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Frankfurt to Heidelberg by train
How to take the rail journey Frankfurt (Main) to beautiful Heidelberg
When taking the train from Frankfurt (Main) to Heidelberg there is a choice of services:
(1) The express trains are inevitably faster and if you can book ahead online, they can be cheaper too.
(2) Though if you want to take a spontaneous day trip by train and book walk-up tickets at the station, you'll save money by taking one of the more frequent Regio trains.
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Routes
Option 1: taking the express trains
Journey Summary
52 min - 58 min (approx) (IC trains)
Daily
Travel Information
Final Destination: Stuttgart or Nurnberg or Munchen (or other)
All trains also call at: Darmstadt
1 x train per hour (usually)
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes (on these trains)
Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date
There are 2 x train services between Frankfurt (Main) and Heidelberg:
(1) These faster trains on which limited numbers of discounted tickets are placed on sale, so when they're still available they can be the cheapest option on this route
(2) Other slower Regio trains; and when the discounted tickets for these express trains have sold out they're the cheapest option - so if you will be booking at the station just before boarding, they will be cheaper.
If you can book ahead on the DB booking site look for journeys that have 0 in the Chg. colum
Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so you may need to look through the day's departures to find the cheapest fares.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| DB | from €14.90 |
On this journey
Travelling On
Good to Know
These faster express trains are typically cheaper than the Regio trains if you book before your day of travel.
Some of these express trains will be EC trains travelling on from Germany to Austria and beyond, but that won't make any difference to the journey time or price.
Eurail and InterRail pass users, should target these express trains.
Option 2: taking the Regio trains:
Journey Summary
1hr 39min (approx) (Regio trains)
Daily
Travel Information
Final Destination: Wiesloch-Walldorf
This is route RB 68
All trains also call at: Darmstadt
These slower Regio trains are the cheaper option if you will be booking tickets last minute at the station.
1 x train per hour
Tickets
Book early and save: No
DB Bahn does not sell ticket for these Regio trains online, so if you look up this journey, you will only see the alternative express train services.
Limited numbers of discounted tickets are placed on sale for those trains, so when they're still available they can be cheaper than these slower trains
However, when the discounted tickets for those trains have sold out these Regio trains become the cheapest option - so if you will be booking last minute at the station, targeting these Regio trains will be a money saver.
If you're new to booking tickets for train journeys in Germany, we also recommend taking a look at our guide to German train tickets - it should help you save time and money and confusion.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| DB Bahn | from €19 | |
| Trainline | from €19 | |
| * |
On this journey
Travelling On
Good to Know
Eurail and InterRail pass users, should target the faster express trains.
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