Help with transfers to Frankfurt from Cologne on Uniworld/general questions

[dan4182]

Frankfurt airport is large. We have made the walk from customs to the train station in a little over 10 minutes, though we don't walk slowly. Count on 15-20 minutes if you walk at a leisurely pace.

 

Sorry if my posts caused any confusion. You do not have to book trains in advance. However, in general, the closer you get to the departure date, the more expensive the ticket will be. So if you want the cheapest fares, you generally should book sooner rather than later.

 

But if you want to remain flexible, you can buy tickets at the train station for immediate departure. We have purchased tickets both in advance, and at the station, many times and it's worked fine. Don't sweat the train tickets.

We connected through Frankfurt en route to Prague for a 3 day stay prior to our cruise on the Ama Prima in 2015.

 

We were accompanied by 2 friends of ours, both 80+ females. Prior to leaving Houston I arranged a motorized cart through Lufthansa that was to meet us at the gate.

 

When we arrived in Frankfurt, we waited about 8 minutes for our cart to become available. We then rode at breakneck speed for about 18 minutes to reach the customs station, cleared the "rest of Europe" customs, then hopped on another cart for about 5-7 minutes, went down an escalator where we were met by a 3rd cart that drove for about 7 minutes more to what the thought was the gate for our plane.

 

Wrong, it was the gate to go downstairs to board buses which drove for about 5-7 minutes around the airport tarmac where our plane to Prague was parked. We then walked up some metal stairs into the plane.

 

All told, about 30+ minutes traveling through the Frankfurt airport via 3 carts and a bus for a flight that took only 35 minutes to go from Frankfurt to Prague.

[mj_holiday]

Some things to consider.

 

I definitely agree to buy first class with reserved seats. but I would not get seats that are on the "second floor" so to speak as getting luggage up and down the steps is difficult.

 

If your mother has any mobility problems the Bahn offers assistance but it needs to be reserved ahead of time. I used this a couple of years ago when my husband had broken ribs etc. someone met us and took our suitcases into the train while I helped my husband and then when we got to our destination there was someone to help us off.

 

have fun

[jpalbny]

dan4182, I totally agree that connections in FRA can take an extraordinary amount of time, and can feel like you're walking miles. We've done that too.

 

OP is asking how far it is from the train station to the check-in counters. That's a different route. We have arrived at FRA via the S-Bahn and it's about a 10-minute walk from there. The ICE trains arrive a little farther away, but walking from the ICE train will add no more than 5 minutes to the journey, IIRC.

 

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[TikiIslandGirl]

Thanks everyone for being really helpful and putting my mind at ease. My mother doesn't have any mobility issues and is in great health. She is a really efficient packer so her suitcase won't be overly heavy. I'm just a overprotective daughter who doesn't want to have to rush her around with her suitcase and increase her chances of hurting herself.:D

 

I'll be leaving out on 5/28/17 so tickets are currently available. I plan to have 3-4.5 hours from the time the train arrives at the Frankfurt airport to the plane taking off. I rather sit around the airport than have to race to make my plane Since it is a Sunday and I want a earlier train I just thought the tickets would be a tad bit cheaper. I just keep watching. Thanks!!!

[foser22]

I don't mean to throw a curve ball, but we did a similar itinerary in December for the Christmas Markets. I was trying to figure out trains, but decided to book my flight directly from Cologne. The Routing was Cologne, Munich, Chicago. It's only a 30 minute flight and so much easier. The cost was virtually the same.

 

 

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Edited January 24, 2017 by foser22
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[TikiIslandGirl]

Thanks Foser22-I did think about that approach and did some looking. My husband works for united airlines so I fly on standby. United out of Frankfurt has 5-6 different flights to the US to get me home and a direct into Houston. I looked into booking a regional airline from cologne into Frankfurt/Munich/London / Amsterdam but its easier to just take the train to frankfurt and hopefully get on the direct flight. Since I'm flying back during a weekend of a us holiday I really want to avoid a connection from the east cost. You live and learn (and have backup plans) flying non rev!!!:D

[Cruisin Kay D]

That airport is indeed HUGE. Several years ago, we had been on a Viking river cruise & took train from Nurnberg to Frankfurt airport and stayed at a hotel attached to the airport, I think it was a Hilton...night before the flight we walked from hotel to find the ticket counter for AA or USAir in a HUGE room to know where we would be going the next day....little did we know how much farther it was to the gate itself....certainly the largest one I have ever been to.

 

2 other websites I have used to help with transportation planning in Europe with great advice/information are: rome2rio & maninseat61 (both .com).

[travelers07]

Hi all-

 

Just considering our first river cruise and I saw this question. Our daughter and her family live in Germany and we have flown to FRA quite a few times.

 

Agree about Rome2rio and maninseat61. Lots of great info.

 

But we book on bahn.com- the official German site. Easy to use with the English option. Easy to compare times and prices as soon as the tickets are available- 90 days out usually.

 

As others have said 1st class has more room for luggage. We travel light as we do 3 trains to get to our daughter's small town. 2nd class can sometimes be crowded and we end up standing with our bags in the entryway.

 

If it is a regional train you do not need to book ahead as tickets are always the same price and do not sellout. For ICE and others there is a good savings if you book early but you are stuck with that time. We decide by the trip- 1st class early or 2nd if we want flexibility.

 

You can print your tickets at home. Or if you register for an account you can book on your phone on the go and show your phone to the conductor.

 

The airport is huge and a long walk from the train station. Easy- just follow the signs but allow plenty of time. After airport security can also be a very long walk so just watch your time.

 

Have fun!

 

 

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