Off to Germany: pre-planning stages

[eissman]

bump....

how are everyones plans going? ive got some friends that are going to meet us in england, but they are going to take the train from frankfurt, as we are flying... anyone know how much of a hassle it is to get from the train station and then the airport.. or are they together?

Not sure if your question is in regards to Frankfurt or England? Frankfurt has its main train station in the heart of the city, but it also has a train station right at the airport.

[The Magpie]

Just party all night, get some breakfast, and take the early train back.

That's my plan ;-)

[JacksonJazz#9]

Not sure if your question is in regards to Frankfurt or England? Frankfurt has its main train station in the heart of the city, but it also has a train station right at the airport.

they are going to take the train FROM frankfurt and we are flying from frankfurt, meeting up in England (hopefully Reading). was hoping that we could all get to our step off point in the same van... would work perfectly if the train station at the airport is the same one that will go internationally and take the chunnell over....

[AGF Aarhus]

This depends on so many different things. Let's start here:

Which airline are they flying? If it is a low-cost airline they will be flying from Hahn, which is in the middle of nowhere. That means also not near a train station, or anything else for that matter.

If they are flying on a traditional airline, they will be leaving from the main airport, which has a train station. There will be no train from this station that goes through the chunnel. But then again, there is no train anywhere in Germany that goes through the chunnel. So that's kind of a wash.

[JacksonJazz#9]

This depends on so many different things. Let's start here:

Which airline are they flying? If it is a low-cost airline they will be flying from Hahn, which is in the middle of nowhere. That means also not near a train station, or anything else for that matter.

If they are flying on a traditional airline, they will be leaving from the main airport, which has a train station. There will be no train from this station that goes through the chunnel. But then again, there is no train anywhere in Germany that goes through the chunnel. So that's kind of a wash.

we are flying british airways.... so will need to catch a frankfurt/paris paris/london type train? the more and more i think, they shouldve just got plane tix with us.. wouldve been much easier

[AGF Aarhus]

They will have to take an ICE to Köln, a Thalys to Brussels and then the Eurostar to London. Some, but not all, of the Frankfurt to Köln ICE trains stop at the airport. Go here to check the schedule:
http://www.db.de/site/bahn/en/start.html

Yes, flying would have been easier (and probably cheaper, too).

[JacksonJazz#9]

bumping this thread up..... is everyone all set with planning????

[RichardL]

we are flying british airways.... so will need to catch a frankfurt/paris paris/london type train? the more and more i think, they shouldve just got plane tix with us.. wouldve been much easier

hahn might be in the middle of nowhere, but there's a bus that goes there in about 90 minutes from outside the main frankfurt station. Flights can be very cheap (I'm flying from Stansted to Hahn for £16) and will be much cheaper, and much quicker, than taking a train.

try www.ryanair.com

[JacksonJazz#9]

hahn might be in the middle of nowhere, but there's a bus that goes there in about 90 minutes from outside the main frankfurt station. Flights can be very cheap (I'm flying from Stansted to Hahn for £16) and will be much cheaper, and much quicker, than taking a train.

try www.ryanair.com

what about hahn to heathrow????

[RichardL]

what about hahn to heathrow????
I don't think anyone flies to Heathrow from Hahn.

Depending on where you are trying to get to, Heathrow can be almost as much of a pain as Stansted anyway.

You might even get a one-way BA ticket (or a return where you just don't bother using the second part - why that's cheaper I'll never know) for less then the cost of a train from Frankfurt to London. I'd guess you'd be looking at about £150 for those train tickets, and around 7-8 hours travel time.

www.whichbudget.com

....has about as many cheap flight links as you could ever need.

[JacksonJazz#9]

I don't think anyone flies to Heathrow from Hahn.

Depending on where you are trying to get to, Heathrow can be almost as much of a pain as Stansted anyway.

You might even get a one-way BA ticket (or a return where you just don't bother using the second part - why that's cheaper I'll never know) for less then the cost of a train from Frankfurt to London. I'd guess you'd be looking at about £150 for those train tickets, and around 7-8 hours travel time.

www.whichbudget.com

....has about as many cheap flight links as you could ever need.

my friends want to see the country side via train, im thinking thats an entirely wasted day.. not to mention, once they get to london via train, they have to get to Reading, where we are meeting up with one of our friends... so not only is it an 8hr train ride, its probably another 90 from london to reading once they get their bags etc...

wow.. really 8 hours from frankfurt to london?

[RichardL]

my friends want to see the country side via train, im thinking thats an entirely wasted day.. not to mention, once they get to london via train, they have to get to Reading, where we are meeting up with one of our friends... so not only is it an 8hr train ride, its probably another 90 from london to reading once they get their bags etc...

wow.. really 8 hours from frankfurt to london?

there really isn't a quick way.

Going the BA return flight method (and just not bothering to return) might be the cheapest and fastest way as they fly out of frankfurt, and prices for June are still very cheap.


I just had a look at flights from Hahn, and most seem to be very early or late, so as a guide I did a comparison of two people leaving frankfurt at the same time, one going by train and one flying from Dusseldorf

By train
10:45 Frankfurt Hbf - Frankfurt Airport (arrive 10:57)
11:09 Frankfurt Airport - Cologne (12:04)
12:14 Cologne - Brussels Midi (14:32)
14:56 Brussels Midi - London Waterloo (16:23)
Underground to London Paddington
17:13 London Paddington - Reading (17:45)

(in practice you'd need to add another half hour on at Brussels Midi for safety as you have to check-in half an hour before the train leaves - the eurostar has airpost style security checks)


By plane
11:00 Frankfurt Hbf - Dusseldorf (12:38)
12:54 Dusseldorf - Dusseldorf Airport (12:59)
15:05 Fly Air Berlin to Stansted (15:20)
16:00 Stansted to London Liverpool Street (16:44)
Underground to London Paddington
17:21 London Paddington to Reading (17:51)

So not a lot in it.

[Palermo10]

Yeah I hope you guys realize if you are in central london, its a real pain in the ass to get to Stansted, or Gatwick, or Luton....

two weeks ago I had to wake up at 2:30am to catch two night buses and a bus to Stansted from Victoria just to make a 6:40am flight to Glasgow. Not the stuff of champions I'll tell ya that much. Gatwick wasnt bad during the day, 9 pounds for a 40 minute train ride, but they advertise them all as "London" when really they are in BFE... if anyone knows what I mean by that.

[JacksonJazz#9]

Yeah I hope you guys realize if you are in central london, its a real pain in the ass to get to Stansted, or Gatwick, or Luton....

two weeks ago I had to wake up at 2:30am to catch two night buses and a bus to Stansted from Victoria just to make a 6:40am flight to Glasgow. Not the stuff of champions I'll tell ya that much. Gatwick wasnt bad during the day, 9 pounds for a 40 minute train ride, but they advertise them all as "London" when really they are in BFE... if anyone knows what I mean by that.

seems regardless of which way they go.. its going to take them 8 some odd hours to get from frankfurt to reading.... we will just have to meet them at the train station in reading... we will just be there HOURS before them...

[RichardL]

seems regardless of which way they go.. its going to take them 8 some odd hours to get from frankfurt to reading.... we will just have to meet them at the train station in reading... we will just be there HOURS before them...
go onto www.ba.com and see how much a flight over would cost from Frankfurt for that day (the return date doesn't matter as it isn't going to be used, but a return flight will be cheaper than one-way). This far in advance flights might still be cheap.

[JacksonJazz#9]

dead thread alert...

Richard L.... congrats on Reading being promoted...

[JacksonJazz#9]

is everyone all set for the trip? passports in hand? cash on hand? everyone switched their money to euros?

local coin dealer can get me euros without a processing fee... not a bad deal... will probably take 300 euro with me, and get the rest via atm... worry about the exchange later...

also... working at a bank.... make sure you call your ATM dept and credit card holder to tell them you will be over seas and that charges from germany are probably legitimate... you dont want the security dept shutting down your ATM card while you are over there...

take that for what its worth

[Palermo10]

My ATM fees here are only about 1%... which is great. 150 euros with a 1.85 USD fee is great. I recommend ATMs, the way to go. Do NOT change your money over at the airport or any of that nonsense unless you have to.

[JacksonJazz#9]

My ATM fees here are only about 1%... which is great. 150 euros with a 1.85 USD fee is great. I recommend ATMs, the way to go. Do NOT change your money over at the airport or any of that nonsense unless you have to.

Palermo... why is that??? is the exchange rate a crock at the airports??? im thinking im going to bring 100 pounds so ive got some spending money on my lay over at heathrow, and then get about 500 euro as seed money for when we fly to frankfurt.... if i need more than that, and im sure i will... i can hit an ATM, or charge it and pay for it next month...

[Palermo10]

Banks give you some of the best rates. The places at the airport just take advantage of your need for immediate cash.