Frankfurt Airport to Trier by rail

The station is at the airport. In fact there are two stations, the "Regionalbahnhof" (local) and "Fernbahnhof" (long distance), but they are both part of the terminal complex and reachable undercover. They are both well signposted.

Go to the DB (German Railways) site: https://www.bahn.com/en/view/index.shtml
Enter from: Frankfurt(M)Flughafen (official name of both stations), to: Trier Hbf and your date and time, then click on "Search".

It will show you a list of train times, which station they depart from and the price. All options take about 3-4 hours and require at least one change of trains. If you click on "Show details" it will display where and when you need to change trains, train ID's and platform numbers.
I advise you NOT to buy tickets until you get there, as you cannot predict when your flight will land and when you will emerge from immigration. You can buy tickets from the manned ticket counter, and the person there will direct you to your train if you ask. Do not be afraid to ask random strangers for directions.

I can answer part of your question because I, too, took this tour...but I flew in to Paris so took the train from there.

As far as getting from the train station to the hotel, take a taxi. There is a taxi stand right outside the train station so just walk up to the 1st taxi in line. I also suggest you print out a googlemaps page of the location as when I traveled in 2016 the hotel was not known to many of the taxi drivers. It is actually an Assisted Living Facility that has a hotel wing. I handed the googlemaps page to the taxi driver which helped him find it altho he did ask another driver about it. You could walk but it's a bit of a distance thru some winding streets and after an overnight flight I'd go with the taxi. Shouldn't be more than 15€ or so - I can't actually remember what I paid. I ~think~ it might have been 9€?? But that was a long time ago!!

This is such a fun tour! If you are interested here is a link to my Trip Report.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tours/trip-report-8-27-16-gas-tour

I even found a terminal plan with both stations shown: https://www.frankfurt-airport.com/content/dam/airport/IK_Artikel/Reisen/terminalwechsel/terminal-plan-stand-2017.pdf/_jcr_content/renditions/original.media_file.download_attachment.file/terminal-plan-stand-2017.pdf
The Regionalbahnhof is at level 0 underneath terminal 1. The Fernbahnhof is linked to the Terminal via a walkway at level 3. It is alll signposted.

I don't have a ton of experience with Frankfurt, but the train station is right there at the airport. Follow the well-marked signs. Ask for directions, if needed. It should not be difficult. I think most trains will connect through Koblenz, which has direct routes from the airport.

If you need to leave from Frankfurt Central Station, it's a quick 15-minute ride on the S-Bahn. But, you likely would connect to Trier via Koblenz from Frankfurt Central.

I've never been to Trier, but the distance of your hotel from the Trier station will dictate your transport options. The main station appears to be centrally-located. Within 10-15 minute walk from most of the central sites (Porta Nigra, St. Peter's Cathedral, Liebfrauenkirche, Hauptmarkt, Palasgarten) and 20-minute walk (1 mile) from the Roman Amphitheater. Just a bit further (1.3 miles) to the Roman Bridge. Likely a nice walk or bus-ride. I would think easy and inexpensive taxi options, if needed. But, I'll defer to those who have actually been to Trier for public transport options.

ddougherty, dont worry you'll do fine. At the train station in the airport, there are English-speaking agents that can help you with tickets and direct you to the right train tracks. Easy. You'll have to negotiate at least two changes of trains, but the stations are not that big. You just have to be aware of any track changes and dont be afraid to ask other people if you're in the right place.

In Trier, assuming you're staying at the Residenz, it is walkable from train station, but not a straight shot. If you're tired or not good with street maps, take the taxi. If you're not tired, its a pleasant walk through the main shopping areas of town.

I want to thank everyone for giving me such great information and so quickly too! It's exciting to see how much people enjoy these trips and helps to relieve some of the stress involved with traveling. I will definitely print all the responses for future reference. I love the Travel Forum since we are not "worldly" travelers and read some really good advice on what to pack. I only want to take a carry on and backpack which has my husband concerned, but from everything I've read, this is the way to travel.

Thanks again for the advice and suggestions!

Also, the RS tour office will send you final information about 30 days before your tour starts. This will include a tour roster, complete list of hotels and directions on how to get to the first hotel.

Have fun. It’s a great tour..

We just went to Trier last week from Frankfurt, but instead of the train, we went by Flixbus. Cheaper, direct, and I think it was faster. They stop at the airport, over in the bus parking lot where all of the buses have to go now. You can buy your ticket when you arrive, but check the bus times. Not sure how many buses per day go to Trier, but I think it is 4?
https://global.flixbus.com/

Even if just considering the connections with only one change, there is a much greater choice of rail connections than bus services (on weekdays: 5:21, 5:57, 6:57, 7:20, 7:58, 8:37, 9:23, 9:58, ...). You can save (a bit of) money using a Rail&Fly ticket if offered by your airline, or possibly with a combination of a Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket (ticket valid on all local trains in the state of Rheinland-Pfalz) and another ticket for the short stretch from the airport to Rheinland-Pfalz. There is also the direct IC bus, also sold on the bahn.com website (but only a few departures per day).