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Most efficient way to fly from Stuttgart to SFO

Posted by (Arvada, CO) on

My husband and I will be flying home from Stuttgart to SFO on Friday, June 6 2014. He will be using United FF Miles and I will be paying for my flight. There is a 10:50 flight from STR arriving in FRA at 11:40 connecting with a 2:00pm Flight from FRA. Is it more efficient time-wise to simply take train from Stuttgart and fly directly home from FRA? (It certainly is cheaper for my ticket.) I know from bitter past experience that I will never allow less than a 2 hour connection time in FRA. By time I figure in getting to Stuttgart airport early it seems like it might make sense to take the train.

If I do decide to take the train - what is the name of the FRA train station near airport and how early would you recommend getting to the FRA airport for an international flight? And which train station would I leave from in Stuttgart?

Thanks for suggestions - I feel lost that there is nothing about Stuttgart in Rick Steves book. (we are going there because have reservations to tour Porsche factory on that Thursday, June 5th.)

Posted by
12040 posts

"what is the name of the FRA train station near airport" Frankfurt (M) Flughafen Fernbahnhof

Seems easy enough to take a train from Stuttgart. The trip only takes less than 90 minutes by rail from the Hauptbahnhof. I know where the Mercedes factory is, but I'm not certain about Porsche. Porsche is a big enough employer, though, that I would be surprised if there isn't a commuter rail station on site. From there, you can likely ride to the Hauptbahnhof.

"I feel lost that there is nothing about Stuttgart in Rick Steves book." Don't feel bad about violating the Blue Book Canon. There's an entire world out there waiting for you...

Posted by
19240 posts

I've flown out of Frankfurt a few times, usually on the 1:30 PM non-stop flight to Denver. I always try to arrive on the last train that gets me to FRA at least 2 hours before flight time. I always wait at the gate before boarding. I almost always come into the closer in Regionalbahnhof, so you might want to allow a little more time to come in from the Fernbahnhof.

I travel with only a regulation carry-on, so I don't worry about time to check luggage. If your United miles put you on a Lufthansa flight from FRA, there is a Lufthansa check-in desk right at the Fernbahnhof, and Lufthansa passengers can check their luggage there, but I'm not sure if passengers with a code share ticket from United can use it.

BTW, here is the website of the Stuttgart metro transit system, with maps and schedules for the commuter trains in Stuttgart.

Posted by
2551 posts

The Porsche Museum and factory are in Zuffenhausen on the north side of Stuttgart. There is an S--bahn station right next to the Museum. We stayed at the Achat hotel in the neighborhood (76 E for the room). There is parking - I'm not sure if it is free.

The train ride from FRA is not very long. If you want to try to save money, book the train 92 days in advance on Bahn.de. Savings of about 70%. However the ticket is for a specific train and if your plane is late (as mine was last fall), your ticket is no good and you need to buy a full price ticket.

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