Heathrow > Frankfurt - Airport/Customs Questions

Posted by Justin (USA) on 03/19/16 04:48 PM

We will be travelling from Heathrow to Frankfurt to catch a bus to Trier for the start of our tour.

Our flight arrives 11:05am. I have the option of catching either a 1:15pm or 2:15pm bus.

I think our flight lands in Terminal 1, whereas we'll have to catch the bus from Terminal 2. I also don't know if we have to go through Customs or Immigration since we're travelling from within Europe (unless the UK is different). So given customs, walking/transfer times, and possible delays, which do you think is the better bus option?

Thank you.

Posted by Lee

Lakewood, Colorado

03/19/16 08:21 PM

19274 posts

You shouldn't have to go through customs since both countries are in the EU, which is a customs free zone. However, the UK is not a member of Schengen, so you will have to go through Schengen immigration in Frankfurt. You have two hours to catch the bus. It's never taken me more than an hour to get through immigration and out to the distant Fernbahnhof in Frankfurt.

Posted by Chris F

Basel, Switzerland

03/19/16 08:23 PM

8889 posts

Justin,
The distance between terminals 1 and 2 at Frankfurt is not far, an easy walk (totally unlike Heathrow!)
Customs - No, Immigration - Yes. Both Germany and The UK are in the EU, so no customs, you go through the blue EU channel at customs. But the UK is not in the Schengen, so you will go through immigration at Frankfurt. If it applies to you (I don't know your nationality), your 90 day Schengen limit starts at Frankfurt.
I would get the later departure to be safe. But, why are you getting a bus? There is a perfectly good train service from Frankfurt airport to Trier, with multiple departures per hour. I just looked on www.bahn.de prices start at €19 if you book ahead, up to €50 for a "turn up and go" fare. You could either book ahead, leaving a safety margin in time, or just get the next train on the day and pay full fare.

Plan B: Trier is actually a lot nearer to Luxembourg. You could fly to there.

Posted by Justin OP

USA

03/20/16 08:04 PM

211 posts

Thank you for the tips!

I haven't decided whether to do train or bus yet. It is still a bit far away to book the train, but the options I've seen so far mostly leave me with either the option of either a very expensive fare; a very long wait after arriving in Frankfurt; or 5-min transfer times between stations.

Maybe as the time nears there will be more options in place.

Posted by Justin OP

USA

03/20/16 08:34 PM

211 posts

Thank you for the tips.

I have not officially decided between train or bus, as some fares aren't able to be booked for a few more weeks. The problem I've run into with the trains (at least so far) are that they are either much more expensive; depart several hours after we arrive in Germany; or have very short connection times (5-6min) at transfer points. But we'll see if any new routes are added as time gets nearer.