Buying train tickets from FRA to Rothenburg ob der Tauber

"Should I purchase the ticket ahead of time to get the discount (19 euros instead of 49)?" I wouldn't. In September, I'm flying into FRA and going directly to a spa town in the Black Forest, and I will pay full fare. I could buy advance fare tickets and allow enough time for the flight to be late (How much time? I've arrived in Frankfurt an hour late on two occasions), or I could use regional trains, but I will be jet lagged and getting to my destination quickly is important to me. However, a lot of the time to Rothenburg (Würzburg to Steinach and Steinach to Rothenburg) is only by regional train, so you don't give up a lot by not using express trains to Würzburg. If you take the S-bahn into Frankfurt Hbf, you can take an RE (one leaves every hour) to Würzburg and catch the same regional trains to Rothenburg. From Frankfurt Hbf, the RE goes through Kahl, the first train station in Bavaria. A local, RMV, ticket from the airport to Kahl, using the S-Bahn and the RE, will cost you 7,60€/P. If you also buy a Bayern-Ticket in the automat at the airport Regionalbahnhof for 26€ (for two people), you can start using it in Kahl (you don't even have to get off there). This way takes an hour longer than by express train, but there is no train specificity, you can leave as soon as you get there and buy the tickets.

Christi, I agree with Lee that it would be "safer" to buy your tickets when you arrive there even though the cost will be higher, in order to allow for "delayed flights" or other problems. I also agree that it would be better to use a faster train, as slogging along on slower regional trains with multiple changes when jet lagged is NO FUN! There's a Reisezentrum (ticket office) on the way down to the platforms at the Fernbahnhof, so you can buy tickets either from a Kiosk or a ticket desk. You might want to take a printout of the Bahn schedule on that day so that you'll have the details at hand of the trains departing at about the time you'll need. You can get some idea of the location of the station by having a look at www.frankfurt-airport.com/content/frankfurt_airport/en/directions/airport_maps1/terminal_1_2.html (not too detailed, but provides an idea). As you've no doubt seen on the bahn.de website, there are numerous trains from Frankfurt Airport to Rothenburg ODT each day, most of which seem to depart from the Fernbahnhof. THIS is what it looks like. I've taken that exact same trip, and I found the quickest route was via Würzburg and Steinach (about 3 hours). A change in Steinach is unavoidable, as Rothenburg is on a "spur line" as I recall. The Station in Rothenburg is very small, and there probably won't be much activity there. You can either walk to your hotel, although when jet lagged, I used a Taxi. Happy travels!

For the location of the Fernbahnhof, just follow the signs. It's easier to follow the signs than it is to explain how to find it.

Maybe a bit of directions will help Christi find the signs. The Fernbahnhof is on the far side of the building across the access road in front of Terminal 1. You get to it via a pedestrian bridge over that access road, and you get to the bridge from the 2nd floor mezzanine inside the arrivals hall of Terminal 1. There are escalators from the floor of the hall to the mezzanine, on the left side of the hall looking out, near the outside wall. That's where you will find the signs. If you are coming into FRA on Lufthansa or a Star Alliance airline, you will come into one of the concourses (A,B,C) attached to Terminal 1. Most other US airlines use Terminal 2, in which case you'll have to take the Skyline, which goes from the top floor of Terminal 2 to the top floor of Terminal 1. Although I said that I wouldn't buy a non-refundable, train specific ticket because of the chance that the flight would be late and I would prefer to spend a little extra for full fare on the express train, I do think using regional trains and tickets is preferable to the Saving Fare ticket is she really wants to save the money. Savings Fare tickets start at 19€, but you might not even get that low a fare. If she is alone, it 7,60€ for the local ticket to Kahl, 22€ more for the Bayern-Tikcet, less than 30€ to Rothenburg. There is an S-Bahn to Frankfurt Hbf every 15 min and an RE from the Hbf to Würzburg every hour. Depending on when her flight arrives, it might take less than an hour more by regional train and she saves almost 20€. It would probably be faster to take a regional train than to wait around for a train that she booked using a Saving Fare with sufficient time to make sure she could catch that train.

You might also consider buying your tickets for leaving R'burg when you buy your tickets to go to R'bury. Many times the station at R'burg is not manned, and getting tickets from a machine might be a problem. TC

The ticket counter in Rothenburg is manned M-F 9:00 to 12:30, 13:30 to 18:00, Sat from 9:00 to 12:00, closed Sun. The ticket automat is probably one of the new, 2nd generation touch-screen Bahn automats. It can be made to display in English. I've never had problems using the new automats. Here is some information that might be helpful.

Thank you for all this information and advice. Lee, I so appreciate the specific directions to locate the train station at the airport. And Ken, thank you for sending the link to the pictures of the train and the station in Rothenburg. I'm looking forward to the trip, and because of your help, I may actually arrive at my destination. Thank you!

You see the signs for the rail stations as soon as you leave the secure area, then you have to walk up and down stairs several times and make several turns. That's why I recommend just following the signs that have a picture of a train on it. If you try to follow specific directions, it can get confusing very quickly... "Wait, was I supposed to go up the first set of stairs or down the third set?"

Lee, if I understand you correctly, I can buy a Bayern-Ticket to use a regional train from the airport to the main station, then to Wurzburg, Steinach, and finally Rothenburg. For 2 of us, it would cost much less than an ICE ticket to Wurzburg, then REs to Steinach and Rothenburg. Is that right?
Thank you!

The airport and Frankfurt Hbf are not in Bavaria, they are in Hessen (another German state). You cannot use the Bayern-Ticket in Hessen. However, Kahl and the rest of the route to Rothenburg are in Bavaria, so you can use the Bayern-Ticket from Kahl to Würzburg to Steinach to Rothenburg. You will need a local, RMV ticket from the airport to Kahl via the Hbf. That will cost you 7,60/P. So, you buy the two tickets (local and Bayern) at the Regionalbahnhof at the airport. Take the S-Bahn to the Hbf. At the Hbf you board one of the hourly REs to Würzburg. The train to Würzburg goes through Kahl. You use the local ticket up to Kahl, then start using the Bayern-Ticket the rest of the way. If you want to use the faster ICE, you buy the ticket in the Fernbahnhof for the entire trip to Rothenburg, with the ICE to Würzburg specified.

Okay, now I understand. Thank you for your patience.