train tickets in Germany in advance

Aha! You want the cake and eat it too. Problem is, as you get closer to departure day, the deals get less lucrative, as the cheap seats are all sold out. Flexibility has a price. Have you thought about a German Rail Pass? That might be something you are looking for.

Of course not. The fare are limited in number so when they are gone, they are gone. Would not make any sense to sell until the day before. And generally, thanks to the internet, most of the cheap tickets are gone within a month or so after they are available.

It sounds like your desire for flexibility does make the Rail Pass a more likely candidate for you.

It partially depends on the route. On popular routes, the lowest priced Savings Fare tickets sell out only hours after going on sale, but on less popular routes, I have seen the lowest fares still available a month or less before the travel date.

As Sam says, flexibility has it's price. Are you also planning to get rooms at the last minute? If you do you will likely pay a premium there, too. As long as you have your rooms booked in advance, you are going to be traveling on that day. How much more difficult is it to pick a specific train that day and save with savings fares?

As long as you are not making really long trips, you can use regional trains and regional passes (like the Bayern-Ticket) or Quer-durchs-Land tickets (on weekdays) or Schönes-Wochenende tickets (on weekends) and save.

We are not planning on getting rooms at the last minute. The rooms are booked, it is just a matter of picking a morning train vs. noon or evening depending on how long we want to stay in each place. The routes we will be on is Bacharach to Nuremberg on a Tuesday, Nuremberg to Munich on a Thursday. Also we will be going from the Frankfurt airport on a Sunday to Bacharach by train, but there is no fare available at this time. I was trying to figure this out as the website states you can buy the saver fare up to a day in advance, but to your point, if they sell out then they won't be available. Thanks.

Bacharach to Nuremberg is the only ticket you need to buy in advance to save money.

You can't find the price for Frankfurt airport to Bacharach because it is only sold by the local transit authority, the RMV. You can buy them out of a vending machine at the Frankfurt airport train station and they are 11.60 euro per person if I recall rightly. It is a local train and there are no advance discounts. www.rmv.de

Nuremberg to Munich can be done with a Bayern ticket if you travel after 9 am weekdays (anytime weekends) and use local trains. That will run 28 euro total for the 2 of you, and will also get free use of the Munich transit system for the rest of the day. No advance purchase. Just buy it out of a vending machine when you are ready to go. You also have the option of taking the ICE Sprinter for a lot more money (but a lot faster).

Edit, Even Bacharach to Nuremberg could be done with a Quer durch Lands ticket using local trains after 9 am for 52 euro for both of you. Using fast trains it will be 4 to 5 hours, local trains can be done in 5 to 6 hours. You will also have the option of stopping in Frankfurt or Wuerzburg for a few hours on the way if you choose. Just use local trains.

Thanks for the advice. When I go to the website to look at the Nuremberg to Munich train, it shows the fast train is a lot cheaper if you buy it in advance. 48 vs 110 Euro for 2. I can't seem to find the train you are talking about for this journey. How long does it take?

You have to click on "Only local transport" button in the details page where it says "change other details". It will probably involve a connection. The trip planner will show the fastest routes unless you instruct it otherwise.
The fastest is 1 hour 51 minutes connecting in Ingolstadt. The ICE trains do it in 1 hour 5 minutes.

Thanks, Sam. You have been very helpful!

I would definitely buy in advance. This gives you structure, and you can always use the savings to buy an extra coffee. We went to Croatia-Slovenia-Austria-Germany, using a 6-leg EurailPass. Not sure if we saved much, but it gave us a lot of flexibility, allowed us to travel 1st class (with wifi), and had great flexibility, and also allowed for the high-speed trains. 900 E for 2. The Berlin-Frankfurt trip alone was almost 1/2 the pass. I'd do that again.