This forum seems to have very knowledgeable folks and so would like their thoughts on the following:

1. Can we buy tickets online in the US directly from bahn.de website? Do we need to have a bahn card for this or will credit card suffice?

2. Our trip is from Munich-Salzburg, salzburg-Vienn and Vienna-Munich and our party has 2 adults and 2 kids, would folks recommend that we buy tickets ahead of time or can we just do it once we get to Germany?

If folks could share their expereince would greatly appreciate it.

A good resource for your question is to call the people at BudgetEuropeTravel.com. They are extremely knowledgeable and patient in answering all your questions. You can buy your tickets from them with a very small shipping and handling fee added on. I've used them twice before, for two complicated trips, and was extremely pleased. You will have peace of mind that you've got good advice from them.

Some sections of your trip may qualify for the Bayern Pass, which is good for up to 5 people for a very low rate of about 39/EUR (I don't remember the price exactly). But, it's probably to be used within a 24 hour time-frame, so it may or may not apply to your itinerary. The helpful people I recommend above will know.
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Scan www.bahn.de and see if they have SPAR fares or some discounts for your journeys... if not the price will be the same at stations as on the site and there will absolutely be no problem getting on these trains, none of which require reservations like in other countries. I'd just buy at stations unless you can do the discounts online and then you of course lock yourself into a certain train and can't change probably.
But yes you can buy and book tickets on www.bahn.de with a credit card..at least many Fodorites report doing so without problem. To buy tickets in US thru RailEurope would mean paying a whole lot more than on www.bahn.de or at the stations.

I bought tickets on bahn.de a couple of weeks ago for Berlin-Prague return trip in April. I live in Canada, so it is possible to do overseas with a credit card. You could only purchase 89 days in advance from the return date. For two adults and two kids the price was 103 euros TOTAL including seat reservations, which I thought was a great price. The tickets came in the mail at no extra cost.

If you know what you want and won't be changing your mind, I would buy them as soon as you are within the 89 day window. I dithered a couple of days, and the return time I wanted at the cheapest price was gone. Tickets were still available, just at a higher price.

Thanks everyone for the great responses. Very helpful!

Just a quick question for the author from Canada (Poutine):

How long did the tickets take to come in the mail?
Our trip will start April 9 and I am not sure if we can get it in the mail by then.

Also has anyone tried the option of printing tickets at home after purchasing online?

Thanks.

I think the tickets arrived about 10 days later. I am a paranoid person sent them to my husband's work address! The envelope shows that they were mailed from Frankfurt two days after I bought them. If there are still discounted tickets available, I would buy them as you certainly will receive them in time.

If I am not mistaken, the print at home option was not available. I don't know why. Also, use the credit card that you will be bringing with you on the trip. You might need it as proof.

Have a fun trip!

Question 1. Yes. You can buy from your home computr. Set up an account with the Deutsche Bahn with a password, register your credit card, and use it as your ID on the train. (Numbers MUST match.)I suggest a Capital One or similar credit card because many cards add on 3% for overseas use.

Question 2. Discounted restricted tickets MUST be bought in advance. They go fast, so I would watch the prices on the Deutsche Bahn website, and and as soon as you know your exact dates after discount prices become available, I would go ahead and buy.

These were restricted tickets in that I was limited to the departure time and the date. Considering the low cost of the fare, they were well worth it.

Last summer when I bought, the DB send me a PDF file and I printed my ticket, 2 copies, at home using standard typewriter paper in my inkjet printer. I made a second copy for backup, but you only need one ticket. It will show all relevant information including seat reservation numbers, which is extra and, in some cases, mandatory. On the Munich - Vienna run, I highly advise seat reservations.

Other than the fact that you printed it, it is like any other ticket. The conductor scans the coded area with a hand-held reader and then punches a hole in it.

You can buy a round trip ticket when you make your purchase, but the same time and date restrictions apply. If you stopover in Salzburg for a night or two, you cannot get the discount.

For four of you, 2 adults and 2 children, the discount round trip fare for 4 people is €182.35 advanced purchase; the normal fare is : €288 normal fare; For a savings of over €100 you might well consider it.

On the return journey I suppose you could always get off the train in Salzburg. To get back to Munich, you could buy a Bayern ticket, which means taking a slightly slower train, and all 4 of you travel for €27.00.

I suppose also you could take the discounted ride to Vienna, and buy an Austrian ticket from Vienna back to Salzburg.

Then use a Bayern Ticket to travel from Salzburg to Munich. Salzburg is actually served by the DB from Munich, so it is included in the Bayern Ticket zone.

For the four of you to ride round trip from Salzburg to Vienna, the cost is €180. Taking a Bayern ticket ride to and from Salzburg would be €27 each way.

I suggest you get tuned in soon to the times and prices at the web site http://bahn.hafas.de/bin/query.exe/en

You will need the main page to set up your account. If you come in through the heading Information for International Guests, you should be able to do it all in English. If you read German, then it does not matter.

The print-at-home option works only if you book one ticket for yourself. You cannot book print-at-home tickets for anyone else.
So as soon as a second person is involved, bahn.de doesn't allow it. I do not understand why it can't be done if tickets are booked for two people travelling together and the person booking is one of the two. But that's what it's like, nothing to do about it. Bahn stupidity.

The Bayern Ticket can save you some money indeed, but keep in mind that it's not valid on all trains. You cannot take the fast ICE, IC and EC trains, only the slower regional trains. So it's saving money vs. saving time.

Discounted tickets like Sparpreis are valid only for one train connection. If you miss your train, you'll need a new ticket. So these require a little planning. Normal tickets are valid for all trains of the same or a lower category during the period of validity, thus allow more flexibility.

I'd definitely recommend seat reservations for the Vienna-Munich leg.

Thanks for all the input.

I looked through the bahn.de site again and author quokka is correct. For printing at home each traveller needs a bahn card or credit card of their own. But they do have the tickets by mail option that author poutine was talking about.

This Bayern ticket that many of you talk about---is this bought in europe or is there a website for this as well?

Thanks again to all of you for the great responses. It has been very valuable.

You cannot make a reservation of any kind with a Bayern ticket. Buy it from a vending machine. Cheapest way. Up to 5 people can use it at the same time.

All of the German Länder offer regional tickets within the state and nearby areas. The Bayern ticket is good for Kufstein inAustria and Salzburg.