Frankfurt am Main Travel Forum

Hello,
1. Can you tell me where Frankfurt (Main) Sud station is? Is this the Main station?
2. What is the best way to go from Frankfurt (Main) Sud station to the Frankfurt Int'l Airport (FRA)? How much does this cost?
3. I'm arriving at Frankfurt (Main) Sud at 7am and will be departing from Frankfurt Int'l airport at 7pm on the same day so I have ~12 hrs free time. Can you suggest a possible daytrip itinerary for me before my flight? If possible, let me know also how to get around to those places.
Thanks a lot!

The 'Main' refers to Frankfurt-am-Main (there are two Frankfurts in Germany).

The German for main station is 'hauptbahnhof'.

http://www.bahn.de/p/view/international/englisch/international_guests.shtml

will give you times and routes for trains. You could get a train to the airport directly from Frankfurt Sud but your best plan is probably to get to Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof & explore the city from there. I think there will be left luggage facilities, should you need them, but am not sure (have not yet visited Frankfurt).

By the way, the BUS listed is not actually a bus: it's a 'regional train'. Click the 'details for all' button for more info.

Trains to Frankfurt airport (flughafen) leave from Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof frequently, journey takes around 15 minutes.

Thanks a lot!
I tried searching for train connections using the DB bahn site - how do i know which platform to go? Also, any tips on how to interpret tickets or station timetables in Germany will be highly appreciated...

I'm also thinking of going to Rothenburg since it seems to be near Frankfurt - do you know which station I should go to to reach Rothenburg? Or is there a bus service going there?

I would also love to visit a castle in Germany but not sure if there's anything near Frankfurt that is worth visiting and that can fit in the free time I have before my flight at 730pm. Any suggestions?

Thanks once again!!

> I tried searching for train connections using the DB bahn site - how do i know which platform to go?
Check out the details for the desired connection (click on the name of the start or destination point).

> I'm also thinking of going to Rothenburg since it seems to be near Frankfurt
Not really. Approx. 3 hours one way.
> - do you know which station I should go to to reach Rothenburg?
You give at the DB timetable always your start station/stop or address.
> Or is there a bus service going there?
There is. One of the two domestic bus lines by Deutsche Touring/Eurolines. However no real difference in travel time and price to the trains.
http://www.touring.de/index.php?id=536&L=1

> I would also love to visit a castle in Germany but not sure if there's anything near Frankfurt that is worth visiting and that can fit in the free time I have before my flight at 730pm. Any suggestions?

My suggestion:
Frankfurt Süd dep 07:11 (RB/RE trains, 2 changes)
Bingen Stadt arr 08:31
Bingen dep 09:30 (KD boat, fare is EUR 26,90 but you can get a 20% discount if you show a valid train ticket)
Braubach arr 12:20
http://www.k-d.com
visit the Marksburg, the best preserved castle on the Rhine
http://www.marksburg.de
than back to Frankfurt Airport. Maybe with an stopover in Mainz or Wiesbaden.
http://www.mainz.de/WGAPublisher/online/html/default/hpkr-5nkgnz.en.html
http://english.wiesbaden.de
From both cities you have frequent connections by S-Bahn and regional trains to Frankfurt Airport.

DB timetable
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en
From: Frankfurt Sued
To: Bingen Stadt
From: Braubach
To: Wiesbaden
To: Mainz
To: FRA airport

Please note the spelling of the places. Keep the defaults, i.e. the first entry if a drop-down list is shown.

For ticket advices it would be important to know
a) if you travel alone or not
b) on which weekdays you'll be there

Forgot: on the part suggested by boat you'll see lot's of castles
http://www.welterbe-mittelrheintal.de/
http://www.talderloreley.de/impressionen/impressionen.04.en.php

Wow, sounds like a good suggestion! Thank you. Will research further on that.

Btw, I'm traveling alone so really appreciate if you can give suggestions on the cheapest way to get around.

Thanks a lot!

Forgot to mention that I'll be there on May 7, Wednesday.

Hi again,
Following your suggested itinerary, have some more questions:
1. Generally, is there enough time for changing trains at the stations? Saw that in DB bahn connections, most of the time there are changes and I'm just worried I might miss the train during transfer

2. From Bingen Stadt station, where do I book the KD boat ride? How do I get to the starting point of the boat ride, is it near the station?

3. Is Braubach station near the Braubach old town? I've read that there's Marksburg Express shuttle running from somewhere near Old Town in Braubach that can take me to the castle.

Thanks so much again!

Ok..stop worrying about connections. They wouldn't give the train details if the change wasn't possible. Use the 'details' button to see exactly how long you will have.

Also, stop worrying about platforms. You'll find, even if they are not listed on the bahn.de site, that they are signed. And many/most people in Germany do understand some English, even if you cannot bring yourself to speak 'phrasebook' German!]

It'll be fine, honestly!

1. The DB timetable takes into account the layout of the stations and the platform numbers when suggesting a connection.
A bit tight may be the 07:11 connection from Frankfurt Süd as you have also to buy a ticket in this time frame. There is however another connection at 07:36 which is at 08:59 in Bingen Stadt. Plenty in time for the 09:30 boat.
Single ticket is EUR 9,70 as long you stick to local public transport.

DB timetable
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en
From: Frankfurt Sued
To: Bingen Stadt
and select as means of transport "only local transport".

Nearly all connections are served at least hourly. Thus in worst case just take the next connections. The next boats from Bingen are also at 10:30 and 11:30. You can also opt for a short boat ride if you feel that you don't have enough time. The trains are considerably faster than the boats. All boat stops have also train stations. And as these places are all rather small it's never far.

Here a few plans of stations you may have to change
Frankfurt Süd
http://www.rmv.de/coremedia/generator/PDF/Stationspl_C3_A4ne/Frankfurt-Suedbahnhof,property=data.pdf
The 07:36 connection is by U-Bahn. The U-Bahn platform is in the basement of the station. You can't do any wrong there. First this is the terminal station of all 3 U-Bahn lines going there. Second all 3 U-Bahn lines go to Hauptwache were you have to change to the S-Bahn.

Frankfurt Hauptwache
http://www.rmv.de/coremedia/generator/PDF/Stationspl_C3_A4ne/Frankfurt-Hauptwache,property=data.pdf
You have to go one level up to the S-Bahn. Your connection is from track 3 (middle platform).

Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof (main railway station)
http://www.rmv.de/coremedia/generator/PDF/Stationspl_C3_A4ne/Frankfurt-Hauptbahnhof,property=data.pdf

Mainz Hauptbahnhof
http://www.rmv.de/coremedia/generator/PDF/Stationspl_C3_A4ne/Mainz-Hauptbahnhof,property=data.pdf
Please note that here track 1 and (half)track 11 share the same platform.

2. Bingen
a map (you have to zoom in)
http://www.landesgartenschau-bingen-2008.de/fileadmin/website/download/gartenschau/plaene/Ueberblick_Hindenburganlage_Rhein-Nahe-Eck_090606.pdf
On the very right part of the map you can spot a part of the platform from the Bingen Stadt stop. From there follow the street till the roundabout. North of the roundabout you can see a building (grey) labeled "Verkaufsstelle KD". This is where you can buy your boat ticket. Pier 3 where the KD boats stop is directly in front of this building.

Buy at Frankfurt Süd or at Bingen Stadt (choose the one you have more time) a ticket from Braubach to Frankfurt Flughafen Regionalbahnhof (Frankfurt Airport). EUR 20,10.

If you show this ticket at the KD counter you'll get a 20% discount on the boat fare.

3. Braubach is a small place (~ 3.000 inhabitants). Both the train station and the boat piers are just outside of the old town.