Going to Koln, Germany

WithCheesePlease

Hey,

Would I be right in thinking the best option for getting to Koln would be to fly into Dusseldorf? Aer Lingus fly there and it seems (according to google maps) to be about 45 minutes / 60 Km away - does that sound right?

Has anyone done this? How would you travel between - bus / train / taxi? And would that be pricey?

Would you be mad to stay overnight in Koln before travelling to the airport in Dusseldord for a 10am flight?

Sorry for all the questions, but just wondering if it would be a good option for a weekend...

Slunk

I have travelled around that area a few times and can say it is very very easy. When you get to dusseldorf, get the sky train link to the airport train staion(about five minutes). Going back get off the sky train in terminal C. Think thats where aer lingus is. You can buy a single ticket or a ticket for all rail / local tram travel in the region. Someone else wil be able to give more details on the multi ticket. I think its about 15 euro to Koln from Dusseldorf. Trains are every few minutes. No problem getting a train in the morning either. I had a 10am flight home on a sunday and made it easily. Journey is about 30 minutes by train.

Id recommed the Azimut hotel in Koln if you have not already looked into something. One stop before Koln main station on the train in.

undo

Slunk is correct. It is a short journey between Düsseldorf and Köln. You take the Skytrain monorail to the airport train station, buy a ticket from one of the machines and off you go. There are several trains an hour. The cheapest option are local trains, S-Bahn and Regionalexpreß. For those, you can get NRW-Tickets. The Intercity and ICE are slightly faster (as in, a couple of minutes maybe) but you will need to get a DB ticket which costs more - not worth it in my opinion.

There is no need to pre-plan or pre-buy any rail tickets. Just wait until you get there, check which train is leaving next and get a ticket for that.

On your way back to Ireland, you will be leaving from Terminal C. Aer Lingus' check-in desk is at the very far end of that terminal.

You are definitely fine staying overnight in Köln for a 10am flight. Trains between Köln and Düsseldorf airport are quick, frequent and do not require any changes.

A bus is not really an option. There are hardly any intercity buses in Germany - trains are always the preferred method. You could take a taxi but that would cost an arm and a leg and probably take much longer as it gets stuck in rush-hour traffic. Really, the train is the single best option.

WithCheesePlease

Great stuff, thank you both for the info. And for the hotel suggestion Slunk. I was under the impression that train travel in Germany was hideously expensive, I guess not.

Is it a nice city? Thinking of bringing the girlfriend for a weekend away in January...

undo

WithCheesePlease wrote: »

I was under the impression that train travel in Germany was hideously expensive, I guess not.

A ticket from anywhere in Germany to anywhere else, even 1500km away and on the ICE express train, is €29. I would not call that hideously expensive . Dublin-Cork is €70 full price.

Is it a nice city? Thinking of bringing the girlfriend for a weekend away in January...

Opinions differ. There is a great amount of rivalry between Düsseldorf and Köln. There are those who will tell you one is the best city in the world and the other a total dump. And then you will find others who think the exact opposite is true. I am sort of in the pro-Düsseldorf group and so probably should not be writing too much about Köln as I will make it sound terrible .

In general though, you definitely want to visit the Cathedral, if you are up for it also go up the tower and enjoy the view. Then, catch a local train to Düsseldorf and enjoy the fabulous nightlife there.

Slunk

I have never actually stayed in dusseldorf so cannot comment. I am normally the other direction, towards dortmund. Stayed two nights in Koln and it was a nice place. We were there at the start of summer so done the cable cars over the river, relaxed in the park and they had a beach club. Quick google search will bring it up. Dont know about this time of year as it only opened the day before when we were there (May). Didnt find the nightlife in cologne that great, but I didnt look into it that much as was more relaxing from a previous leg of the journey. Trains are best way of getting around the region, maybe take in dusseldorf for some of your stay if its possible seen as your so close.

undo

There is a lot of gay nightlife in Köln. It is the gay capital of Germany. But I do not think that is quite what OP was after.

@Slunk: Did you know we have a beach club in Dortmund in the summers as well?

Slunk

Yes, someone mentioned that about the gay capital of europe when I said I was going to Koln. I wasnt aware of the beach club in Dortmund. Where abouts is it located at what time of year does it start? Im normally only over for the weekend. Mayday concert in Westfallhallen and for the Loveparade. Unfortunately this years was cancelled in Bochum

Cologne Beach Club - http://km689.rhein-terrassen.de/index.php?id=28 Think it say on main page it is closed until april. Still, pretty nice place to waste away an afternoon. I ended up like a lobster from lying there all day in the sun sippin mojitios

undo

@ Slunk: Hey, cool, I haven't missed a Mayday in a decade. I also do Loveparade, Nature One, Syndicate and Soundtroplis... Rather than hijacking the thread, I will PM you about that.

Edit: The beach in Dortmund is called New Solendo - and it is open in the winter as well.

BQQ

I've been there a couple of times.

I always fly from Dublin to Koln (Cologne-Bonn) direct with a company called germanwings.
They're a budget airline, but German-style, so better than aer lingus in terms of price and service.

http://www.germanwings.com/index.en.shtml?gwcref=http://www.google.ie/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=germanwings&meta=&aq=0&oq=germanw


nice city. enjoy.

Slunk

It is worth checking germanwings but if I remember correctly they dont do daily services to/from Dublin. Only certain days of the week but could work out for you. I flew from Vienna to Dortmund with Germnawings and was no problems at all.

@undo - Ill be sure to check it out next time.

sfmonet

I also second Germanwings. We took them to Cologne in June and they were brilliant. I do agree that they aren't daily, but the flights we got outweighed Aer Lingus by miles!