5 Travel and Arrival Information

Flight

The AYF program does not organize a group flight, so you are responsible for making your own travel arrangements. You are firmly expected to arrive in Freiburg on September 1, 2025, which for most participants will mean departing on August 31, 2025. The first orientation event will be held on the evening of September 1. Please remember to turn in your completed “travel information form” to your study abroad office by the deadline set by your home university staff.

Note: Should your luggage get lost in transit, feel free to provide the airline with the AYF mailing address (Academic Year in Freiburg, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität – Poststelle, Platz der Universität 3, 79098 Freiburg) and telephone contact information (use 0170 – 571 88 78, Ulli Struve’s cell phone). Late delivery of your luggage at your dorm would be quite difficult since you will be busy with orientation activities and not at home waiting for the airline courier. Upon arrival in Freiburg, inform Ulli Struve that you are dealing with lost luggage so that he can assist with additional arrangements as needed. 

It is helpful to consider the total travel cost when looking for a flight. Some questions you may wish to consider are: Does your preferred airline allow one or two suitcases without additional charges? It is possible to book the train trip from the airport to Freiburg as part of the airline ticket at a lower rate? Can a student travel agency offer discounts? 

It is generally cheapest and most convenient to fly from the U.S. to Frankfurt. Flying to Basel/Mulhouse or to Zurich are also options. Please consult the AYF website’s section for “Incoming Students” for information on ground transportation to Freiburg from these airports. If you can, avoid flights with additional layovers since they add significant uncertainty to your first day of travel.

Travel to Freiburg from the Frankfurt am Main Airport

The train is the best way to travel between Frankfurt am Main and Freiburg. The journey takes about two to three hours, and a one-way ticket costs about €70 (or about half that if you decide to book a specific train well in advance with the Supersparpreis or buy a BahnCard), depending on the particular connection you select and the type of train(s) you will be boarding. There is a train station in a building immediately adjacent to Terminal 1 B (see the map below). On disembarking from your flight, you will first proceed through passport check, then claim your luggage, and finally pass through customs control. If you arrive in Terminal 2, you can take either a shuttle bus or the so-called Sky Line to get to Terminal 1. Both services are free. The shuttle bus will drop you off outside the entrance to the Bahnhof. You need to follow the signs reading Fernbahnhof (long-distance trains). Do not confuse it with the Regionalbahn (regional commuter trains). You ought to allow yourself one to two hours between your flight arrival time and train departure time.

You may buy your train ticket before you depart for Germany, either at many U.S. travel agencies or online at www.bahn.de or by using the DB Navigator app (the new preferred mode of contact-less purchasing, ticketing, and checking into your seat). Alternatively, you can buy a train ticket right at the Deutsche Bahn ticket sales and information counter in the airport station, or at one of the kiosks. If you purchase your ticket online or with the DB Navigator app, make sure to pay with the same credit or debit card that you intend to bring with you. If you are considering the purchase of a BahnCard, a discount card for train travel in Germany, then it is easiest to purchase it in the DB Navigator app before your trip; DB accepts credit cards, Apple pay, or PayPal, among others. There is no physical BahnCard anymore – it lives digitally on your smart phone. Generally, a BahnCard quickly pays for itself. For more details on various options see “Trains” under “Transportation” in the “Living Abroad” section of this handbook or consult www.bahn.de

It is speedy and convenient to take an ICE (InterCityExpress) train. On the ICE that travels directly from Frankfurt airport to the final destination Basel, the trip to Freiburg takes about 2 hours and 10 minutes. There are direct trains from Frankfurt airport to Freiburg every two hours. Every other hour, the train connection entails one transfer in Mannheim. This transfer is not strenuous: in Mannheim, you usually need to walk just a few yards to the opposite side of the platform at which you have arrived, and do not have to go up and down stairs to reach a different platform. An hour and a half after leaving Mannheim, you will arrive at the Freiburg Hauptbahnhof. When looking at this trip in the DB App, be sure to specify your departing from Frankfurt (M) Flughafen. Frankfurt HBF is a different station and not at the airport.

You can check out possible train departure times and connections on the Internet: www.bahn.de.

Arrival Day – September 1, 2025

Detailed information about arrival day and the reception center will be provided to you by email with your housing assignment information in late June or early July. Activities include a welcome pizza party on the evening of September 1. The full program for Orientation Week will be provided upon arrival.

In case you experience significant delays in your travel to Freiburg, please note that there is a “Plan B” that involves a secondary meeting point. On arrival day, the reception center at the Hauptbahnhof will be staffed from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. Should you arrive in Freiburg after 5 p.m., please be prepared to come to the Studentensiedlung, the Stusie, where the welcome pizza party will be held. It is easiest to take a taxi, but it is possible to take streetcar no. 1 toward Landwasser to go to Stusie. More detailed instructions and a map of the Stusie will be included in your housing information mailing. We strongly suggest you print out the instructions for “Arrival Day – Plan B” and keep it in your carry-on luggage.

The arrival of the entire group of AYF students requires preparation and coordination and it will not be possible to move into your dorm room prior to September 1. We therefore strongly suggest arriving in Freiburg on September 1. If you arrive in Freiburg before September 1, you will need to find accommodations elsewhere, such as a hostel, where prices for a bed in a shared room start at around 20 euros. Hotel prices for a single room start at around 70 euros.

Here are some suggestions:

You will have to make your own reservations. For additional information on hotels, check out the homepage of the city of Freiburg (www.freiburg.de). A hotel database is available by clicking on the link https://visit.freiburg.de/en/plan-your-trip/accommodations-in-freiburg

Please note that “plug and play” Internet access is provided in your dorm room. Internet service is part of the rent and WiFi routers are provided in each room. There will be a QR code on top of the router provided by your dorm. You will simply need to scan this QR code, set up an account, and you will be emailed log in information. However, an internet connection is needed to complete this process. This process can be accomplished by temporarily using a roommate’s WiFi connection or if you have mobile service when you arrive on your mobile device. If needed, you may also use Internet cafés or an AYF phone or mobile hotspot to call family to confirm arrival. There is also a public hotspot at the Starbucks in the Freiburg train station and at other downtown locations where you can send messages free of charge.