Is it worth travelling back to Frankfurt frm Vienna at the end of our RS's tour to save on airfare?

I would not do that without adding an extra night hotel in Frankfurt, but if the price you are seeing now for the Frankfurt round trip - meaning you have been monitoring on Google Flights for more than 5 minutes - is really good, then go for it.

But if you are flying home on June 16 because you need to return to work on June 17, be careful with complicated itineraries...

Did you consider / cost check Munich or Prague as fly-out option?

I would avoid a longer long-distance train ride in Germany to reach a flight directly. Punctuality level is too long on not satisfying level (see details in this thread).

No way you'd want to take a chance on a train back to Frankfurt and flying home on the same day. So instead of an additional relaxing day in Vienna after your tour, you'd spend that day on a long train ride and checking into a Frankfurt hotel, then getting transportation to the airport the next day.

I think you should consider the added airfare part of the tour cost, and just stay in Vienna. Give yourself a pleasant memory to end the tour instead of the hassles of a travel day in an unfamiliar area.

Everyone's prompt, thoughtful and detailed replies are greatly valued. Thank you, all!

It appears as though the train ride would take 4-6 hours and cost maybe $100 to $200 or so.

I am looking 6/15 options on DB and your journey facts seem incorrect.

There is no journey back to FRA of less than 7.5 hours.

Don't pay and extra $1000. Two one way air tickets from Vienna to Frankfurt will cost less than $400. And don't waste a day on the train either.

Myself, depending on the time you have, and the cost of flying back via Munich, would be to take a couple more days and go there via Salzburg. But that's an added expense.

I agree with Russ

There are direct ICE services at 6:13, 10:13 and 14:13 which are the fastest - but not much faster on the schedule than some with connections, although with DB ICE services having so many delays I'd want to get into a seat and stay there, not stand about on a platform waiting - and they take 7 hours and 43 minutes, stopping along the way at Wien Meidling, St.Pölten Hbf, Linz Hbf,
Wels Hbf, Passau Hbf, Plattling, Regensburg Hbf, Ingolstadt Hbf, Nürnberg Hbf, Würzburg Hbf, Hanau Hbf and finally arriving at the Frankfurt Airport station.

I didn’t check your flights, but if I were to do it, I would do it on Google Flights then confirm everything with the actual airline site.

If I were faced with this and if I had the extra $1000, I would try and convert it to more experience. Just spending it on a fight would be unfortunate. But sometimes it’s a reality.

Some other locations to fly out of were mentioned.

• Frankfurt: 6.3 hours. Not a bad airport to navigate on the way out. Crowded as heck, but well organized and functions well.
• Prague: It’s a 4 hour train trip. Not one of my better airport memories but its been a while.
• Munich: 3.8 hours by train. In my mind a miserable airport.
• Budapest: 2.6 hours by train and a truly excellent airport to navigate and fly out of.

All of the above will require about .6 hours more to reach the airport from the central train station. Frankfurt, possibly longer.

But no, I would not try to do it in one day. First the trains are not that reliable and second this is where you use that $1000 to create a better experience. Even if a one-night experience. Its like, “lets take a look, and see if we want to come back next year.”

You said Frankfurt train tickets were $100 to $200; I assume for two tickets. The only other option I can discuss off the cuff because I know enough to do it without research is Budapest. Maybe others will do the same with the other cities.

The train will cost you about €50 for the two seats and take about 2:40. Leave early. Get a room at one of the hotels on the river. Its all you will have time for and it’s a beautiful environment. Think Paris. That can be as little as €150 or the sky is the limit.

So check the airfare and if it’s the same as Vienna then €200 gets you are great experience and I suspect the €200 is less than one night at your Vienna hotel. Or maybe the flight is cheaper and you save money.

Now do the same for the other cities mentioned.

Here are the hotels that come to mind:
Five Star Hotels: 200€ to 600€
Four Seasons Hotel Greshem, Palace (4.8), (An icon of European luxury hotels with Danube River Views), https://www.fourseasons.com/budapest/
InterContinental Budapest (4.6), (Danube River View Hotel), https://www.kozmohotelbudapest.com
Dorothea Hotel (4.5), https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/budkc-dorothea-hotel-budapest-autograph-collection/overview
Four Star Hotels: 150€ to 250€
Budapest Marriott (4.6), (Danube River View Hotel), https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/budhu-budapest-marriott-hotel/overview
Three Star Hotels, 130€ to 175€
D8 Hotel (4.6), https://d8hotel.hu/

Your time is worth something too. Just looking at the $ cost is not valuing the whole day of your vacation spent in getting back to Frankfurt.

Is it possible to tack on a couple of more days to your travel and break up the travel to Frankfurt?

Airfares change constantly, and I don't know your exact preferred dates, but a couple
of points to make:

1) you may be a bit early to try and get the best chance at lower fares.

2) the outbound flight/fare can have an impact on the return flight/fare.

A quick check on matrix.itasoftware.com (the engine that powers Google Flights) shows:

5/28 - 6/16 RT JAX-FRA is around $1500 RT for a 1-stop itinerary on Delta or Star Alliance
5-28 - 6/16 JAX-FRA & VIE-JAX is around $1400 for the same sort of itinerary

So the Vienna way is potentially cheaper, and definitely not $800-$1000 less for those
specific dates.

You could also try playing with departing a day or two sooner and returning a day or
two later.

It is unusual for there to be that much difference in a RT vs. other airport return.
Check Kayak.com for flights in addition to Google.

Book the round-trip to Frankfurt and take the train back from Vienna. The $800+ savings is substantial. A direct Railjet train from Vienna to Frankfurt takes about 6.5 hours. You can book fixed-price, non-flexible tickets well in advance for under €50 per person.

Going to chime in here. Frankfurt is well worth a stop, whether 1 or 2 days. There is so much to see in this historic city. It is not just skyscrapers and banks.

What are your specific interests? This lets us offer you recommendations on the places you plan to visit. There must be something that is drawing you to stop there? Specific history, scenery, your hobbies or job, architecture, art, museums?

For a few days of sightseeing, absolutely yes. But just to catch a flight, maybe not. I suspect with some effort you can close that $800 gap and use what otherwise would have ben travel time for something fun.

In your post, you said that you were planning this trip. That to me means that you really don’t have anything set in stone yet. I would go along with the suggestion of maybe leaving out of Munich and then you can go to Salzburg and spend a couple of nights there and one night in Munich before you fly out of Munich. That will add to your experience in Europe.