We're looking at getting a train to Berlin after we land at Frankfurt. We land at 7:40am (a direct flight) and the train we're looking at taking leaves the HBF at 11:13am. That should be plenty of time for us to get through everything and to the HBF right? We've never done this before so I would just like some other opinions please.
Thank you!
That sounds like plenty of time, barring a significant flight delay. DB schedules suggest that you must leave the airport by S-Bahn Line 9 no later than 10:45 to make that connection. If you are thinking of buying a nonrefundable, advance-discount train ticket, it would not be useable in the event of missing the train.
Thanks! I thought we would be ok but it never hurts to haveanother opinion.
One option would be to book a flight directly to Berlin.
Another option would be to to fly from Frankfurt to Berlin airports on Air Berlin.
With the advent of budget European airlines, I prefer to avoid trains whenever I can fly the same route cheaply and faster.
Georgia,
Are you referring to the main Hbf in Frankfurt or the stations at the airport?
As you may know, there are two rail stations at Frankfurt airport, a Regionalbahnhof and a Fernbahnhof. Trains leave from the airport to Berlin from both stations, with a travel time of about 4.5 hours. There are a few direct trains and others with one or two changes. Which station you'll use will depend on which train you can connect with (you may be able to get the 08:51 departure from the Regionalbahnhof, one change at Frankfurt main and then direct to Berlin). All the details are on the bahn.de website.
Although you'll be at the airport anyway, I doubt that a flight to Berlin will save much (if any) time. You'll still have to contend with check-in, security, waiting times, probably re-checking your luggage and then transport from the airport in Berlin. Using the train would (IMO) be a more relaxing and less stressful option.
I'd suggest just buying your tickets when you arrive. There are ticket offices at the airport rail stations and also Kiosks, so it's not hard to get tickets.
Did you try to search on the bahn.de website for a connection leaving from the airport itself? I found many connections including this one leaving at 11:02 am, reaching Berlin at 5:42 pm - this takes a slow RE (Regional Express) train but is available for 29 Euros for the random date I put in (I think it was 3/31).
A few weeks back, we did almost same route, though we went from Paris to Berlin via Frankfurt Hbf. Would love to hear about your Berlin plans :-) Hope you have a fun trip.
Porcupyn
Truly it isn't hard to buy tickets on the spot, but it IS expensive. The full price is €123. Buying in advance, the price can be as low as €29. That's almost €200 for a pair of tickets. Even at €79 or €89, there's still considerable savings.
The problem is if you are delayed, you lose the money and have to buy full price tickets. It's a gamble, only you can decide if it's worth taking.
