I am trying to get all of the traveling logistics down for our upcoming trip to Germany.

I am SO confused with all of the different train options!

a) We arrive at Munich Airport on a Saturday afternoon and need to take a train directly to Salzburg. I went to trainlineeurope.com and DB Bahn website. It says 70 euro for two people. Is that the correct way to do it?

b) What kind of ticket(s) do we need for our day trip to Halstatt from Salzburg? That is on a Sunday/Monday depending on weather.

c) What kind of ticket(s) do we need for our train from Salzburg to Nurnberg?

Are we supposed to get the Bayern ticket everyday we are traveling? I am so confused! Is it significantly cheaper to get the tickets in advanced? For example; we were going to wait and see what the weather was like to decide which day to do Halstatt. We leave in a month, should I pre-buy all of our train travels prior to leaving?

We are ages 29, 35 and just two of us traveling.

Thank you!!

We arrive at Munich Airport on a Saturday afternoon and need to take a train directly to Salzburg. I went to trainlineeurope.com and DB Bahn website. It says 70 euro for two people. Is that the correct way to do it?>

That is by faster trains - you could both go for 35 euro or about on the Bavaria Pass you could by at any German train station, including the one in Salzburg's Hbf inside Austria - Bavaria Pass valid to Salzburg.

Ditto for back to Munich and onto Nuremberg - Bavarian Pass works the whole way.

BUT you are restricted to regional trains on the Bavarian Pass and will thus take a bit longer - check schedules for regional trains and you may have to change twice Salzburg to Nuremberg.

For lots of info on trains check www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

Salzburg to Hallstatt just buy once there - mainly regional trains (Salzburg - Attnang Puchheim to a regional train to Hallstatt. You may score minor discounts at the Austrian Railways site www.oebb.com I believe but then you may be stuck on a specific train that can't maybe be changed - full fare is not that much.

And a more scenic way is to take a postal bus from Salzburg to the gorgeous Lakes Distrit via St Gilgen and St Wolfsgang - spend a few hours there and then take the bus to Bad Ischl where you catch the train to Hallstatt. If looking for a stop in between check out St Wolfsgang, on a lovely lake of the same name.

a)The Bayern Ticket day pass (E29/2) gets you from MUC to Salzburg:

https://www.bahn.com/i/view/USA/en/p...a-ticket.shtml

Train schedules for the Bayern ticket can be found at the German Railways site. Specify "only local transport" under "more means of transport" at the home page of the above site.

MUC = Munich Airport T

You can use the same Bayern ticket for your trip to Nuremberg in c)- But you could also include high speed trains to shorten the trip if you like. Just ignore the "only local transport" instruction above when you do your search.

For b) check the Austrian Railways site - www.oebb.at

Thank you!

When I put in a search for Salzburg to Nuremberg on the DB Bahn website, it comes up 134 euro!

Does that sound correct?!

Did you put in the dates you will be traveling? As with airfares, the price depends on the date. Tomorrow's fares will be more expensive than the fares in a month.

DB Bahn is the official website of the German train system - prices aren't going to be cheaper elsewhere.

So I cannot use a "Bayern Ticket" day pass at 29 euro a person for the trip from Salzburg Austria to Nuremberg, Germany.....correct?!

You can indeed use a Bayern Ticket to get from Salzburg to Nuremberg. Nuremberg is still in Bavaria. It will take a while though.

I'd probably read through the info on Seat61.com to answer that question. If anyone knows about trains in Europe, he does! (And will respond here if he sees this thread, no doubt.)

http://seat61.com/Germany-trains.htm

Just remember that you won't be able to to take the IC or ICE with a Bayern Ticket.

Salzburg is "grandfathered" into the validity of a Bayern Ticket: https://www.bahn.com/i/view/GBR/en/p...iaticket.shtml

So I cannot use a "Bayern Ticket" day pass at 29 euro a person for the trip from Salzburg Austria to Nuremberg, Germany.....correct?!>

It is 23 euro for the first person then about 5 euros for each additional person - also good on city transports in German towns but not Salzburg thus 28 euros total for two people for the Bavarian Pass - a lot cheaper than 35 euros a person and to me well worth the extra hour or two it will take from Salzburg to Nurnberg..

Salzburg is included some DB guy once told me because there is (or was a DB station) - inside the Salzburg Hbf.

Trains between Garmisch and Reutte to Kempten in Germany but going thru mostly Austria are also valid with the Bavarian Pass for info of others.

"When I put in a search for Salzburg to Nuremberg on the DB Bahn website, it comes up 134 euro!"

The lowest fares are few in number - best prices go fairly quickly once tickets first go on sale for a certain date. That's 91 days in advance. E134 is the FULL price normal fare for two adults on that route. But if you'll just try October 7 as a travel date, you'll see fares of E38 and E48 available.

"So I cannot use a "Bayern Ticket" day pass at 29 euro a person for the trip from Salzburg Austria to Nuremberg, Germany.....correct?!"

Incorrect! The Bayern ticket is E28 for TWO people (my error when I said 29) and you CAN use it to Nuremberg - at any hour on Sat or Sun, and after 9 am on a weekday. It doesn't matter when you buy it - buy it at the station if you like. Again, to find trains you can use it on at the DB itinerary page, you must check "only local transport" under "more means of transport" - if you do not, you will see only the default fast-train schedules and fares! Here's the exact page; the software for this site isn't permitting my link but you can type it in:

reiseauskunft(dot)bahn(dot)de(backslash)bin(backsl ash)query(dot)exe(backslash)en

76 euros at the cheapest and restricted to specific trains I believe that cannot be changed for discounted tickets and 28 euros total for the regional pass that you can just hop on any regional train - a no-brainer for me and my budget- put that 48 euros to good use eating the famous little sausages that are a Nurnberg tradition (plus a lot of beer).

But regional trains are not as comfy and more changes potentially - more like commuter trains which they in fact mainly are - can be crowded at times IME.

PalenQ writes: "...76 euros at the cheapest and restricted to specific trains I believe that cannot be changed..."

That's incorrect... the fares I referred to were for TWO adult travelers - E38 or E48 for TWO. (Tickets ARE train-specific, as you say, the trade-off for saving money and time.) With these "saver fare" tickets that cost a little more, the trip takes 3 hours. With the Bayern Ticket, the same journey will take 4.5 - 5 hours. I believe either is a valid choice depending on your travel preferences and how early one can commit to traveling at a certain time on a certain train.

Plus being on a less comfy and at times crowded perhaps regional train for that long to me would justify paying that relatively little more - now that I understand that you could take saver fares for as little as 38 or 48 euros if you are OK with booking in stone.

Cheapest is not always the best.

Regional trains also have first class and the Bavaria Pass comes in first class for not all that much more - and if doing a long time on these trains first class might be well worth it IME.