Frankfurt am Main

Frankfurt is a major city in Hesse, Germany. It is an air, rail and road transport hub, so you will find many people travelling out of the city in many different directions.

North (Kassel, Hannover), West (Wiesbaden, Mainz) and South (Karlsruhe, Strasbourg, Basel)
A good spot for getting rides out of Frankfurt in every direction is on the B8, on the start of the "Theodor-Heuss-Allee" near the center of the city. The spot is a bus stop on "Theodor-Heuss-Allee", about 40 metres after a roundabout next to “Messeturm” skyscraper. Take the U-Bahn line U4, or Straßenbahn line 16 or 17, to “Festhalle/Messe”. Or walk from the Hauptbahnhof north for approximately 15 minutes to Messeturm skyscraper.

As of February 2013 there has been construction near here for a couple years and the bus stop has moved further down the road. Everything else is still the same.

Traffic is very busy and slow here every day from 7:00 to 20:00. The rate at which people pick up hitch hikers here is reportedly very low (twits will also make a variety of offensive gestures at you so be prepared) but with so much traffic going in every direction you can eventually get a ride.

The next good hitch hiking spot on A5/E451 in northern direction is "Raststätte Wetterau" and is a better spot to look for longer rides so try to get a ride to there if you are heading north.

2nd option: Take tram No. 17 from Frankfurt DB main train station until the last stop "Am Rebstockbad" (Map. This takes you about 10 minutes. From the final stop "Am Rebstockbad" you can already see the motorway (A648) which interchanges some 700 meter westward on the Autobahn A5 (north/soutward). When you arrive at the (eastbound) Esso gas station on the side that leads into Frankfurt - walk westward along the Autobahn and cross at a road bridge 200-300 meters away. Cars that refuel at the opposite (westbound) Esso gas station will in almost every case travel either northward (Kassel, Hannover) or southward (Darmstadt, Basel) on the Autobahn A5.

North (Kassel, Hannover, Gießen, Marburg)
The "Friedberger Landstrasse" (Friedberger Street) is often used to leave the city towards the Autobahn A5 (North). From the "Konstablerwache" (city centre), walk (2 km) or take the tram 18 / bus 30 till the stop "Münzenberger Str.". Hitchhike on this road about 150 m before the entrance of the supermarket Lidl (Map). You definitely need a sign with "A5" on it because many cars go to other (uninteressant) directions. It is a perfect spot to get a ride to the Autobahn A5 (for instance to the rest area "Wetterau").

2nd option (Rest area Gräfenhausen - in the south of Frankfurt): Take suburban train (S-Bahn) S3 (indicating: Darmstadt) to the stop "Erzhausen", leave the station and walk through the town Erzhausen on "Bahnstraße" and "Hauptstraße" westward until you can hear the Autobahn A5. Then, cross the fields till you arrive at the Rastanlage Gräfenhausen Ost (Map). It takes 50 minutes from the city center of Frankfurt until "Rastanlage Gräfenhausen". There is plenty of long distance traffic 24 hours a day at this spot, a restaurant as well as a small supermarket!

3rd option I havent tested it myself just have been told by an experienced german hitchhiker. Take the Metro to Kahlbach, there is a tool-store called "Hornbach" nearby. Close to it there is a petrol station called Hessol, which is close to A5. As it is cheap it is frequently used and you should get a ride from there. Pls edit if you have further information.

South (Karlsruhe, Strasbourg, Freiburg)
Go by subway (U-Bahn) line 6 to the last stop "Heerstraße", continue walking the path along the rail-track on the left side northward. Walk over the fields until the Autobahn and cross via the underpass. You´ll see a small steep footpath on the right. Go there and you are on the rest area "Taunusblick" on the A5. The whole journey takes not more than 25/30 minutes from the city center (10 minutes walking only). Attention: There is no exit or entrance for cars going north on A5/E451! You can only use the rest area Taunusblick to travel South!

2nd option (Rest area Gräfenhausen - in the south of Frankfurt): Take suburban train (S-Bahn) S3 (indicating: Darmstadt) to the stop Erzhausen, leave the station and walk through the town Erzhausen on "Bahnstraße" and "Hauptstraße". Cross the Autobahn via the bridge, walk lefthand through the forest on Erzhäuser Weg until the relais [Map. Hitchhike on the Rastanlage Gräfenhausen West.

East (Würzburg, Nürnberg, Czech Republic)


Take subway (U-Bahn) line 1, 2 or 3 from the DB main train station to the final stop "Südbahnhof" (there are also many other ways to reach Südbahnhof = just pick one of them!) Take bus number 30 or 36 from the station to the stop “Sachsenhausen - Hainer Weg”. Bundesstraße 3 ("Babenhäuser Landstraße") is right at the busstop, there is a restarea which you can reach by crossing the road. This is a hitchhiking spot par excellence - lots of cars passing it all the time and it is easy to pull off there. Attention: Think twice if someone offers you a ride to the petrol station nearby, by taking it you will lose this spot and might end up waiting for hours.


 * I was at this spot in July 2010 and im not sure how great it is, one of the workers on the ground behind actually drove us to to the Service station further down the autobahn (which was excellent), because he said he saw a couple wait a whole day for no lifts the week before.

West (Köln, Dortmund) and East (Würzburg, Munich)
"Rastanlage Weiskirchen" has two sides, north and south for going east or west. A bridge over A3/E42 (east of the station) connects both sides. From Frankfurt you can reach this place in around 60 minutes. From Frankfurt DB main train station, you should take S-Bahn S1 direction: "Rödermark Ober-Roden" to the stop "Weiskirchen". Wander through the town on "Bahnhofstraße", "Schillerstraße" and "Pommernstraße", later through the cropfields first in east- then in northward direction until you can see the Autobahn.

 2nd option (Rest area Theißtal - west of Frankfurt): An alternative, if you want to leave Frankfurt for Köln and further north or west, is the rest area Theißtal along the Autobahn A3. Take the S-Bahn (S2) towards Niedernhausen (final stop, about 30 minutes). You'll hear the Autobahn once you are there. Walk 1.5 km (20 min) northwestwards. There is a tiny footpath through the woods leading all the way to the motorway rest area, and if you try to stick close to the Autobahn, you shouldn't miss it. You'll walk past a shooting range, and when you reach a 100m diameter clearing in the woods, you're there. Most cars here go at least to Köln/Bonn if they don't go to Koblenz, since there isn't much else on the way.

From the airport
There are two good spots at the car park. Go to the arrival level in front of Terminal 1. You can now enter a throughway beneath the brownish Sheraton building that is opposite to Terminal 1 Part C. There is a delivery area of the Sheraton, great spot. Slow traffic and a lot of space for stopping. You should be able to spot the main car park exit. You can follow the cars further down some 100 meters to find a spot in the sunlight. Note that most traffic will go south!


 * Craig found it easy to get a lift south but rather tough to find a car going in direction north along the A5.

Hitched from the Airport direction A3 South to Nurnberg on 16.6.13 and stood there for 5 hours. Note there is not much traffic going to Bavaria especially on sundays. If you want to go that direction have a look for Licence plates with WÜ, AB, N, BA, M. Otherwise the airport is great for anything going south down the A5 or going north the A3, lots of traffic going that direction, even met a hitchhiker going to berlin getting a lift immidiatly. Melmacian

dominic had a hard time trying to go north on the A5 in june 2013. eventually, on the advice of some police officers, he moved to this on ramp: http://goo.gl/maps/tYgBg where he found a ride in five minutes. a 20 minute walk, but it may be better for going north.

Helen says: Hard to find direct lifts to the North (Berlin). Still, a nice women took me to the next petrol station (only 5 min away) from where I found someone going to A5. Once there, it's pretty straight forward. I went in the middle of the night and it only took me six hours to Berlin.

If you're a Frankfurt university student...
...then you probably have a Semesterticket giving you free rides on RMV transport. If you're going long distances, then use your Semesterticket to get yourself as far on your journey as possible! This also applies to anyone with a Hessenticket.
 * For all destinations North eg., Hamburg, Bremen, Denmark, and East eg. , , , Berlin, Poland, first take a train to Alsfeld, and use the service station near there (journey time 90–120 minutes from Frankfurt, but can be well worth it).
 * For all destinations South eg., Strasbourg, Switzerland, first take a train to Bickenbach, and use the service station near there (journey time also 90–120 minutes from Frankfurt, not such a wonderful place as Alsfeld but it can still help).

Food

 * Take U-Bahn line U6 or U7 to “Leipziger Straße” to find a cheap selection of market stalls, restaurants, fast food, supermarkets, international callshops, and shops selling small but useful items like knives or umbrellas.
 * Nearby (also U-Bahn line U6 or U7, and Straßenbahn line 16 or 17) is “Bockenheimer Warte”. Here is the university – ask students at the library (“Uni-Bibliothek”) to give you free internet access. The university cafés serve cheap, healthy food and are open to everyone – look young, confident and busy, and you won't have to show a pass to get a student discount.
 * Take Bus 36 from "Konstablerwache" to Adlerflychtplatz. Just next to the Bus-Stop is the "Aroma" an israeli Falaffel Store. For 3.80 you will get the best Falaffel Sandwich in the world. Or at least in Frankfurt.

Internet
Many cheap options (1-1.50 EUR per hour) on the streets around Hauptbahnhof.

Public Transport
You definitely need a Ticket for Public Transport.


 * User trt rode the tram in July 2011 and encountered Controllers. They were easily spotted in white shirts, black pants, and some wore grey vests. They also barely glimpsed at the tickets, so a used ticket could easily pass.
 * Quarim can confirm this - there are many controllers in Frankfurt public transport and you will be checked often. Even the tricks like buy a ticket for childs under 12 and make the stupid tourist when controleld didn't work for him
 * User tawax lives in Frankfurt and took the public transport very often. They are not many controllers in Frankfurt, and some of them are easily to see. You can try to have a ride without a ticket, but be in the front of the train/bus to see if some controllers are coming.

Frankfurt am Main