wsparkman

Allo!
Can anyone provide me with a step by step on how to get from the Frankfurt Main HBF to FRA (airport)? I'm sure there are machines to purchase metro/train tickets, but if anyone could provide me with the exact stop name and price I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!!!!

sparkchaser

Price varies and so does departure and arrival platform.

The ticket machines will show you which trains go there. You match the train number with the big schedule in the main hall to the track. The same info is available online and you can buy your ticket online if you wish. http://www.bahn.de/i/view/DEU/en/index.shtml

For instance:

ICE 628 departs from Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof on Gleis (platform) 7 at 15:10 and arrives at the Frankfurt Flughafen at 15:22

S8 departs from Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof on Gleis (platform) 21 at 15:53 and arrives at the Frankfurt Flughafen at 16:05


The exact stop names:
Frankfurt(Main)Hbf is the main station
Frankfurt(Main)Flugh is the airport

adrienne

This is so easy you'll wonder why you worried about it. Buy your ticket from the machine - about E4. If you have any doubts the TI at the train station is wonderful and they have pre-printed instructions that they will give you.

I've done this a couple of times early in the morning and had no problems.

Hang on to your ticket until you get to the airport proper in case someone checks to ensure you did buy a ticket.

PalenQ

Or you can eschew the mainline trains and just hop the S-Bahn for a flat fee to the airport, arriving at the Regional Bahnhof or airport train station that is significantly closer to the departure terminals than is the Fernbahnhof or long-distance station the ICE and mainline trains serve - airport thus has two train stations.

adrienne

That's exactly what I did - the S-Bahn. 10 minutes from Hbf to airport; trains every 15 minutes.

PalenQ

S-bahns generally leave from the lower level of the Hbf under the ground level mainline station - just take the escalator down for S-bahns (and U-Bahns). Perhaps airport S-Bahns leave from the main concourse however butmost S-Bahns if not all leave from udner the mainline station.

adrienne

The one at the airport leaves/arrives at the lower level - take escalator to main concourse. At Frankfurt Hbf its also on the lower level (again, escalator).

Mainhattengirl

Here are some step by step instructions for taking the trains. It is quite fast, with a train only taking 11 min. (3 stops from the airport) to the Main Train Station - Hauptbahnhof, or a few minutes more (5 stops from the airport) if you would like to get off at the Hauptwache, or the next stop Konstablerwache (6 stops from the airport). There is usually a train every 15 min. and they run from very early in the morning til quite late at night. (04:15-01:15)

You should follow the signs for Regional Trains or S-Bahn. (look for the big green S) This station is under Terminal 1 by Arrival Hall B-1, and the signs will be in English. Just take the escalator downstairs and for Frankfurt, go to track #1. For Mainz or Wiesbaden, you would go to track #3. This is where the S-bahns 8 and 9 normally stop. There is also an RMV ticket machine here. Regional trains may also stop here and the ones that are on track #2 are usually going to stop at the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof. You can ride these too with your ticket as long as they are not an ICE.

Cost - a single ticket, one way (einzel fahrt) costs 4.25 euro.This ticket will take you into Frankfurt city center by train, and is also valid to get to your final destination by tram, bus, S-bahn or U-bahn, as long as you keep traveling without a break. An all day ticket (Ganz Tag) for one person that includes travel to and from the airport as well as all public transportation in the city, is 8.30 euro. Going to Mainz or Wiesbaden will cost the same amount. This is a better deal than buying 2 one-way tickets.

A group day ticket, called a "Collective Day Ticket" on the ticket machine (gruppen karte) costs 15.00 euro. This ticket is good for up to 5 people and is valid all day long, getting to and from the airport and on all forms of transportation in Frankfurt. A good choice for 2 or more people. These are NOT 24 hour tickets, they are only good for the day of purchase until the trains, etc. stop running for the day, usually around 1 a.m. Going to Mainz or Wiesbaden from the airport costs the same amount as going to Frankfurt.

The RMV and DB share ticket machines and they are all touch screens. They switch into English and are fairly user friendly. The machines take coins, 5 and 10 euro bills for single tickets and if you are getting a group ticket it will take a 20 euro bill. It will NOT take a 50 euro bill. Change will be in coins.
RMV machines do not take American credit cards for local travel, but the DB does for long distance travel.

In Frankfurt you do not need to validate your ticket unlike some other cities in Germany. It is all on the honor system. If you do not have a ticket though, you will be fined 40 euro immediately.

Mainhattengirl

Almost forgot. If it is a Sunday or a holiday, they have an S-bahn that just runs back and forth between the airport and the city. It stays above ground in Frankfurt and usually leaves from track 22, but will still leave from track 1, at the airport.

Mainhattengirl

This is what happens when I post too late at night. I gave directions for going the opposite way. Sorry about that.

Just kind of go in reverse. Either track 103 downstairs if it is a weekday, every 15 min. Or on Sundays and Holidays, every 2nd train will leave from track 22 upstairs.

wsparkman

THANK YOU ALL STEADFAST TRAVELERS! GODSPEED!

tedgale

Bookmarking.

I will use this information this weekend. Arriving FRA Saturday afternoon, staying overnight near the Central station, departing FRA Sunday 1 PM.

Any views on how long I should allow for Sunday check-in?

Or should I post a separate thread?

(FYI: We will be flying Air Canada to Ottawa, will have one checkable suitcase each that we could legally bring as carry on, in a desperate pinch. Plan to do online check-in in advance, from the hotel)

sparkchaser

For international flights it's a good idea to check-in at least two hours before your departing flight.

Air Canada is my go to for trans-Atlantic flights.

tedgale

Thanks, sparkchaser. I usually fly KLM via Toronto and Amsterdam. But in this season, they've eliminated their very convenient morning flight to Toronto.

I hadn't flown Air Canada for years and was pleasantly surprised on the flight over. But we had upgraded for that portion. We will see how it is in economy on our return. I do like the smaller plane on that route and the direct flight to Ottawa - a rarity from Europe

sparkchaser

Air Canada has probably the best trans-Atlantic economy of all the North American Carriers and is also better (IMO) than Lufthansa, KLM, BA, and SAS.

tedgale

One little footnote for future readers of this thread: We were surprised and dismayed to discover that the ticket machines at FRA did not accept notes larger than 10 E.

I expected a sharp rebuff when we asked a nearby shop to change a 20 E bill but they did so without complaint.

Sparkchaser, you will see my account of our departure from FRA on the separate thread I started.

Hans

As an even smaller footnote

The ticket machines return only coins. Because of that the notes accepted by the machines depend on the price of the ticket, i.e. if you want to buy more expensive tickets you don't need to pay with a lot of ten euro notes.