Romantic Road Coach (Europabus / Deutsche Touring / EurAide bus) connects Frankfurt and Munich with Rothenburg ob der Tauber along the Romantische Strasse a few times per week during summer. Stops include among others Augsburg, Nördlingen, Dinkelsbühl, Bad Mergentheim, Würzburg, and Munich.
The Romantic Road (Romantische Straße) was founded in 1950 as a tourism promotion project. This massively popular holiday route has since become a top destination for visitors to Germany. It is hugely popular with bus parties from all nations – notice the Japanese road signs. Although a car is the easiest and most convenient way to travel the full 350-km (220-mile) route, the Romantic Road can also be done on public transportation. The easiest way is on the Romantic Road Coach (sometimes also known as the Europabus), which has been operating along this route since its inception. Day trips to Rothenburg are often available from Frankfurt, Würzburg, and Munich.
The Romantic Road Coach Bus Schedule
The Romantic Road Coach has been known by many names through the years including the Romantische Straße Bus, Europabus EB190, Deutsche Touring, and EurAide bus. The bus runs along many stops on the Romantic Route but seems to vary the exact routing every few years. The departure / final destinations are usually Frankfurt am Main and Munich with good rail connections to Augsburg and Füssen at the southern end of the Romantic Route.
Currently, the Romantic Road Coach bus operates mostly from early April to end October a few times per week on two routings:
- A — Frankfurt am Main to Rothenburg ob der Tauber (and return), and
- B — Munich (or Füssen / Augsburg by train) to Rothenburg ob der Tauber (and return).
Traveling time is around four hours in each direction.
In 2023, the Romantic Road Coach operates on Sunday on both routings and additionally on Wednesday on routing B (from Munic). The timetable does not allow using both routes on all days. The Munich to Rothenburg routing has more departures and a longer season.
If traveling return, several hours are possible for sightseeing in Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Also, the buses stop less frequently for short periods in small towns for quick sightseeing or photos than previously.
As was often the case in the past, the southern end of the Romantic Road is once again largely ignored by the Romantic Road coach, which is unfortunate as many of the smaller stops here are difficult to reach on public transportation.
Stops on the Romantic Route Bus in Germany in 2023
Stops on the Romantic Road Coach in 2023 are as follows:
A Route — Frankfurt am Main to Rothenburg or return:
- Frankfurt – Wertheim Village – Würzburg station — Residenz (15 minutes stop northbound only) – Bad Mergentheim – Markelsheim – Weikersheim (30 min break southbound only) – Röttingen – Creglingen – Rothenburg ob der Tauber (around three hours stop)
B Route — Munich / München to Rothenburg or return:
- München — Dinkelsbühl (train connection for passengers from Füssen and Augsburg) — Harburg Castle (45-minute stop northbound only) — Nördlingen — Wallerstein — Dinkelsbühl — Feuchtwangen — Schillingsfürst — Rothenburg ob der Tauber (around three hours stop)
Some smaller stops are on request only and require telephone reservations 36 hours in advance.
Tickets and Reservations for the Romantic Road Bus
Tickets may be bought online from the Romantische Straße tourist office — various deals and options are available. If departing from Frankfurt, Rothenburg, or Munich, reservations for the Romantic Road Coach are not compulsory but advisable, especially in the high season. From smaller towns, it is often necessary to request a stop 36 hours in advance.
Currently, bicycles are not allowed on the bus.
In 2023, the full route one-way fare is around €133 (Frankfurt to Munich) or €170 (Frankfurt to Füssen). Frankfurt (or Munich) to Rothenburg ob der Tauber is around €66 one-way, or €88 same-day-return. One-town distances can be as cheap as two euro.
Children 4 to 12 pay half price while youths (13 to 18), students and over 60s receive 10% discount. Most rail passes give 20% discount.
The Romantic Road is mostly traveled for the romantic small towns and sights along the route. It therefore makes little sense to travel the whole route in one go by bus. Only a few short stops are done by Romantic Road Coach en route. To explore more sights, it is necessary to stay over in towns and take the bus the following day.
In such case, it is worth exploring which Romantic Road towns can easily be reached by public transportation, as this will allow visitors to visit a few sights per day and not get stuck in towns where no further transportation is available to the next town other than expensive taxis. A further alternative is to take an organized day trip, e.g. from Frankfurt am Main or Munich (München) to Rothenburg ob der Tauber as the main destination but further stops en route often included.
More on Rothenburg ob der Tauber
For more on the Rothenburg ob der Tauber and nearby sights on the Romantic Road:
- Top Sights on the Romantische Straße with Romantic Road Map
- Walk on the Ramparts and Sentry Walk on the Wall of Rothenburg
- Visit the St.-Jakobs-Kirche (St James Church) with the Tilman Riemenschneider Holy Blood Altar
- Visit the Medieval Crime Museum
- Visit the Wolfgang’s Church in the Klingenbastei
- See the Herrgottskirche with Tilman Riemenschneider Altar of the Virgin in nearby Creglingen
- Transportation to Rothenburg ob der Tauber – Driving or Take the Train
- Bus Day-Trip Tours are often available from Frankfurt or Munich.
- Tripadvisor Hotel Comparison – Hotel prices in Rothenburg are surprisingly reasonable, except over weekends.
- Save with the Bayern-Ticket on Train Transportation in Bavaria
- Suntransfers give easy quotations for taxis and airport shuttles from Frankfurt or Munich airports.
