German ground transportation

Sharon, there is a train station in the airport and it is easy to find. If memory serves correctly, we purchased all our tickets there in one fell swoop, took the dedicated train to the main station, and went from there without having to worry about getting tickets later. Not sure, but I suspect the shuttle will be quite expensive. TC

Sharon, almost forgot. Many (but not all) 1st class cars need reservations. If your plane is late you are out of luck. For the short trips you will be doing it probably will not be worth it. Check the train site for specials for weekends, families, and within certain land areas. They had some a couple of years ago, but not sure about now. Hope this helps. TC

Thanks TC. Looks like it is only 35 euro pp for the shuttle, which I figured by the time we take the train to Heidelberg then we take a taxi from the train station to our hotel, we might be at that amount. Good to know about first class and the seat reservations. Maybe we'll just do that for our longer trip to Nuremberg. Thanks!

You can get from the Fernbahnhof in FRA to Mannheim Hbf by ICE and from there by S-Bahn to Heidelberg in an hour for €25/pp. I don't think the bus comes into the airport terminal building, so you are still going to have to maneuver through the airport to where the bus loads. The train makes at least one trip/hr. For my first trip to Europe, my company made all the rail arrangements and booked me on 1st class. My next trip was on my dime, and I went 2nd class. I didn't feel the difference was worth it so on my third trip, again paid for by the company, I used 2nd class. Unless you are very obese, the 2nd class seats are plenty big enough and comfortable, and you get there at the same time. "Many (but not all) 1st class cars need reservations." On a busy day, it might be desirable to have a reservation for the train, but it is usually not important, and whether it's first or second class, reservations are NOT required, except on ICE Sprinters, which don't go from FRA to Heidelberg. On a weekend day, you could use a Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket (€40 for both of you) on regional trains, but it would take an extra hour.

if you are still considering the alternatives. The trains are amazingly easy to find at Frankfurt airport. I managed it without the help of the internet after a long flight from Los Angeles. Just no problem at all

I've taken the Lufthansa airport shuttle bus from Frankfurt airport to Mannheim before and it's worked just fine. http://www.lufthansa.com/online/portal/lh/de/info_and_services/from_to_airport?nodeid=3302029&l=en&cid=18002

I haven't personally gone from the Frankfurt airport to the Frankfurt airport train station, but I've heard it's very easy and this has been the case at other German airports in my experience. They make public transit exceedlingly easy here. However if the shuttle is only 35 euro, that's not a bad price. At first I thought you meant a private airport taxi/shuttle and was like, "Oh my god, most expensive ride ever!" If you do take the train, don't worry about 1st class for that short of a trip. I do enjoy 1st class for very long train rides (4 hours or more) if I can afford it but second class will be fine, your trip is less than an hour.