Best way to get from frankfurt to cochem

That drive is almost 2 hours. I would pre-book a private transfer. I wouldn’t count on walking out of the airport to a taxi and finding someone willing to make that drive.

Another option would be to take the train to Koblenz. There’s a direct train from the airport that follows the Rhine along a beautiful stretch of the river. Then you could take a taxi or private transfer to Cochem.

You might ask your hotel for recommendations on transfer companies.

travel4fun's suggested train ride to Koblenz typically takes 1.5 hours; 9:24 - 10:54 and 11:23 - 12:54 came up on the sample date I checked. Both trains are DIRECT. (There are 4 other train options to Koblenz between 8 am and 12 pm which require a change of train and add about 30 minutes.)

This route is referred to by most travel authorities as Germany's most beautiful train route. Besides the natural river scenery, it's also about vineyards, small old-world towns, and LOTS of castles:

http://www.loreley-info.com/eng/rhein-rhine/castles.php

The same authorities usually give the silver medal to the Mosel River train ride. And that's the route you would use to travel by train from Koblenz to Cochem, a ride of 35 minutes, after a brief layover in Koblenz:

http://www.zughalt.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/DB11321.jpg

I really can't see the point of a private driver for this 35-minute travel leg or for the previous leg either, and I can't imagine what it would cost.

The total cost for 3 adults for the train rides would amount to €56 (Only one ticket needed - the Day Pass for Germany.) It's a scheduled ride that requires no pre-booking or seat reservations or trust. There'll be no traffic jams. If it's raining, your layover will in Koblenz will be taken inside the train station; pick up a cup of coffee at the McDonalds or one of the bakeries in the station there if you like.

https://www.bahnreiseberichte.de/091-Mainzer-Ausfluege/91-062Koblenz-Hauptbahnhof-innen.jpg

DB is the company to trust, the train seems like the best way.

Wait, what German Day Pass? It seems that every state in Germany has their own Day Pass, plus some states band together to have a day pass, and individual local transit companies have day passes, but I'm not aware of an all-Germany day pass. And Frankfurt and Cochem are not in the same state.

Oh, never mind. There it is. Germany's transport system tickets are so complicated I'm always discovering something new.

The catch is you can't take intercity trains (IC / ICE) with that pass. So as mentioned earlier this leaves you with trains every 2 hours but excludes some other possibilities inbetween.

I believe Russ is thinking about the Quer-durchs-Land-Ticket https://www.bahn.de/angebot/regio/qdl which is valid on all regional and S-bahn trains operated by DB as well as many smaller railway companies.

It's officially called the "Day Ticket for Germany" on the English-language pages.

https://www.bahn.com/en/offers/regional/day-ticket-for-germany

(Because "ticket" connotes "one-way" or "round-trip" in my head, I tend to call it the day "pass" instead, because it can in fact be used like a rail pass day for numerous journeys throughout the day. Besides the fact that it's only good for a single day, it has important conditions and another difference or two:

• It is non-refundable, so it's generally unwise to buy it far in advance. You can buy it at the station just before boarding, in fact.
• You ride the regional/local trains but no long-distance trains (IC, ICE, EC, etc.)
• On weekdays you must avoid using the pass before 9 am to avoid rush-hour crowding.
• You can ADD up to FOUR people to your day ticket for pennies on the dollar (see price details at link.) Don't try that with a German Rail Pass!
• The Day Ticket insures you against expensive mistakes. IF you were half asleep in Koblenz and mistakenly used a standard ticket to board a regional train going the WRONG direction (like to Limburg) then you'd each be forced to cough up a €60-fee if the ticket-checker caught you on the wrong route. Then you'd need to buy another ticket to return to Koblenz and catch the correct train. But just like the German railpass, the Day Ticket can be used ANYWHERE in Germany. So you could get off at the next train station, return on the next train back to Koblenz, then get on the right train to Cochem, for no additional charge.

The Day Ticket has actually been around for years as the "Quer durchs Land Ticket", which used to be for weekdays only as the "Happy Weekend" ticket covered Saturday and Sunday. Now that DB has axed the "Happy Weekend" ticket, the Day Ticket or QdL is offered for both weekends and workdays.

Some believe this day ticket is inherently disadvantageous because long-distance trains are not available. Well, this is of course true for some journeys, Frankfurt > Munich for example. But it really depends on the journey. For FRA airport to Cochem the travel time is almost precisely the same whether you use the long-distance train or the regional train from FRA. And for the 2nd leg (Koblenz > Cochem) there's no long-distance train anyway - you must switch to a regional train in Koblenz.

Other reasons the Day Ticket will work better for the OP than the long-distance saver fare tickets...

• You can use ANY regional train sequence to Cochem that same day; a saver fare ticket would be entirely forfeited if a late arrival prevents boarding on the pre-scheduled train.

• A flexible (non-saver) ticket useable at any time the same day on any FRA > Cochem long-distance train will cost €120 for 3 adults.

• The Day Ticket allows the user to make ADDITIONAL journeys the same day if desired for no additional charge. One could for example arrive in Cochem, drop bags, and hop on a train to Trier, Traben-Trarbach, or some other nearby destination.

Great explanation, Russ.