Stuttgart airport to Heidelberg
 

Hi,
My parents (mid 60s) are travelling from Dublin to Heidelberg via Stuttgart for treatment. Unfortunately I can't travel with them as we have a baby due any day.
Was wondering if anyone could help with a guide from getting from the airport to their destination via train. step by step as they wouldn't be frequent travelers. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

They would be arriving on a Monday(3pm).

Eoin

Unfortunately, Stuttgart Airport to Heidelberg by train is far from a direct route.

Your parents will have at least two changes of train. They will first need to travel from the airport to Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof (central station), where they will have a platform change, then two more trains via (usually) Mannheim. Overall, the journey time is around 2 hours.

www.bahn.de show the various connections, including platform numbers.

If your parents are uncomfortable with navigating the changes of train, an alternative would be Flixbus, which operates coaches directly from Stuttgart Airport to Heidelberg city centre.

Monday departures are 16:05 arriving at 18:40, and 17:50 arriving at 20:30. Prices are usually around 10 euro or so.

Tickets can be booked at www.flixbus.de.

You can also try www.flixbus.co.uk for English language bookings, but prices are in Sterling.

See the above. German trains can be daunting for those unfamiliar with them or not speaking German.

Do the bus as described above. That will be easy.

Thanks for the reply.
So from what I can see they arrive into terminal 3 and need to get to terminal 1 to get the underground train(Db) S2 line to Stuttgart Hbf(main station) and then travel on to Heildelberg. I presume the airport has a help desk that could buy there tickets anyway. Don't want to buy them online in case the flight is delayed or they missed a connection. Once they get to Hbf it should be straight forward to get the on ward train via a help desk.

I recommend buying the tickets online on www.bahn.de. If you chose a normalpreis ticket you can take any connection, so there is no problem with delayed flights in this case. In addition they don't have to worry about using the ticket machines, which are not really that trivial to use for people not used to them. In addition, booking on www.bahn.de you can buy one ticket for the while trip. Otherwise, your parents would have to buy a regional (VVS) ticket to Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof on the ticket machine (there's no human help available) and get a second ticket for the train once they have arrived at Hauptbahnhof. This will add time and stress.

Thanks so much for your help. I think you are right in recommending the Bus, seems much more straight forward for them. Have visions of them missing stops or getting on the wrong train or something and when hauling a lot of luggage it would be quite daunting for them. Its a stressful enough trip without needing to add to it. Thanks again

I agree. Even as a seasoned traveller, fluent in German, I would choose the bus. It just seems a much easier option.

I am somewhat familiar with this journey (I live one train away from Mannheim and used Stuttgart airport several times). Also depending on mobility and luggage, the change from S-Bahn to the Stuttgart Hauptbahnof can be exhausting and is a bit complex due to the work being done at the main station. Bear in mind also there is no help desk at the airport, there are some at the Hauptbahnof but I would not count on them, due to the usually poor customer service of DB.
German train are easy to tame but I agree for a first time travel, a guide is necessary if the circumstances are stressful.

I strongly recommend the Flixbus. Tickets must be bought online before. If they have a long wait between arrival and the next bus to Heidelberg, there are eateries and coffee shops at the arrival area of the airport.

I would buy it online, for the second one.
Flixbus website FAQ states you can buy online or by phone only. If the SAB kiosk is not an agent for Flixbus you take a risk by not buying online.

I know it's wasting money and could be considered selfish...however: I am thinking of elderly people in a foreign country with luggage on a mission to get medical treatment. Sounds like a stressful situation altogether, and I would consider getting them tickets for both buses. Tickets from STR to Heidelberg start at 8-10€ per person, so you might be out 20€ only for maximum peace of mind under the circumstances