Towns in Frankfurt Area

Where are you headed after your friends join you?

You don't say where you are going during your trip after those first 2 days.

I would catch a train out of the Frankfurt Airport that goes to Bacharach. It's a 1 hour train ride, or about 60 miles by car.

Bacharach is one of those quaint little towns on the Rhine River that Rick Steves put on the map. I've stayed there 4 times over the years, and very much enjoyed watching the tour boats going up and down the river. As far as accommodations go, there is no place in that city that's anything but great.

I would avoid staying at the Kranenturn, which is a castle dating back to 1588. The trains wizz by in the middle of the night and they're a very loud. Kurt and Fatima's restaurant there is very good, however.

You could catch a train to do a day trip up to either Koblenz or better yet--Cologne. I never get tired of the street scene in Cologne with that incredible Kölner Dom--one of the premier cathedrals in the world.

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cologne_Cathedral

After our friends join us we are staying a few nights in Laubach, then off to Stuttgart and ending in Munich for the last weekend of Oktoberfest. Has anyone been Bundigen?

Do you mean, perhaps, Büdingen?
No, but I heard its nice.

If you mean Budingen, I took the train there from Frankfurt for a day trip several years ago. I loved it there and I think it would be good place to spend 2 nights with one full day to explore the town. It's a pretty small town but very attractive, It still has some of the old town walls and towers and lots of fachwerkt (half-timbered) buildings. I had a wonderful lunch in an Italian restaurant there and I noticed several other nice places to eat and a couple of pubs so it would be nice in the evening. If you need somewhere else nearby to fill a few hours, the town of Gelnhausen is about 15 mins by train and it's another nice town.

Büdingen is a nice town, I have walked all around there with Frankfurt on Foot. It isn't exactly on the way to Stuttgart but transportation is easy. I haven't stayed there, only the day trip.

Other possibilities, all different from each other, are Idstein, Eltville, and Mainz.

One obvious idea is a KD dayboat ride from, say, Bingen to Boppard.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/mosel-valley-cochem-or-trier-or-west-rhine-valley-mainz-for-3-4-nights

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/best-way-down-rhine-from-dusseldorf-to-frankfort-in-1-or-2-days

There are also some ideas starting in the second section of this report:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/baltic-germany-fachwerke-landesgartenschau

I am a huge fan of Cologne but I think it's too far.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/can-i-see-enough-of-cologne

Koblenz is fine, but maybe too big and busy for your OP description.

Limburg an der Lahn

Just because it's been mentioned a couple of times, personally, I'd take a big pass on Cologne ... even my German friends can't figure out the attraction to that hardly quaint city.

So, if your 2 days are unrelated to the few of nights in Laubach, and it's not clear if your friends will be meeting you in Laubach or arriving via Frankfurt, I'd throw out a stay in Rüdesheim am Rhein - nice town, beautiful hiking in the vineyards, all in all pretty pleasant beginning to your trip. And if I remember the hiking correctly, you could end up hiking past the massive Niederwald monument.

I'd take a big pass on Cologne ... even my German friends can't figure out the attraction to that hardly quaint city.

I lived there for 6 months, perfectly happily. Nothing wrong with it, and some very pleasant areas.

It doesn't work for travel to Stuttgart on this trip.

Check the city tourist board's web sites for the locations you are considering. There may be special events during that time that might interest you.

Not so small, but Bad Nauheim and Friedberg. Elvis... I remember Büdingen. In my Cold War Army days I used to fix my car there. Used to be a junior NCO school and bowling lanes there too. Frogs.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I forgot to mention that we need to be at the Frankfurt train station (Hauptbahnhof) by 9am on Saturday. Would this eliminate any of these towns? (I haven't been able to check the train schedules yet).

Well, meeting a cruise/tour departure late is different from just getting your friends angry because they had to wait for you! Have you downloaded the S-Bahn map for Frankfurt? It's just huge, although I'd want to learn about the Saturday schedule, too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhine-Main_S-Bahn

This is kind of an argument for Mainz, which is not a small town. But I don't know what's at the other stops. We slept in Kronberg because of the S-Bahn, but it was long walk from the resort to the station, and our departure-trip to the HBF was delayed because of a passed-out drunk on our train (in Kronberg)! Can you change the meet-up time?

Note that many cities (I have no information on Frankfurt) tend to have radial public transit. You may have to go into Frankfurt and back out to (as you say in your OP) "or two" towns. I hesitate to recommend a car rental (especially the time-overhead) near a big city, but as I described in the link in my previous reply, we planned to "do" up to five towns after our early arrival in FRA, using a car. I know that sounds dumb, but really, how much Polish-made-new flea market goods can you look at? (I don't mean that unkindly, I'm just talking about a multi-town day.)

I'd comment that it's entirely legitimate to return to a downtown hotel after almost two days in the Middle Rhine excursion - but who wants two room changes in two days? I'm just pointing out that the Rhine has excellent regular (non S-Bahn) service, much faster than the boat rides. Have you checked the DB ticketing site yet, just with hypothetical trips?

Not quite understanding the sequence of events. You arrive Thursday after noon at Frankfurt airport. Going to some place out of town (lets say Buedingen for now) by train. Then, Saturday morning you have to get to Frankfurt Hbf by 9 am. Then you are going with your friends to Laubach (Hessen). Are you renting a car at Frankfurt Hbf? By train you would have to take a train to Giessen, then get a bus.

To get to Frankfurt Hbf from Buedingen, you need to leave at 7:30 am to get to Frankfurt Hbf at 8:28 am.

Budingen to Frankfurt is 1hr on the train with a quick change in Gelnhausen. Trains run hourly from Budingen to Gelnhausen, every 30 min from Gelnausen to Frankfurt. Those are from the Rome2rio website and I assume the Frankfurt destination is the main train station. You can also take a taxi from Budingen to Frankfurt (about 35 min drive time). It shouldn't be hard to make your train in Frankfurt at 9:00.

https://www.rome2rio.com/map/B%C3%BCdingen/Frankfurt-am-Main.

I remember Büdingen. In my Cold War Army days I used to fix my car there. Used to be a junior NCO school and bowling lanes there too. Frogs.

video of Büdingen by Frankfurt on Foot - many frogs...

https://youtu.be/-crWM1zme04

Beating the drum, why use Rome2Rio when you can go directly to the operator of the trains?
https://www.bahn.com/en

I forgot to mention that we need to be at the Frankfurt train station (Hauptbahnhof) by 9am on Saturday.

a monkey wrench.

(I haven't been able to check the train schedules yet).

Looking up trains on the db app or the bahn webpage is so trivial that I'll let you do that. I could but it would take me time too, so I'll let you learn how. Shout if there's a problem...

agree with Sam - why not go to the horse's mouth as I also mentioned. Rome2Rio is good for an overview but always check their facts - their details have been known to be way off sometimes

Thumbs down for Büdingen from me. Based on the positive reviews here we did this as a day trip.
The “ quaint” area is a long, long walk from the train station, through business areas that are rundown. The train station has no buildings or even seating, and given the scarcity of trains that stop there on certain days, it is a most uncomfortable place to just stand around.
For relaxation, we enjoyed Mainz as a recovery point. We have also stayed in one of the Rhine towns to recover. We really like Boppard.
Depending on when you are there in September you might be able to experience the Rhine in Flames which takes place at different Rhine villages throughout the summer.

The towns just north of Frankfurt, in the foothills of the Taunus, are very pleasant places. They don't have the Disney-like features that many are looking for, but are still nice to visit. The area is fairly wealthy, Hochtaunuskreis (Bad Homburg) is the third richest area in Germany, Main-Taunus-Kreis (Bad Soden) is eighth, according to this source: die 10 reichsten Städte und Landkreise in Deutschland.

Nigel and Sam,
I always recommend looking on Rome2rio just to see what transportation options are available and approximately how long they might take. I don't actually rely on them for accurate schedules/rates but go to the source for those. It's basically just a place to start.

The “ quaint” area is a long, long walk from the train station, through business areas that are rundown. The train station has no buildings or even seating, and given the scarcity of trains that stop there on certain days, it is a most uncomfortable place to just stand around.

Wow, I'm sorry that you had such a different experience in Budingen than I did. Unless things have changed since I was there (2014), it took me about 10 mins to walk into town and I don't remember walking through any rundown areas. The trains were running hourly when I was there and I planned to be at the station shortly before the train was due when I was ready to leave. I did not have more than a couple of minutes to just stand around. It may depend on what day of the week you go too, not sure about that. But, you are right about there not being much of a station there and it would be a bummer on a rainy day to have to stand around for long.

Limburg ( Lahn) that I suggested has a 7:19 direct train, arriving 8:31

A plan for you...

Thursday afternoon

• Direct train to Mainz Hbf (25 minutes) where you have booked 2 nights in your choice of hotels and drop your bags

• Do a little sightseeing on foot and find dinner. It's a few blocks from the station area to Mainz's enjoyable pedestrian zone, (see pink streets on the map) which is home to a small "old town" with half-timbered buildings that survived WW II as well as a few museums, some fine churches, and plenty of shops and dining options. Pick whatever interests you. Augustinerstrasse is the main artery through the old town:

Augustinerstrasse

Kirschgarten, just off Augustinerstrasse

Augustiner Church on Augustinerstrasse exterior - but step inside for a look too.

Mainz's Dom (Cathedral)

The Marc Chagall windows at the Stephanskirche (church) are a big draw.

Mainz's main square, the Marktplatz

Mainz's museums

Friday

Catch a train to Bingen, where you can catch a 1.5-hr. cruise boat (leave at 9:15? 11:15?) north through the most scenic part of the river to St. Goar (tour Rheinfels Castle ?) Spend the afternoon visiting Oberwesel and Bacharach, two very quaint wine towns with old town wall fortifications, half-timbered buildings, and some enjoyable walking routes.

Rhine Cruise map

Oberwesel town wall walk

Bacharach

These towns are just a few minutes south of St. Goar. With a train ticket from St. Goar > Mainz you can hop off and back on in these towns at will.

Actually, a "Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket" day pass will cover both the first train to Bingen and your trains back to Mainz. Buy it at a ticket machine inside Mainz station.

Saturday

There are multiple direct trains from Mainz Hbf to Frankfurt Hbf (ride is 35-40 minutes) every hour beginning in the wee hours of the morning. Regional train ticket costs €8.95 from a ticket machine at the station.

Russ- That itinerary looks very inviting. Are you a travel agent? Do you do this for a living? Nicely put together! I'm still weighing all the options and running it by my wife. Has anybody been to Alsfeld? May stop there after our time in Laubach. Thanks again!

Dan - thank you for posting your question so that Russ had the opportunity to provide a wonderful suggestion! I think we’re going to modify our short trip a bit to stay in Mainz and use that as our base. Love the short cruise idea.