Frankfurt to Wurzburg train assistance

If you are using the Bahn website, you must have put in 2 people, and you got 29€. That's the Saver Fare for two people (if you change it to one person, you get 19€). Note, that's the lowest Saver Fare; if you wait a month to buy your ticket, that fare could go up.

In past years I could always get to the Fernbahnhof within an hour of arriving at FRA. Last year, we arrived in the new A/Z concourse, at the very end, and it seemed to take forever, at least an hour, to get to the Fernbahnhof. Also, in ten flights to Germany, I've been an hour late arriving on three occasions. Still, two and a half hours should be enough.

Regional connections, FRA to the Hbf by S-Bahn, RE to Würzburg, take only 50-60 min longer that the ICE. You can use a Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket (no risk if you're delayed) for 44€. Plus you can leave from the closer in Regionalbahnhof. And, if your flights on time, you don't have to wait.

The ICE Train only costs 39 € p.p. if you buy it on the day of travel. If you want to save 10 € you could also go with a Regional train, and those are 29 € on the day of travel and take an extra hour with a switch at the main station in Frankfurt. There is one every hour though.

I wouldn't bother getting tickets ahead of time, as that will just stress you out if your flight is late.

Agree with Ms. Jo. Wait until you are there to buy the tickets. Planes usually arrive on time, but not always. We've arrived as much as 2 hours late due to mechanical problems. It doesn't happen often, but the one time you get tickets ahead and have a tight connection is the time it will. Murphy's law. TC

Buying in advance will save you about $65. however you are risking 42 if the plane is late (my last two flights to Germany were).

The ICE stretch between Frankfurt and Würzburg is surprisingly slow. It would be reasonable to take the regional trains instead.

ICE, 39€ p.P. or 78€ for two. Regional train with Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket (since the 6th is a Saturday), 44€ for two. You'll spend an extra hour on the train, but you could leave earlier. You'll save 34€.

Thanks everyone! I knew we could get the weekend ticket at 44 Euro (I'm not finding the option to insert the symbol!), but I wanted to check on the saver fare option, since we can now purchase and I know they go up in price over time. Sounds like there's really at ~ 1 hour faster, there might not be much advantage to the ICE. Maybe I will just plan to get the weekend ticket when we arrive and not turn myself into a giant stress ball on the flight over!

Hi Rocky-

As Lee said, you can use the Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket for 2 for 44€ (alt+0128 = €) which you can buy on the spot at the train station in the airport and actually arrive in W'Burg before the ICE if you protect the ICE saver fare ticket by waiting several hours after landing. (Our flight was 5 hours late landing in FRA last year so we had to change our first night's reservation to accommodate the delay.) And you can get on the train when you feel like it (after getting some € from the ATMs in the airport ?) with no stress. The eating choices are also more varied (and less expensive) in the Frankfurt HBF when compared to the choices at the airport.
Have a great trip!!!

Ops. I didn't mean to imply that you should necessarily take the regional route vs the ICE, only that there was a less expensive way to take regional trains than full fare tickets. If you puchase a standard (full fare) ticket online, it will be valid for any ICE, not just the one the ticket is for. If you purchase a ticket for the 12:37 train (for 78€ for 2) and the plane is late, you can always take the 13:29 train (or any later connection). That would be the fastest way to get to Würzburg and coming off a long trans-Atlantic flight, that might be worth the extra cost to you.

I did something similar last fall flying into FRA and going to the Black Forest. I could have gone to my destination by regional trains (and a Quer-durchs-Land-Ticket) for 52€ in 4 hours, but I bought an express ticket for 100€ in 2½ hrs. Cost me more, but the earlier arrival was worth it.

I bought a ticket online for a flight I thought I could make if my flight was a little early. If that had happened, I would have already had my ticket in hand, and that would have expedited my making the earlier train. As it were, the flight was a little late, and it took me longer than anticipated to get to the Fernbahnhof, so I missed the train on my ticket, but, since it was a full fare ticket, I just used it on the next train.

Kenneth and Lee, you both make great points. I think I'm leaning toward just purchasing a full fare ticket now for the ICE, so that we have the flexibility if our flight arrives late. With the shorter days in December, I would much rather leave Frankfurt at 1330 and arrive around 1500 on the ICE and still have some daylight. Vs. the regional option, that leaves @ 1347 and arrives 1630. Especially after the long flight over. I would prefer to have an extra hour to decompress in the hotel room and walking around the Christmas market than still traveling. Thanks for you advice. One last thing.... the Frankfurt (M) Flugh is the option I want for the starting destination, correct? Ok. one more thing... you can use the full fare ticket on earlier trains as well?

"you can use the full fare ticket on earlier trains as well? "

I'm not sure about that, but I know if you book the ticket for the earliest train you think you might make, and don't make it, you can use it on a later train. (That's what I did last year.)