the site, when it comes to paying am I reading it correctly that the credit card used to pay for this has to be shown on the train because it says something about I can't book for someone else? I am buying these tickets for my family who will be travelling by train, but I am driving as I have to drop off our rental car in Germany so I wasn't going to be one of the train travelers.

Yes, Deutsche Bahn online tickets usually require you to present the credit card you used to buy them as proof of identity when your ticket is checked on the train. I believe that there is an option on the booking form to select passport instead but you will need to provide the passport number.

If you register on the Bahn site, you can book tickets for other people.

There is a Paris to Munich fast train that stops in Strasbourg. That would avoid changing in Stuttgart and would still be quick (you'd just stop, not change). See if you can get that one. The Stuttgart main train station is a station similar to Munich in that all the inter city trains come to the same level platform, although going from one end to the other could be 2 min to run, or a lot longer with physical handicap. Trains are also irregular sometimes coming in and out of Stuttgart because of hauptbahnhof construction on a new station.

There is a direct IC train that leaves Strasbourg at 06:53 and arrives in Munich at 11:15. The standard 2nd class fare is €75.40. No discount fares are offered for advance booking. The direct TGV that Kathy mentioned leaves Strasbourg at 17:47 and arrives in Munich at 21:46. Booking in advance can get you a discount fare.

"There is a direct IC train that leaves Strasbourg at 06:53 and arrives in Munich at 11:15. The standard 2nd class fare is €75.40. No discount fares are offered for advance booking." Actually, that IC makes a stop in Kehl, Germany, just across the river from Strasbourg. You can book from Kehl to Munich with an advance purchase discount ticket. The fare from Strasbourg to Kehl on the IC is 6,90€/p; take a regional train 1/2 hr earlier and the fare is 3,90€/p. If you play with the stopovers and times, you can route yourself through Stuttgart with a longer stopover. Most connections, Strasbourg to Munich, I see this way don't have Savings Fare tickets, but if you use the same Kehl trick as above, they do.

Normally it's possible to book tickets on the Bahn site up to 92 days in advance. However, the semi-annual timetable revisions throughout Europe will go into effect on 15 December. Until the Bahn uploads its new timetables to reflect dates from 15 December forward, it's only possible to book up to 14 December. I suggest that you keep checking the Bahn site about once a week and book as soon as it's possible to do so beyond 14 December.

Thank you everyone. I've learned a lot through your answers on how to navigate the Bahn website better and good options for this leg of the trip and I wasn't aware how to lengthen stopovers until now. I'm trying to book for December 20th so thank you Tim for also advising it might take a bit longer for that date to open up.