Just how much of a discount will I get for booking in advance?

There are a couple of answers to your question.

First, to get the best price on a given ticket, book early. You save a ton.

The down side is the tickets are for a seat at a set time and non-refundable. If the train leaves without you, they are worthless.

I don't like traveling by such a fixed itinerary so I rarely book something more than 48 hours in advance.

In some cases there are great deals for rail travel that won't limit your flexibility. For your daytrip from Salzburg to Munich, you could get a Landes ticket for Bavaria (Bayern) to travel from late morning through the day on local trains for significantly less than booking early. Salzburg is considered the last eligible stop for the Bayern tickets so you don't have to pay extra.

There are some great rail experts on this site who will no doubt give you outstanding info on the best way to book.

Eren, a standing O for homework. Great job. If these prices are the standard ticket prices, you will get the same prices if you buy as you arrive in the countries. Just be cautious on your night train run. You really should book that in advance as the night trains do fill up early. So different from the day trains that mostly do not fill up.

Brad is correct that you will have to be on a planned and disciplined travel schedule as most of your tickets will have firm dates, times, train numbers and seat reservations on them. This is not difficult if you have a good plan.

Using these different country train websites, you can book ahead and take advantage of any discounted tickets. In Italy, you can try for the 20% off Amica fare or the Smart fare when leaving Italy for another country. Also in Italy, if you miss a train, the ticket isn't worthless if you deal with the issue within 3 hrs. You would be placed on the next train with comparable service. If you had a ticket with the Amica discount, you would have to pay the difference between the discounted fare and the standard fare.

BTW, how are you getting from Rome to Paris?

Eren,

You've done good research. Congratulations!

Unlike airline fares, train fares during the summer will not go up just because it's peak season.

Wien-Salzburg: The €44.20 2nd class standard fare will be the same, no matter when you buy it.

Salzburg-Muenchen (return): If you take this day trip on a weekend, buy a Bayern-Ticket (€20) from German Rail (not Austrian Rail) at the Salzburg station. You are limited to regional trains; but the ticket will get you to Munich, cover all your transportation in Munich (including buses), and get you back to Salzburg. If you make this trip on a weekday, you can do the same so long as you leave Salzburg after 09:00. If you want to leave earlier, buy a regular ticket to Munich and a Bayern-Ticket for use in Munich and for your return to Salzburg.

Salzburg-Venezia Santa Lucia: Booked in advance (up to six months) through Austrian Rail, you can get a SparSchiene fare of €49 for a bunk in a six-person couchette or €69 for a bunk in a four-person couchette. Paying a little more is worth it for the extra space.

Venezia Santa Lucia-Roma: Standard 2nd class ticket on a fast EuroStar Italia train is €56.10. The Amica fare (20% discount) is €44.90. If any of the allotted seats are still available, you can get an Amica fare up to midnight of the day before depature.

Paris-Brussels: The standard 2nd class fare is €86. There are several advance-purchase discount fares. The cheapest is a €25 Smoove fare. To have any chance of getting this, book 90 days in advance at thalys.com.

Brussels-Bruges: The fare is always the same and there is no need to book in advance.

Brussels-Amsterdam: The standard Thalys fare is €51. The cheapest Smoove fare is €19. If you take an IC train, the fare is always €36.60 and there is no need to book in advance.

Amsterdam-Rotterdam: The fare is always the same and there is no need to book in advance.

Adding to what Tim said, there are regional trains leaving Salzburg for Munich at 7:13, 8:17, and 9:13. All of them take about 2 hrs.

If you want to use a Bayern-Ticket, you can take the 9:13 train on any day.

If it is a workday, and you want to take the 8:17, for €10,30 you can buy a point-point ticket to Bernau a Chiemsee, to which the train gets at 9:03, and use the Bayern-Ticket for all your travel after that.

Finally, if you want to take the 7:13 (too early for me), you could purchase a full fare regional ticket all the way to Munich for €25,50, and use one Bayern-Ticket for both local transit in Munich itself and for the return to Salzburg. There is, however, a better way (see following post). Buy the Bayern-Ticket either in Salzburg before you leave or when you arrive in Munich so you can use it in Munich.

If you buy the Bayern-Ticket at an automat, it costs €20 for a single person or €28 for 2-5 people. If you buy it at a ticket counter it is €2 more for personal service.

You can use the Bayern-Ticket for your return to Salzburg as long as you complete the travel before 3 AM the following day.

As an alternative to the Bayern-Ticket and regional trains, there is also something called the Freizeit-Ticket (Info in German only). A Freizeit-Ticket is valid for a round trip from Salzburg to Munich (or the reverse) in a single day (return by 3 AM the following day). The Freizeit-Ticket is valid for high speed trains (IC/EC, but not ICE) and is not train specific, that is, you don't have to specify a train in advance, just get on any train.

You can buy the Freizeit-Ticket online for €29 per person, or at a ticket counter for an additional €5 for personal service. The Freizeit tickets are not limited in quantity and can be purchased the day of travel. I think the trip from Salzburg to Munich, or back, must be made on a single train. Stop-overs are not allowed.

The Freizeit ticket is not valid for local transportation in Munich. For one person, a €5 MVV Innenraum Tageskarte will cover all of your transportation (S-Bahn, U-Bahn, buses, and trams) for an entire day in the inner zone of Munich.

Hey everyone, thanks so much for all your help!

I should have specified that I only wish to take nonstop trains, to minimize transit time and enjoy the places I want to visit. However, if there is a particularly scenic train ride for one of my routes, then please do let me know.

Larry - I am flying to Paris from Rome.

Let me see if I have this right:

Vienna to Salzburg: standard fare, no need for advance purchase.

Salzburg to Munich: Bayern ticket can be purchased on the day of.

I am planning to go on a Saturday, and if it were a weekday I probably wouldn't even be up by 9 anyway! One of the things I struggled with on my itinerary was whether to overnight in Salzburg and daytrip to Munich, or whether to overnight in Munich and daytrip to Salzburg. I chose the former based on recommendations and transportation convenience. The solution I finally came up with was this: I'd go to Munich during the day on a Saturday, enjoy the nightlife (which means staying up all night, no problem for me), and spend the next morning/afternoon in Munich in the event that it really is that interesting. Basically, my return to Salzburg would be way later than 3 am. What should I do in this case?

Salzburg to Venice: must be booked in advance.

Venice to Rome: Standard fare, so I can buy at the counter. I can possibly get a 20% discount for booking by midnight the day before. If I miss the train my ticket won't become worthless provided I deal with it quick.

Paris to Brussels: I should book this in advance.

Brussels to Bruges: no need for advance purchase.

Brussels to Amsterdam: no need to book in advance, but I can get a sweet deal if I do.

Amsterdam to Rotterdam: no need to book in advance.

Is this right? This seems to me a very reasonable balance of flexibility and thrift.

Epiphany:

In Salzburg, buy the Bayern ticket from German rail, use it to get to Munich and for transportation within Munich. Can I do the same thing in reverse? Meaning that when I am ready to return to Salzburg, buy the Bayern ticket in Munich from Austrian rail, and use it to get to Salzburg and all around Salzburg? Then again, I heard Salzburg was pretty small, and I can see the entire town by walking around...suggestions? Is the Bayern ticket a German-only thing?

The Bayern-Ticket is essentially a "German thing". It's good for travel in Bayern (Bayern is German for "Bavaria"). So no matter where you buy it, you buy the Bayern-Ticket from German Rail.

Salzburg is just over the border into Austria, and the distance is so short that German Rail runs the trains. Therefore, Salzburg is considered a "border station" and the Bayern-Ticket is valid to Salzburg. However, Salzburg is not part of Bavaria, so, no, the Bayern-Ticket is not valid on local transportation in Salzburg.

Is it safe to assume, as a general rule, that fares within a country are standard, and fares for trains that cross national borders should be purchased in advance? Clearly there are exceptions, but the reason I ask is because I'm considering doing the trip from Vienna to Munich instead. Ironically enough, it is actually less expensive than Vienna to Salzburg ($50 on bahn.de), but this is obviously a special advance fare, and I would again be locking in a travel date. On the other hand, I would only have to purchase one Bayern ticket, since I'll probably return to Munich from Salzburg before 3 am. I hear there isn't much nightlife there.

I found that if I book my overnight on the Austrian site rather than the Italian site, I can get a 3-bed sleeper for the same price as the 6-person couchette!