Getting to Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airpark by Bus, Car, or Train

Buses run to Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport (FKB) in Baden-Airpark but at late / early hours a private car or expensive taxi may be required.

photo credit: OliverN5

A car, whether a rental, taxi, or private vehicle, is often the easiest way of getting to Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport (FKB). Public transportation is also available but bus departure times are limited, especially over weekends, early morning, and late night.

• Baden-Airpark has cheap flights on low-cost airlines but always factor in the cost and inconvenience of ground transportation, especially if flights are delayed.

By Bus to Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport (FKB)

Several bus services are available to Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport. The public buses 205 and 234 operate strictly according to the timetable and do not wait for delayed flights. Services have recently been improved and are now available on weekends too.

• Buses stop up to three times in Baden-Airpark – for the airport use the last stop, Baden-Airpark Terminal.

Public Bus 205 from Baden-Baden to Baden-Baden Airport

On weekdays, public bus 205 connects Baden-Baden Station and Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport once per hour in just less than half an hour. The first bus from the station departs at 6:16 (6:44 from the airport) and the last bus to the airport departs at 8:07 pm (8:32 pm from the airport).

On weekends, the bus service is much more limited with large gaps of up to two hours in the schedules:

• On Saturdays, the earliest departure from Baden Baden Station is at 8:19 am (9:29 am from the airport) and last departure for the day is at 5:19 pm (6:29 pm from the airport).
• On Sundays and public holidays, the earliest departure from Baden Baden Station is at 9:49 am (10:59 am from the airport) and last departure for the day is at 6:49 pm (8:15 pm from the airport).

Good train connections are available from Baden-Baden to Karlsruhe for a total traveling time from the airport to Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof of around an hour.

From end March 2009, bus 205 will have two additional late departures daily from FKB to Baden-Baden, departing from the airport terminal at 10 and 11 pm.

Public Bus 234 from Rastatt to Baden-Baden Airport

Public bus 234 connects Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport with Rastatt Bahnhof in half an hour.  On weekdays, buses run at least hourly with the first bus to the airport departing from Rastatt Station at 6:28 am (6:58 from the airport) while the last bus leaves Ratsatt Station at 7:48 pm (7:13 pm from the airport).

On weekends, buses are less frequent:

• On Saturdays, the first bus leaves from Rastatt at 7:20 am (6:44 am from the airport) and the last bus leaves at 6:05 pm (5:38 pm from the airport).
• On Sundays and public holidays, the first bus leaves from Rastatt at 10:35 am (10:08 am from the airport) and the last bus leaves at 7:35 pm (7:08 pm from the airport).

Good train connections are available from Rastatt to Karlsruhe for a total traveling time from the airport to Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof of around an hour.

Baden-Airpark Express Bus 140 to Heidelberg (via Baden-Baden & Karlsruhe)

Hahn Express operates a bus service from Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport via Baden-Baden Station and Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof to Heidelberg with a few buses continuing all the way to Frankfurt-Hahn Airport (HHN). The Baden-Airpark Express or Bus 140 runs three to six times per day with two to four buses continuing all the way to Hahn. More buses are available to Karlsruhe with trains connecting to Heidelberg.

• Traveling times are 40 minutes to Karlsruhe and 90 minutes to Heidelberg.

Baden-Airpark Express Bus 140 is mostly timed according to airberlin and Ryanair flight departures and arrivals.

From end March 2009, Bus 140 will run during the summer period ten times per weekday with the first arrival at FKB at 5:10 am from Heidelberg via Karlsruhe and Baden-Baden.

Flightliner Bus to Freiburg, Kehl, and Strasbourg

Once a day the Flightliner Airport-Shuttle, operated by Eberhardt Reisen, connects Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport with Strasbourg, Kehl, Europa-Park and Freiburg. Traveling time to Strasbourg is an hour and two and a half hours to Freiburg. The bus is timed to coordinate with the Ryanair flight to London-Stansted but anyone may use the bus.

By Train to Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport (FKB)

Trains do not run to Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport. The closest railway station is Baden-Baden although Rastatt is also convenient. The busiest station in the region with the largest number of destinations served is Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof.

By Car to Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport (FKB)

A car is the easiest way to reach Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport (FKB) and many locals make use of the reasonably priced parking when using cheap flights from Baden Airpark. Driving time to Baden-Baden and Rastatt are generally less than 20 minutes (14 km / 9 miles) and to Karlsruhe around 30 minutes (45 km / 30 miles).

• From Autobahn A5 (Basel – Freiburg – Karlsruhe – Heidelberg – Frankfurt) use the Baden-Baden exit but drive away from the spa town towards Iffezheim and turn left onto the B36.
• From Baden-Baden, use the B500 towards the A5 and continue as above.
• From Rastatt simply follow the B36 south to the airport.
• From France (Strasbourg), use highway A35, exit 56 (Roppenheim) to cross the Rhine into Germany and towards Baden-Baden. It is around 60 km (an hour) to Strasbourg.

Car rental agencies at Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport (FKB) are Sixt, Europcar, and Hertz.

By Taxi to Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport (FKB)

Metered taxis from the airport to Baden-Baden are around €30. Various shuttle services are also available to several towns in both Germany and France and are best reserved in advance.