mama mia, I am by no means a german train expert, but I have used the bahn.de website a few times.

when i put Frankfurt Flughafen to Munchen Hauptbahnhof into the search engine, i got at least 2 trains a day where you don't need to change at all. admittedly they were €95 per ticket, but this has surely got to be better than the route you are using, unless you are doing it deliberately to get cheap tickets,

a standard fare would normally mean that you can just turn up, unless of course the whole train is booked - unlikely.

try looking at www.seat 61.com for info about using the bahn.de website.

Thanks, Annhig. Yes, I was thinking of cheap, but I am now rethinking and will probably go for the standard fare from the airport to Munich.

sometimes, mama, the easiest way is the best - especially if you are travelling with 4 other people. there is so much scope for confusion and missing trains anyway, and this just gets worse the more people there are in the party.

and the good news is that the fast direct train appears to have a restaurant car. which should help to pass the time!

hope you enjoy your trip.

You can still get discounted fares for the long-distance ICE trains if you can commit on a certain train from FRA airport station (there is at least one direct per hour, often two per hour, and all have dining cars). That will bring down the total for 5 adults from €495 (unrestricted walk up fare, take any train you want that day) to €259 (restricted to ONE very specific train you choose). Also check if 1st class discount fares won't cost a lot more. On the day I checked it was €310.

I usually don't suggest this after a red-eye flight but a one-way rental car (no surcharges for one-ways with major rental car companies) plus gas will cost probably only half of the discounted ticket for 2nd class.

The trek with regional trains via Frankfurt main station, Kahl, and probably another change in Würzburg and/or Nuremberg is not what I would suggest after a long flight and without a bit of experience.

Munich-Salzburg. The Bayern ticket is a day pass. You don't need a return ticket. It's also good for any bus, subway, tram, or S-Bahn in Munich. But not for the buses in Salzburg. Can't leave before 9am unless on weekends and holidays.

Munich-Nuremberg-Bamberg. Again, it's a day pass. As long as you finish your journey by 3am next day you can go anywhere in Bavaria with as many stopovers you want.

Bamberg-Bacharach. Schönes Wochenend Ticket will be right. On weekends you can depart before 9am if you wish.

Travels from Bacharach. The Rheinland Pfalz Ticket will cover all destinations within the State of Rhineland-Palatinate.

For your very last train ride.. that is a RE train. You can't reserve seats. It's like a local train, you take a seat where you want or can. €95 is a lot of money for that short ride, but as you must leave that early you probably cannot take advantage of any discounts.

Okay, I am getting there and have a better feel for everything...except the Frankfurt-Munich leg. I am afraid to commit to a specific train since we are flying in. I see an 11:47 train from Fra-Flug we might make for €380 with one stop, standard fare. Can we shoot for this with a 9:25 arrival?

There is 20 min alloted at Fra-Hbf for transfer. Will this be difficult (we each have 1 carry-on)?

Am I the only one who noticed the pun or just the only one clueless enough to mention it?

Peg - you're quicker than me - thanks for the smile!

"Track" was an attempt at cleverness in hopes of getting attention to my questions. Won't win writing awards, but I was hoping my questions would not drift to the bottom of the pile.

I saw the pun, really cute.

However, I would be reluctant to buy and non-refundable ticket when coming from an overseas flight. You could have a storm at departure or any mishap that would make you lose a LOT of money, and then STILL have to pay the premium price to continue the journey.

.Just my 2 cents' worth. I'm chicken that way.

Pretty significant savings if you use the quer-durchs-land ticket for Frankfurt to Munich.

Thanks all for input. My husband wants to do car rental route. It is cheaper than fast trains that are not booked; the cheaper, slower trains with transfers seemed disheartening.

We have a direct flight from Newark arriving at 9:25, so we don't have an onerous trip over. He drives a lot for work, so is not intimidated. (I am!)

Will probably drive to Munich Hauptbahnhof for return, unless someone advises airport as easier.

with 5 of you AND luggage, you'll need quite a big car.

when you say that you will drive to the munich Hauptbahnhof for the return, does that mean that you will be getting the train back?

if so, the Hauptbahnhof would definitely be the place to drop off if you can.

I thought you were leaving from FRA, not MUC.?