Planning to travel from Frankfurt Airport to Rothenburg ob der Tauber by train?

Have it your way. Train travel has it’s place no doubt about it. Just not here. Frankfurt airport to Rothenburg is 94 miles. Rent a car. There are about 4 gas stops along the way and a few rest stops. There are many people who are capable of driving 94 miles an to assume there isn’t because of a overseas flight is shortsighted. People know their capabilities. I know you and many others support train travel and so do I when it is necessary. Never once as I can remember do people write the troubles of train travel. There are many and in the last few years their growing worse. I am not here to fight believe what you want but you are doing a unjustice about not giving the options and driving is a huge option.

You are welcome to provide the driving details here, whatever those are, T for T, if you wish.

There are many people who are capable of driving 94 miles an to assume
there isn’t because of a overseas flight is shortsighted

The train details and strategy I provided are there for anyone who chooses to use the train for this route, for whatever reason. I believe this is a serious topic worth every traveler's careful consideration. I'll respond in that spirit.

"Capable of driving 94 miles..." covers a lot of human territory. I would add the word "safely."

I am sure you are correct that "some" or perhaps "many" people who fly across 6-8 time zones will arrive well-slept, alert, and completely ready to get behind the wheel of an unfamiliar car and in a brand new country, a place with different driving rules and driving culture, with signage in a language they may not understand, and on roads they've never driven before.

But even those who CAN drive alertly and safely for two straight hours to Rothenburg, under all the above circumstances, and after passing through 6-8 time zones overnight... those people might PREFER not to drive anyway, and instead leave that part of their transportation to the professionals. Maybe they're fine for driving but just very impressed by the savings. €49/mo. vs. however much for a rental car, fuel, parking fees, tickets, etc. Or maybe they just want to try something different from they way they get around back home.

Since some/many will be fit, as you say, this of course means some who will not... maybe people who aren't great drivers back home, people from Japan or Australia with no practice driving on the right, or people who never sleep well on planes, or people who are susceptible to jet-lag, or people who think they aren't susceptible to jet lag and then experience it upon arrival. Jet-lag is real. The Mayo Clinic page on jet-lag says the condition "can affect anyone who quickly travels across several time zones" and notes these typical symptoms:

• Daytime fatigue.
• Not being able to focus or function at your usual level.
• A general feeling of not being well.
• Mood changes.

None of this predicts safe driving, IMO.

Also from the Mayo pages: "Symptoms are likely to be worse or last longer the farther you travel. This is especially true if you fly east." Like to FRANKFURT from the USA.

I'm sure there are people who THOUGHT they'd be fine driving in Europe... so back in California they reserved a car at the airport, arrived on a connecting flight that was delayed 3 hours, and are truly exhausted once they get through FRA security, way too beat-up to drive... Would you deny them a short train ride too? 12 little train minutes to Frankfurt? 45 to Hanau-Steinheim? They were short-sighted about the 8 time zones, about airline delays, and about how they might actually feel at the FRA rental office. But if there's just no place for trains, as you say, on the FRA > Rothenburg run (108 miles, btw) then I guess these "others" should just drive anyway - or stay home, maybe? That approach seems short-sighted to me.

Frankfurt airport to Rothenburg is 94 miles

Not too far off, but Google Maps gives the distance as 112 miles (it's 86 crow miles from FRA to Roth odT), 1 hour 47 minutes driving time. According to Jo, it will take an hour just to get out of security plus an extra 10-15 minutes to get to the rental car pickup, not to mention the time to fill out your rental paper work. I'd estimate that it will take 3½-4 hours from landing to get to Rothenburg.

And I would conjecture that after taking the time to rent a car and then driving to Rothenburg, you aren't going to feel up to anything strenuous the rest of the day. Do you want to do the Night Watchman tour? Best stay in Rothenburg for two nights (while you pay for your rental car to sit unused). I've been to Rothenburg three times and I would never try to do it as just a one night stand. And I don't see anywhere to return a rental car in Rothenburg.

I think I would prefer to stop in Aschaffenburg for the night. I looked at overnight accommodations in Hanau-Steinheim, and I didn't find anything to liked, but Aschaffenburg seems to have a better selection. Plus you only have to purchase one ticket, a Bayern-Ticket the next day, because you're already in Bavaria. And, there is one less connection to make.

Aschaffenburg is probably a good option too. I wasn't eager to suggest it since I've not been there in such a long time. As for Hanau-Steinheim, Hanau itself, just 2 minutes away, might provide additional lodging alternatives.

In addition to stopping in Aschaffenburg and continuing, one could also stop and spend a day in Wurzburg before continuing. Or perhaps stop in both.

Würzburg certainly qualifies as an interesting stopover town with lots of hotel and restaurant choices, and the trip to Rothenburg forces you off the train anyway, no matter what kind of train you use from FRA airport.

By long-distance (high-speed) ICE train from FRA's Fernbahnhof station, you'll reach Würzburg in anywhere from 70 - 90 minutes (if DB does its job properly.) A preliminary S-Bahn ride to Frankfurt Hbf is included in the travel time and on the ticket, so there's one change of train. The cheapest saver fares probably won't be available for you at the airport station, however, so at the airport expect to pay just under €50 each for that travel segment alone. (Purchasing the saver fare in advance is possible but risky since you may end up forfeiting the ticket if there's a flight delay.) A Bayern Ticket day pass will get you to Rothenburg the next day.

By regional train only from FRA's Regionalbahnhof to Würzburg, it's 2 hours and 20 minutes, again with one change in Frankfurt. My take is that if you're OK with spending that much time on the train, you might be OK with just traveling all the way to Rothenburg by regional train... probably not a good option for most people.

So if you're OK with the more expensive tickets for the ICE train trip, the change of train at Frankfurt Hbf, and the relatively longer trip to Würzburg (70-90 mins. v. 45 mins. to Hanau-Steinheim... or v. 60 minutes to Aschaffenburg) then W'burg might be just the ticket.