Stuttgart
 

A few questions. Im headed out to Stuttgart. Hows the drive from Frankfurt to Stuggart? Anything interesting along the way to see? Likely will have a rental car. Anything i need to be aware of? Should i consider a train instead and grabbing a rental in Stuttgart? If i go the train route, can i buy a ticket on the spot or do i need to reserve in advance? Are they flexible to change?

Also what is the restaruant scene like in Stuttgart and Frankfurt? is stuff mostly open? Whats the mask protocol around town and such?

Thanks!

Hello njxbean, if you drive directly from Frankfurt to Stuttgart, it will take you approx. 2 hours on the Autobahn *if* there is no traffic. (Which is generally the case on Sunday at 3 o'clock in the morning...) I prefer the train, which take 70 minutes from Frankfurt to Stuttgart: on the first half of the trip, the train runs at 160 km/h, while on the second half, it travels 250 km/h. Even if you rent a Porsche, you won't equal that.

I would only take a car if you want to do sightseeing on the way, either visiting castles or visiting wineries. If that's your wish, let me know and I'll make some suggestions. But if you just want to get to Stuttgart, take the train.Yes, you can buy a ticket on the spot, at the airport and at the main station. There are also ticket machines, which offer English as well as German. You can generally pay the machines with a credit card or cash. If you buy a flexible ticket from Frankfurt Airport to Stuttgart, it will cost you € 61.10 in 2nd class and € 103.20 in 1st class. 2nd class is good enough on the ICE trains! 1st class is only worth it if you are traveling at a peak time like Friday afternoon. Just by the way, though, if you book a ticket in advance for a particular train, you can save a lot of money. For example, I just put in Aug. 4th as a date, and www.bahn.de shows many ICE trains for € 17.90 in 2nd class and € 26.90 in 1st class. You can buy the ticket on the web site and just print it out at home. It could be worth buying a fixed ticket and taking the risk you lose it! None: You will have to wear a mask in the train.

The rules for wearing masks are changing constantly. As of today, restaurants in Stuttgart are allowed to be open normally and to serve you inside and outside with no masks required. However, if the number of new COVID cases were to rise above 35 for more than 5 days in a row, the restrictions would be put in place again. It is really not possible to forecast how it will be on a specific date in August! But on the other side, restaurants will be allowed to serve outside even if the number of cases goes up sharply, and August is a usually good month for eating outside! They might then require a Corona test, but these are generally available for free or cheap (like € 2.00), so that shouldn't hinder you.

I just checked Frankfurt's web page for Corona restrictions. They seem to currently have more requirements for wearing masks, but everything is open, And again, 5 weeks is a long time right now. It's really not possible to say how it things will be then!

Have a good time in Germany!

I would just take the train. The A5 is quite boring (someone took a ruler and drew a line that became the A5), there's numerous roadworks, and there's guaranteed to be traffic queues in multiple stretches now that people are driving/travelling again, especially bad near the interchange with the A6 and A8.

Don't forget the random radar cameras and the fact petrol is hovering around 1,53 €/litre.

In Hesse (the province where Frankfurt is located), outdoor dining is permitted freely. Indoor dining is at the moment, only permitted for tested/vaccinated/recovered patrons. Otherwise most stores are open as usual. The requirement for masks is no longer in effect outdoors. It remains in effect indoors and on public transit and in places where a distance of 1,5m cannot be maintained.

The train is quick, efficient, runs frequently. Advance train reservations can be a fraction of the cost of a ticket bought in the last minute. (But it's possible, you could even by the ticket onboard the train for an upcharge.)

I'd be more inclined to get the rental in FRA if (i) I had a lot of luggage, (ii) I was travelling outside peak travel times (traffic jams can be an issue otherwise), and (iii) prices and rental car agencies at FRA better suit me than the options in Stuttgart.

Probably the most interesting stop on the way is Heidelberg.

I never rent a car in Germany unless I will be doing some rural sightseeing. Their public transportation to include the rail network is great.

Interesting. I only rent vehicles as I find the most fascinating places to be where public transportation do not go. 3/4 of the castles, a decent chunk of the Alps. Lake towns. For vacation purposes I'd rather drive than train. For business I can completely understand train for city to city transfer.

Which, is what I mean by rural sightseeing.

So planning on taking the train back from Stuttgart to FRA. Which is the correct name of the station at the airport? Also how far is the station at the airport to the terminal? Just planning my day here.

Thanks.

Frankfurt(M) Flughafen Fernbf on the sites of the railway company. Signs posted throughout FRA call it "Fernbahnhof" and "Long-distance train station."

5 min walk from T1. From T2, add an ~8 min bus ride + wait time. There is a bus from T2 going directly to the station. But can also take the bus T2 -> T1 and walk to the station from the T1 bus stop, takes a little over 5 min.

Thanks. Oddly this train station doesn’t show in our booking system though Frankfurt main does.

let me ask this. Is the airport station before or after Frankfurt main? Can one get off early?

worst case i can just book in person or do these trains sell out?

Which booking system?

You would have to double check, some will visit the airport first, some will go straight to Frankfurt/Main Hauptbahnhof.

You will also greatly limit your options, many trains continue up the A3 corridor and never go to Hauptbahnhof.

They can sell out but usually only at peak times. School holidays are starting soon so that will add to bookings...

Just type Frankfurt Flughafen or even Frankfurt Airport should work.

Update. The train was definitely the move. Super easy and quick.