Frankfurt Airport: 2 hours from touchdown to train. Go for it???
 

Greetings. We are flying nonstop on Lufthansa to Frankfurt. Will carry bags on plane. Will land at Terminal 1 in Frankfurt at 11:00 a.m. Would really like to purchase advance tickets to Paris Est. Train leaves at 12:53. I realize plane could be delayed. Just wondering if you would "take the gamble" or buy tickets for a later train.

Thanks so much for your help.

What's the difference in price between an advanced purchase ticket and a walk up? That would be my determination.

What's the next train - one hour or three - makes a difference. Nearly two hours should be fine if the plane is on time - especially since you have no bags - if I could take a train an hour later or so I'd do it - if I had to wait three hours then I'd gamble - but lose the bet and you'll be out the discounted ticket and then have to buy a full-fare ticket - ouch!

Have you checked on connecting air flights to Paris?

126 euros seems to be full fare - I saw 69 euros for booking two months out. So about 60 euros more expensive if you can get the discounted tickets which do sell out often far in advance of the train.

It looks like the price is the same as long as you buy the tickets a few days ahead. The next day price is more. I would take the chance for a savings of E45. Even if your plane is delayed a bit you'll still make the train since it doesn't take long to walk from the plane to the train.

In June I flew direct to Frankfurt and had a 1:55 layover to catch my plane to Naples. I missed my plane by 3 minutes. I had only carry-on luggage. The lines everywhere were insane. The only stop I made was to quickly go to the bathroom. The rest of the time was spent in security or immigration lines, or taking trains or buses. I am used to flying through Munich, so I thought the 2-hour layover would be no problem. Obviously, it was.

If you forfeit the ticket if you miss the train, I wouldn't risk pre-purchasing. But only you know your risk tolerance!

There's no right or wrong answer here. Just depends your own priorities.

I'd probably not buy in advance at all and just walk up to the ticket window for the train when I got there.

ekc - here's the difference. The OP is flying Lufthansa so will arrive in Terminal 1 where the train station is located and she will not have to go through security.

Changing planes is very different than arriving at your destination.

Which train station is OP going from - the older S-Bahn and regional trains station that is in terminal 1 or the Fernbahnhof or long-distance train from a newer station not in terminal 1 and about a 15 minute or so walk from there.

It seems all Frankfurt Flughafen to Paris train connections leave from the long-distance train station or Fernbahnhof, which is again 10-15 minutes walk beyond the old Lokalbahnhof in terminal 1 - so another factor if plane is late - can also have long lines at passport control.

I would do advance purchase for the 14:43 train, even though the journey itself takes an extra hour.
We recently flew into Frankfurt and it took at least 45 minutes for everyone to just get off the plane.
Plus, as PalenQ said, you still have to go through immigration and walk to station.

If you purchase on a walk-up basis it will be more expensive and there can be a line.

Adrienne - good point. Sorry I missed it! Thank goodness for her!

> which is again 10-15 minutes walk beyond the old Lokalbahnhof in terminal 1 -

Sorry to be so picky, but I think you are thinking of the Regionalbahnhof (Regionalbf). Frankfurt Lokalbahnhof is an S-Bahn stop between Ostendstraße and Frankfurt (Main) Süd. Easily confused...

Lavandula

Thanks for all the replies. We can do an advance purchase for the next train. It leaves an hour later, it's an hour longer on the train and we would have two changes, so it gets to Paris two hours later.

We added two nights in Paris as an "after thought". Thinking two nights would be better than none. We're going late November for 12 days to visit Christmas Markets in Colmar, Strasbourg; then on to Munich, Salzburg, ending in Prague.

Maybe we should save Paris for another time and add another city in Germany for our first two nights. Any suggestions?

I thought I had this all worked out, now I'm second guessing. Driving myself crazy - argh.

How much would it cost to change your flight from Frankfurt to land in Paris?
If you can't do that, I would probably not train to Paris for just two nights. Don't panic. You still have a bit of time to make the best decision.

I would forget Paris for this trip. Stay a couple of nights in
Frankfurt. You can do a day trip to Mainz which I enjoyed and then make your way to Colmar. Or find another town along the route to Colmar.

I would stay the night in Frankfurt and book your train for early the next morning to Paris. The train from the main station takes less than 4 hours, so you could be in Paris that same morning. No stress about the train, you can go ahead and get cheap tickets, and you can explore Frankfurt that afternoon and evening, satisfying your desire to see some of Germany. The city has more to offer than some people and guidebooks would lead you to believe.

Add to this, coming off of a trans-Atlantic flight, do you really want to sit in a train for another 4 hours? Or by taking the later train, the need to switch twice and you don't get into Paris until late that night. You have an entire day wasted just sitting, either in the airport or on trains.

What is your arrival date? The Christkindlmarkt in Frankfurt starts on Nov 26. The setting is beautiful.

Thanks to everyone. We have decided to save Paris for our trip next year when we can spend more time there. I really appreciate your input.