I will be going from DFW to Munich in May. My options are (on AA) from DFW to London to Munich, or DFW/FRA on AA then train to Munich. I would actually arrive a little earlier on the train, and since I arrive about 9 in the morning, would be nice to see some countryside on the way. How difficult would it be to take the train vs just staying in the airport and flying all the way? would I be able to book straight through on the train via AA? Thanks.

I'd do whatever to avoid connecting in LHR.

Personnaly, I prefer the train. The ride is about 3 hrs or so, the countryside is beautiful, however, I had a hard time fighting to stay awake while on the train. You can book it through AA, although it seems to time out most of the time, the code is ZMU.
You get miles for the ride. The train station is right on the FRA airport.
Good luck and happy travels.

Also be aware, that you have to take at least another 45 minutes into account for getting from MUC arrival to downtown Munich. (taking public transportation)

I hate to say this since I try to avoid FRA but I would actually go through FRA if I had to do your routing....

All help is gratefully acknowledged. My wife will also be traveling with me, which means one (okay, two) extra bags. I am not sure of the location of our Munich hotel yet, but seems like it would still be better to go to FRA and ride the train. How long should I allow in FRA to clear customs, get bags and get to the train station?

I would allow at least an hour, 1,5 hours make it less stressful in case of irrops.

Standard fare tickets are valid for any train of the same or lower category on your travel day and the following day while discounted tickets limit you to one particular connection, if you miss that train the ticket is lost. You never know whether your plane will arrive on time or delayed. After an intercontinental flight I'd bite the sour apple (German saying) and book standard fare tickets, then hop on the next train you'll reach.

Check with your airline if they offer Rail&Fly tickets, which are as flexible but a lot chepaer than standard train tickets. If they don't, buy standard tickets via www.bahn.com (avoid Raileurope or any other agency).

Seat reservations are not compulsory but nice to have - I'd book those for a train about 1.5-2 hours after scheduled landing time. If I catch that one, fine, if I take a different train, there is still the option to either book last-minute reservations at the station or simply hop on and look for a seat.

On their German website AA does offer Rail&Fly http://www.americanairlines.de/intl/...railAndFly.jsp for traveling from Germany to the US. You might call AA to check if this offer also is valid for traveling from the US to Germany.

Concur with arollins;

FRANKFURT -> 1 Hour to clear Immigration + Customs -> A quick stroll down the stairs or elevator to the train -> Then sit back for a nice, clean, efficient, enjoyable ride in Mai to Munich.

This +1

The train from Frankfurt to Munich takes about 3 hrs, but it takes you into downtown Munich. The plane is faster but you'll need about another hour from picking up the bags in MUC until you actually get into town.

I think I'd fly into FRA and take the train. Have you ever done that? If not, I'd just do it for the experience. And you can avoid LHR which should be an added benefit.

I'd fly into FRA as well. FRA is an OK airport for arriving at (including connecting to long distance trains), and not too bad for departing from (they DO like their security controls), but it is nearly as bad for connections as LHR. MUC is perfect for connections (especially within *A), but is rather far from the city proper. The local commuter train (S-Bahn) takes 40 minutes and can get crowded. A good alternative is the Lufthansa Bus taking slightly more time dropping you either in a chain hotel area north of the city proper or at the Central station. In your scenario, I certainly would prefer to fly non-stop to FRA and arrive at Central station (Hauptbahnhof) by train. Many hotels are nearby, and the rest are easily accessible by public transportation.

And note: catering on German trains are still in many cases proper dining cars. A sitdown breakfast in a dining car is certainly much to be preferred to in-flight dining.

Again, thanks for all the help. A wealth of information. Still not sure about our hotel, but think getting from railroad to hotel will be the least of our problems.

Munich has a great underground and tram system (ubahn and S bahn)
You will arrive at the Munich HBF (Main Train Station) and right there is the subway and lots of maps everywhere so you cant get lost, or at least in my opinion its a very easy system of getting around.