We want to fly from Orlando to any airport in Europe, take a high speed train to a city as close as possible to Heidelberg. Any suggestions? (trip would be anytime this year). thanks.

zzzot2,

Fastest & easiest is to fly to Frankfurt and take the Lufthansa bus to Heidelberg (just over an hour).

Bus schedules & info:
http://www.frankfurt-airport.de/b2c/...0/m020_027.jsp


It makes no sense to take the train for this trip.

There is twice weekly nonstop service from Orlando to Frankfurt on Thomas Cook/Condor. See:
www.condoramericas.com

Otherwise, there are zillions of one stop connections.

Hope this helps,
Andre

I don't understand what you are trying to do. ICE trains (the German high speed trains) go to Heidelberg. Why wouldn't you fly to Frankfurt, then take a train from there?

Why wouldn't you catch the train, it is quick, easy, inexpensive and you can catch the train from the airport?

The train requires a change in Mannheim, while the bus is direct - why would Lufthansa run an hourly bus service if it weren't more convenient than the train??

Andre

Just because there is an "hourly bus service" to anywhere doesn't necessarily guarantee that it is "more convenient" than taking a train.
In this particular case one would also want to know where the bus leaves from; where the bus drops you off; how much does it cost, etc., etc. If all of those answers mean that taking the bus is "more convenient" then I would probably take it.
Airline companies tell us they are doing just about everything for "your convenience" such as curtailing services, and so forth. Taking those claims at face value can often lead to disappointment.

I would be a little hesitant about Thomas Cook because, at the moment anyway, they are pretty adamant that they won't allow armed sky marshals on their flights to/from the U.S. They said they'd rather cancel flights to/from the U.S. than have armed marshals. Whether they "stick to their guns" on this issue, of course, is up in the air :-0
LTU (a German airline) also flies from Orlando directly to Germany; they fly into Dusseldorf Airport as I recall (I find Dusseldorf airport a lot easier to manage than Frankfurt). From the airport, you take an IC train to Koln (Cologne) and transfer to an ICE to Heidelberg. The IC trip takes about 30 minutes and the ICE portion takes about two hours.

BTilke:
That's interesting about the sky marshals - where did you get this info?

JonJon:
Why don't you check the link I provided for the particulars of the bus service - you'll see that it's extremely convenient and DIRECT vs. changing trains in Mannheim. The fact that it's operated by Lufthansa doesn't restrict its usage to passengers of that particular airline BTW.

Andre

I fly Boston to Frankfurt and then go onto Heidelberg 4 or 5 times each year.

I've done it by car, train and the Lufthansa bus. My rental car is the absolute easiest, but the bus is absolutely the second best. You arrive relaxed and within an hour (assuming there is no major traffic issue). You don't have to worry about changing trains or jamming your luggage onto the train (which can be difficult, as this train is basically a commuter train).

To get the bus, you simply walk outside, pay the 19 Euro (or whatever t is now) and go. It's big, it's comfortable and it's temperature controlled.

It's true that it depends on where you want to go in Heidelberg - but either the train or bus option is going to leave you in one spot and you will most likely need to go someplace from there, right?

I guess this is all moot if you find a cheap flight into another European Gateway city and then train to Heidelberg. (Heidelberg is a major train station though - and you should be able to get there from anywhere you land.)

Good luck and if you have any particular questions about Heidelberg, feel free to email me directly at [email protected]

Hi Andre,
It was repeated several times yesterday on Sky News. There is a story on the BBC web site that concludes with:

"Thomas Cook Airlines has said it will cancel flights if a marshal presented himself."

The quote referred to TC flights to/from the UK, but I suspect TC flights to/from the U.S. and German flights would do the same. Or maybe not.

Anyway, here is the BBC link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3372395.stm

Thanks for the info, BTilke!

Don't think it's relevant for the Thomas Cook flights to/from Germany, as it's a totally separate operation (although both have the same corporate parent) and it seems that the policies of the various airlines (and their pilot unions) are basically identical in whatever country they're based in. So, if the German pilot's union or goverment decide to refuse sky marshalls, Lufthansa will be in the same predicament as Thomas Cook, for example.

Anyway, I think these issues will be settled in the next few weeks - or maybe not

Andre