I am arriving frankfurt on 3/24/11. I want to go down to Ulm where my daughter is living. I will have 3 days to visit this area and then we take a night train over to Italy. Does it make any sense to rent a car for the first part of my journey? Will it give us more freedom for those few days to visit other small villages in area? It is pretty expensive to rent cars when you add the insurance.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
With good traffic, Ulm is probably a 3 hour drive from the Frankfurt airport, likely longer with typical traffic conditions. Even on the autobahn, parts of the route go through some winding mountain terrain. If you've never driven in Europe before, arriving jet-lagged from Paraguay and heading immediately to Ulm is probably not the safest option. I would consider taking the train to Ulm and maybe consider renting a car for a few days after you arrive.
Posted by
OP
Asuncion, Paraguay
3 posts
Thanks! that is actually a great suggestion. That is what i will do.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19240 posts
According to the Bahn website, there are direct ICEs from FRA to Ulm in 2h12m. The full fare on one of these trains is €64. I would not suggest one of the train specific, advance purchase discount (Sparpreis) tickets because of the uncertainty of arrival time. According to ViaMichelin, driving from FRA to Ulm will take 2h35m and that doesn't account for the time to pick up a car at the airport. Also according to ViaMichelin, just fuel for a compact car would cost €28,40. That doesn't include a day's rental plus the extra cost of renting a car at the airport. Before you get to Ulm, you should talk over with you daughter just what you might want to see. There are some things within walking distance of the Hbf, like the Münster (Gothic church) where you can climb the steeple, the highest Gothic one in the world, for a great view of the surrounding area to the Alps. Nearby is the Fischvierteil (Fisher quarter). You can see more on the Ulm tourism page. Public transportation around Ulm is provided by DING (Donau-Iller-Nahverkehrverbund GmbH, www.ding-ulm.de). It's a fairly large transportation district, encompassing many places you might want to see with bus and regional rail connections. For €13, both of you (up to 5 people, actually) can use all of the transport of the district all day, after 8:30 workdays. You might find you don't need a car, at all. If you run out of things to do in Ulm, you can always go to Munich for the day. Since Ulm is considered a border town for the Bayern-Ticket, it will only cost €29 for the two of you RT plus all of the transport in the Munich metro district (MVV).
Posted by
OP
Asuncion, Paraguay
3 posts
Thanks! You have given me some great information! I am planning trip now!