Traveling from Frankfurt Airport to Berlin by train

Refundable tickets are expensive but there's no need to buy them ahead. Since most German trains don't require seat assignments, they cannot sell out. I would buy a ticket for the next train when you actually arrive at the train station portion of the airport. If you have enough other travel to warrant it, the train station can sell you a German Rail Pass, instead, such as 3 travel days for about $220 (but less if you're traveling with a partner or are under age 26).

How to Look Up Train Schedules and Routes Online gives you the DB train schedule link and tips for using it, and also sells e-tickets.

Got it. That was my hunch based off previously travel in Western Europe. Seemed like the hassle to plan in advance wasn't really worth it. To confirm, this would be for the high speed ICE to Berlin, which I assume you realized when writing back.

The only other train ticket I intend to buy is Berlin to Prague. I assume that wouldn't count in the context of a German rail pass. While we're on the subject though, do you have any advice about this leg? Even if it's to a different country, do you think it's still fine to by my ticket to Prague at the station the day I intend to depart?

Thanks

Well, don't look at Rail Europe.

Although the Rick Steves group have sold their soul to them, they are a price gouger, being middlemen, showing only a portion of available trains at an often higher price.

Since your travel is within Germany look at the national railway website DBahn.

My search there for this Friday morning (do you mean the 10th or 17th?) - you give no clue about your flight arrival time or proposed train time - shows trains with 1 change from the Fernbahnhof at the FRA airport to Berlin for €110 to €125 full price, and as low as a non refundable €85 saver price.

Is that what you mean by "very expensive"?

More information from you may result in better help from us.

I was pretty content by Laura's reply (have another question oustanding to her, though). But, to answer your question, it is the morning of the 17th. I'm not sure about proposed train time, as I'm not sure how long it will take to get to the train station at the airport. But probably a train around mid-day. I saw the prices on the DB Bahn website, definitely better than Rail Europe. I'm just trying to figure out if I can avoid the hassle of booking in advance and maybe wanting to do a refundable ticket if I do so. Rather just buy at the train station, that way I don't have to worry about making a specific train time I bought in advance, or paying extra for a refundable ticket if I need to buy in advance.

dg,

I agree with Nigel - forget Rail Europe. I'd also recommend buying a ticket when you arrive in Frankfurt. Most of the trains on the Frankfurt airport - Berlin route depart from the Fernbahnhof but a few may depart from the Regionalbahnhof so be sure to note which station you'll be using. As I recall, access to the Fernbahnhof is via an overhead walkway which crosses over the motorway, and the ticket office is one floor down from the top level.

If you want to purchase tickets in advance for the Berlin - Prague trip, you should also be able to use www.capitainetrain.com which sells tickets at the same price as the national rail operators. Registration on the site is required, but once that's done the process is easy. Many of the trains on that route are direct (no changes) with a travel time of about 4H:40M. It's a very pleasant trip. Depending on what time you depart Berlin, you may want to buy a sandwich and beverage from one of the vendors at the station for lunch. It will likely be cheaper and better quality than what you'll get on the train. You may want to specify Praha hl.n as your destination station (depending on where you're going in Prague).

Thanks for the advice. Should I be able to just buy my ticket to Prague on the spot?