Public transportation in Frankfurt

I responded previously on a different thread:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/d-ticket-9253d6f4-503e-4bf4-a252-1a07efe18319

If you have specific questions about my comments, feel free to ask them.

(To avoid duplication, other posters interested in responding may first want to review my comments on the above thread.)

Yes, please. I need to know how to travel cheaply when we don’t get the D-tickets. The other thread has many answers (which I really appreciate) about D-tickets and I need to ask you specifically without being buried among others.
During oct 28-31, we will be in Frankfurt, the nearest station is Hauptwache.
We might plan to go to Bad Vilbel, Heppenheim, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Koblenz

My post on the other thread refers to RMV Tickets, the Hessenticket, and the QdL Ticket. These have nothing to do with the D-Ticket.

The way to find the journey information - AND the cost of the tickets for trips that you want - is to use the DB itinerary search page at the DB website; these are the general instructions, which I've copied and pasted below from the other thread:

Use the DB website to enter your start and end cities. Also, select "local transport only" under "mode of transport." Then after hitting "continue " button on the far right and you will see one-way tickets (Normalpreis or Einzelfahrt Erw.) as well as the RMV passes (Tageskarte for one, Gruppentageskarte for 2-5 persons) OR the QdL day pass (Quer durchs Land) OR the Hessenticket day pass; these last three are good for the round-trip.

Here is the precise DB web page you need for beginning your searches: https://int.bahn.de/en/

There is a learning curve you will need to go through before you will feel confident with searching.

I would search your first journey for you right now - Frankfurt Hbf, the main Frankfurt station, to Bad Vilbel - and share the results with you as an example... but I am pressed for time at the moment. I suspect it will be a very short trip. I suggest you try it yourself using the instructions provided. Then report back later with any questions you have. Either I or someone else will get back to you at some point.

For a lot of your short trips, use www.rmv.de to find your tickets and trains from the Hauptwache. You can get to Bad Vilbel from here. Heppenheim, you will need to go to the main station, the Hauptbahnhof.
As a suggestion, consider going to Büdingen rather than far away Rothenburg. Büdingen is only an hour away, and honestly, better in my opinion. Huge, stone walls and towers, and all original, as it was not bombed in the war, like Rothenburg was.
Other nearby towns that you might enjoy are Limburg, Marburg, Idstein or Seligenstadt. All can be reached with local tickets from RMV and are all within 1 hour away from Frankfurt.
https://www.buedingen.info/entdecken-erleben/Historisches-B%C3%BCdingen/

Ms Jo, the RMV site is currently blocked for IP addresses outside of Europe, thus the stress.

You will need a Qdl ticket to go to Rothenburg and back in a day. Go on Saturday to get an early start, as it is a 3 1/3 hour trip. The 2 person Qdl is 63 EUR.

Bad Vilbel is an 18.80 EUR RMV Gruppentageskarte, Heppenheim is a 43.90 EUR Gruppentageskarte, and Koblenz is also a 63 EUR Qdl ticket.

Bottom line, just get the D-Ticket for 2 months and move on.

Sam has generously researched your journeys on the DB website to get the trip length and costs for two persons traveling together.

Please note the following.

Rothenburg: Frankfurt is a poor base town for a visit to Rothenburg. The round-trip travel time will be 7 hours - whether you use the D-Ticket or the QdL Ticket, which are valid for the round-trip. Either way, these passes require you to use only the regional trains, which will require two changes of train in each direction. If you go, the D-Ticket would be a better choice because the D-Ticket is valid at any hour on any day. The QdL Ticket is not valid before 9 am on weekdays and since your stay is Wed - Sat, Sat would be the logical day. Büdingen, as Jo suggests, is a better choice from Frankfurt. It takes about one hour and one change of train each way to get there and back. Search for schedules at the DB site and spell it "Buedingen". The ticket you need for Buedingen is either the D-Ticket or the RMV Gruppentageskarte 5 Pers. for 38 Euros, valid at any hour of the day.

Additional details about your other journeys...

Bad Vilbel: This trip takes just 12 minutes each way with 0 changes of train.
Heppenheim: 40-50 minutes each way with 0 changes of train
Koblenz: 1.75 hours each way and 0 changes of train if you use the Regional Express trains.

TICKETS: The D-Ticket is by subscription. Do not try to buy any of the OTHER tickets (QdL or RMV Gruppentageskarte) in advance. Buy them as you go on the day of travel. Some cannot be bought in advance anyway. Others can be, but then you will have a non-refundable ticket which locks you into travel on a specific day. There is no benefit at all to prepurchase.

What are your intentions for going to Koblenz? If you are wanting to do a Rhine Cruise, Koblenz is not the right place to begin.

Thank you so much for all the recommendations! You guys made us convinced that D-tickets are the best way to travel even though we have to buy them for 2 months (Oct 28-Nov 10) to cover the length of our trip.
We don’t have any river cruise plans, is it highly recommended?

We don’t have any river cruise plans, is it highly recommended?

The cruise north to St. Goar from Bingen - or from Ruedesheim across the river - is one of the main reasons for visiting the Rhine Valley. Wine and castles are big reasons too. The cliffsides here are dotted with castles and castle ruins all along The cruise route and beyond. The old-world towns along the river (like Bacharach, Oberwesel, Braubach and others) have lots of attractive old-world buildings much like those found in Rothenburg. Here's a link to Braubach with some representative photos:

https://delveintoeurope.com/braubach-germany/

Braubach lies just a few miles south of Koblenz on the east bank of the Rhine. Marksburg Castle sits on the cliffs above town and offers the best castle tour on the Rhine.

Map of the Rhine towns: http://www.loreley-info.com/eng/rhein-rhine/city-cities.php
Map showing Rhine castles: http://www.loreley-info.com/eng/rhein-rhine/castles.php
Map showing Rhine railways and boat docks: http://www.loreley-info.com/eng/rhein-rhine/walking-hiking.php

It is possible to combine a 2-hour cruise with a Marksburg castle tour and a walk around Braubach if you have a full day to spend in this area.

Koblenz is a mostly modern city with a population of 110,000 plus. If you have only one day, I'd recommend the cruise/castle option instead.

Scroll down to P. 3 at the link below to find the K-D cruise schedules for cruising from Ruedesheim or Bingen to St. Goar:

https://www.k-d.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/KD_Fahrplan_intern_2026_web.pdf