I started in Frankfurt because it was the cheapest city to fly to. Frankfurt is the economic center of Germany and is sometimes dubbed the German Manhattan. There isn’t a whole lot to see there though, and I only planned on staying a day. I booked a bed and breakfast type of hostel and used most of my time in Frankfurt to relax and recoup from the flight.
Getting in
When you arrive at the Frankfurt airport you can easily follow the signs to the airport train station, which is where you get on a train to the city center. There will be people offering shuttle rides and taxis, but the train is really easy and the cheapest way to go. The train ticket costs 3,90 Euro for a one-way trip. If you are going to ride the train again that day I would recommend looking into buying a day pass, or at least a return trip ticket at the same time, because it will be cheaper. Unless you are staying directly in the city center, you probably will want to go ahead and do that.
You almost definitely will want to head to Haubtbanhof, Frankfurt’s main train station, to get to your hostel. The trip takes about 10 minutes and is only 3 stops away. To get to Haubtbanhof you head to platform 1 at the airport train station and can take either the s8 or s9 trains, which run about every 10-15 minutes. From Haubtanhof you can easily walk to most of the hostels in the city, but if yours is a little farther it is very easy to jump on another train that will take you there.
Where to stay
I booked a room at the Pension Bruns Hostel, but was moved to the nearby Atrium Hotel for the same rate. I heard bad things about staying in a hostel closer to the train station because that is also Frankfurt’s red light district, so I looked for something a little farther away. The hotel is in a residential neighborhood, but is still only a 10-minute walk from Haubtbanhof. I got a room with a double bed and a private bathroom for 23 Euros per person a night.
Now most of the hostels in Frankfurt are located near Haubtbanhof, but there are a few scattered near the city center. It would probably be best to stay in the city center, because that is where all of the restaurants, bars and nightlife is. It’s also populated at night and safe to walk around.
How to Save
Going to Frankfurt in general saved me a lot of money. When booking your international flights, look into getting two separate one-way tickets into different cities. A lot of times two one way tickets are cheaper than a single roundtrip flight. Also, there are a lot of fees that add up when you have to fly in and out of the same city. Most notably, a roundtrip flight means you have to make it all the way back to the city you started in and that usually means buying another flight or train ticket. It also means that you are visiting the same city twice, when you could have used that time to see another city or stay in a different city longer.
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