Rothenburg to Frankfurt

The trains from Frankfurt to the airport start running about 04:15, and they only take 11 min.

The only problem would be if your departure date was between 6-10 Oct. as the Frankfurt Book Fair is on then and the hotels raise their prices a LOT!

Otherwise, do come and visit us in Frankfurt!

Thanks so much for your responses! I think we will go into Frankfurt the day before the flight and check it out. Sounds like we will be there before the book fair, flight leaves Oct. 2nd.
We are so excited to see Germany, Austria, and Switzerland...but PLEASE keep the euro down until we get there! LOL

Karen: A few years ago, I did this exact itinerary for a Saturday morning flight home from FRA in June, and the trip from Rothenburg odT took about 1 hour 45 minutes. We didn’t hit any construction and there was zero traffic to deal with. Still, build in an extra 15 minutes worth of cushion, and round it up to 2 hours. Rental car return is right at the airport in an underground garage…no shuttle time to deal with. It’s doable if that's what you would like to do. Würzburg is a little closer in and has a magnificent palace.

Würzburg is my favorite town in Germany so it is easy for me to second the suggestion above.

Perhaps even better if you decide to keep the car might be Aschaffenburg. It is an attractive, moderate-sized town along the Main River with a palace and a monastery. We stayed there our first day in country a couple years ago and are returning this year. Aschaffenburg is 48 km or 30 minutes from the Frankfurt Airport.

Steve,

you forgot the miles of construction on the autobahn. ;)

60-80km/h...ick!

On the other hand, Karen, if you haven't driven in Germany and want to be able to say you drove the autobahn, early in the morning on a saturday is the perfect time. It will be pretty quiet.

Frankfurt has some lovely things to offer as far as sights to see. However, if you find it difficult to stay due to the book fair, Mainz is an alternative that has a straight shot to the airport via the train.

I'd rather stay nearer Frankfurt than get up quite so early but I know how hard it is to find a room during a book fair. A few years ago, we tried to find a hotel in Frankfurt during one and had to go quite a distance from the city to find anything. We took the first one we found, a hotel owned by a Russian family and we still laugh over the decor. The room I had had black enamel furniture with a bright red satin comforter. Red patterned paper napkins were folded into fans and placed around the room as decorations - including one on the toilet. It was the most creatively decorated room I've ever had in my travels.

If Karen has a flight at 09:55, that means she should be at the airport by about 07:30 at least for a flight to the U.S. It seems a bit much to throw in another hour or two of driving when one of Germanys most historic cities is practically right next to the airport.

Clearly, one must rely on James’ expertise with respect to all things Autobahn, including Saturday morning drive times. After all, he’s an American stationed in Germany, so his credentials are top drawer.

Okay, now I am loving the idea of getting a little closer to the airport the day before and seeing a different German city. You all are great at the feedback. Thanks!