Travel to Germany and Koblenz

We recommend that those arriving by air land at either Frankfurt, Duesseldorf, or Cologne/Bonn and travel by train to Koblenz.  These options are discussed in order below.

Train connections:

There are train connections from all three airports to the main train station in Koblenz.  You can get further information from the "Deutschen Bahn" web site at www.bahn.de. Look for a link in the red row running near the top of the page containing the words "Internation. Guests."  Here you will be able to obtain information in the language of your choice.  You can determine departure and arrival times and purchase tickets by credit card.  When you are asked to choose the destination you will be traveling to from your chosen airport, please specify "Koblenz HBF" (HBF = Hauptbahnhof or main train station).

1.      Travel from Frankfurt
This trip can normally be made without changing trains.  During working hours you should reach Koblenz in approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes. To book your trip from www.bahn.de you will need to specify departure from "Frankfurt (M) Flughafen Fernb." This train station is directly opposite the airport.  You can obtain further information from www.airportcity-frankfurt.de, which is accessible in various languages. 

2.      Travel from Duesseldorf
This trip will normally take 1 hour and 50 minutes and you will need to change trains at at least one point.  This is not difficult.  You will find route maps and destinations posted on the trains and on the platforms at the train stations.  Wait times between trains are generally only a matter of minutes.  To book your trip from www.bahn.de you will need to specify departure from "Düsseldorf Flughafen (DUS)." The train station borders on the airport and is reached by shuttle bus (the sky train to the train station is not operational at this time). You can get more information about the Duesseldorf airport from www.duesseldorf-international.de   

3.      Travel from Cologne/Bonn
Travel from this airport will take approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes.  Transfers are frequently necessary but there are some direct connections.  Specify "Köln/Bonn Flughafen" as your departure and look for train connections to Koblenz HBF on www.bahn.de. You can obtain more information about the airport from www.airport-cgn.de/index.php

Travel by car
     If you do choose to drive you should be aware of some conventions different from those operative in North America.

     Stop lights in Germany cycle from green to red to yellow to green.  Do not attempt to run red lights.  Conversely, when a red light turns yellow, motorists behind you will expect you to start moving.  Leave a bit of space between yourself and the automobile in front of you so you can do that.

     When traveling on the autobahn (expressway), you will be expected to make way for faster traffic approaching you from the rear.  Do not drive slowly in the left lane, and do not attempt to overtake slower moving drivers unless you can complete your move and be back in the right lane before you are reached by any faster moving traffic approaching from behind.

     Sections of the autobahn have posted speed limits, which ought to be respected.  Signs will indicate both where a speed restriction starts and where it ends.  Where there is no restriction there is no speed limit.

     Please note that traffic stalls or slow-ups in excess of 30 kilometers in length occur frequently on the expressways and that finding parking in cities may be very difficult.

The Hume Society

This page was last updated on 30 June, 2006

This page is maintained by Lorne Falkenstein