Getting Around Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern, in the Palatinate in Rhineland-Palatinate, is a university and research city. It is home to the RPTU, the state's only technically oriented university, the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), the Fraunhofer institutes for industrial mathematics (ITWM) and experimental software engineering (IESE), and the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems.
The city is also the centre of the Kaiserslautern Military Community, which takes in Vogelweh and Ramstein Air Base. Ramstein is 17 km west, 30–40 minutes by car, and Kaiserslautern Hauptbahnhof is the nearest main-line station to the base.
ICE and TGV trains between Frankfurt, Mannheim, Saarbrücken and Paris stop at the Hauptbahnhof. Add the train and its arrival time to the booking, and the car is scheduled for that arrival.
For a day split between the research campus, a visit to Ramstein and a meeting in Mannheim, book by the hour: one chauffeur and one vehicle stay with you for the time you reserve. Send the full address with your booking; the confirmation then tells you where the car will stop.
Airport Transfers in Kaiserslautern
The nearest airport is Saarbrücken, 64 km west on the A6, 55 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes by car. Frankfurt Airport, with many more routes, is 104 km away, 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 50 minutes; it uses Terminal 1 and Terminal 3, so give your terminal in the booking and the car goes there. Frankfurt-Hahn is 105 km, also 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 50 minutes. The right one depends on your airline and route.
On the runs to Saarbrücken and Frankfurt, the A6 or the A63 carries most of the distance, and the hour of the day matters more than the kilometres, especially towards Frankfurt and Mannheim. Journey times vary with traffic and weather.
Book with your flight number. For an arrival, your chauffeur checks the flight status and times the pickup to when you actually land, and your booking confirmation shows where to meet the chauffeur. For a departure from Kaiserslautern, what counts is the length of the drive, not the time on the clock: 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 50 minutes to Frankfurt Airport in normal conditions. You set the pickup time yourself, and the confirmation shows it.
Long-Distance & Cross-Border Travel from Kaiserslautern
Two neighbouring countries are within a morning's drive. Metz is 134 km away, 1 hour 35 minutes to 2 hours 10 minutes, and Luxembourg 161 km, 1 hour 50 minutes to 2 hours 30 minutes. A day in either is booked as one journey, with the same chauffeur and car from start to finish, with no change of vehicle at the border. In Metz, the Robert Schuman convention centre, opened in 2018, stands at the TGV station exit, close to the Centre Pompidou-Metz.
Within Germany, Saarbrücken is 70 km, 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes; Mannheim 67 km, 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes; and Heidelberg 88 km, 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 35 minutes. In Saarbrücken, the Congresshalle is about 600 m from the Eurobahnhof, and Mannheim's Rosengarten congress centre takes up to 9,000 participants.
Germany has notified the European Commission of temporary checks at its internal land borders, and France has notified the European Commission of checks at its internal borders, so plan for a possible check on the way to Metz or back from Luxembourg. Carry the travel documents your nationality and itinerary require.
Groups & Event Travel in Kaiserslautern
A group may come to Kaiserslautern for the research campus: a project meeting at the DFKI, a workshop at a Fraunhofer institute or a conference at the RPTU. If delegates fly into Frankfurt, Saarbrücken and Hahn on the same day, each needs its own pickup and the timing has to fit the programme.
When you book for other people, all their transfers can be kept in one account, each with its own booking and confirmation. If guests come in on several flights, every arrival gets a transfer of its own. For a family moving into the military community with suitcases, or a team travelling together, a Sprinter van carries up to 12 people with their bags, and bigger groups go by coach, with up to 56 seats; the vehicle is matched to the load.
Book as soon as your programme or moving date is set. Local vehicles and drivers are booked up early around large events. If your plans go beyond a standard booking, write to support with the dates, addresses, number of passengers, flights and luggage, and the team will arrange it.
