To Köln Hauptbahnhof · One way · 2 adults · All service hoursPrices are whole-party totals. Times are recorded journey durations; no walking or waiting has been added.
All prices are totals for 2 adults. Group fares included.
How do I get from Cologne Bonn airport to Cologne city center?
For one traveler the cheapest way is the S19 or RE6 to Köln Hauptbahnhof at €4, 14–16 min, and it is also the fastest. Every option below is priced as a total for your party and says where it leaves you.
1 listed option
Lowest listed totalregional
S19 or RE6 to Köln Hauptbahnhof
regional · DB Regio NRW (S19) and National Express (RE6), Rheinlandtarif
14–16 min rideEvery 20 minRuns all night
Flughafen Köln/Bonn station→Köln Hauptbahnhof in 16 minutes on the S19 (14 on the RE6)
24-hour serviceLuggage space
€8total for 2 adults€4 each2 × €4 adult fareBuy ticketOn DB Regio NRW (S19) and National Express (RE6), Rheinlandtarif
Hours, tickets & luggage
EUR 4.00 an adult, EUR 1.80 a child aged 6 to 14, EUR 9.60 for a 24hTicket, EUR 19.20 for the 24hTicket 5 Personen (up to five people, 24 hours, on every bus, tram, S-Bahn and regional train in the city) — cheaper than five singles at EUR 20.00. The EUR 2.90 Kurzstrecke is not sold for S-Bahn or regional trains. The KölnCard covers the same area for EUR 9.00 (one person) or EUR 19.00 (five), sold at the same machines.
Luggage. Commuter trains with racks and standing room; full at rush hour.
The options are still here — your budget or journey-time filter is drawn tighter than any of them. Widen either one, or reset the filters, to bring them back.
Road journey times vary with traffic. Prices and availability should be confirmed with the operator.
Going somewhere specific?
"The center" is not one place, and the answer changes
Cologne Bonn Airport has its own ICE and S-Bahn station immediately next to both terminals, and trains call there round the clock.
Tickets
The go.Center desk inside the terminal sells and books tickets for the S-Bahn, regional and long-distance trains, and advises on connections in the region.
The taxi rank
Taxiruf Köln's cars wait on the taxi lanes outside both terminals. Its online fare calculator gives an estimate before you ride.
Uber and Bolt
Uber operates at Cologne Bonn Airport, booked through its app. Pickup is at the Uber lane between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, apart from the taxi lanes.
Before you travel
Where each one starts, how long it runs, what it carries
regional · DB Regio NRW (S19) and National Express (RE6), RheinlandtarifS19 or RE6 to Köln Hauptbahnhof
From
Flughafen Köln/Bonn station, under the terminals — the S19 from platforms 1 and 2, the RE6 from platform 3; lifts and escalators come up inside the terminal
To
Köln Hauptbahnhof in 16 minutes on the S19 (14 on the RE6), calling at Köln Messe/Deutz three minutes before; the S19 goes on to Hansaring and Ehrenfeld
Luggage
Commuter trains with racks and standing room; full at rush hour.
Runs
All night
Journey
14–16 min
EUR 4.00 an adult, EUR 1.80 a child aged 6 to 14, EUR 9.60 for a 24hTicket, EUR 19.20 for the 24hTicket 5 Personen (up to five people, 24 hours, on every bus, tram, S-Bahn and regional train in the city) — cheaper than five singles at EUR 20.00. The EUR 2.90 Kurzstrecke is not sold for S-Bahn or regional trains. The KölnCard covers the same area for EUR 9.00 (one person) or EUR 19.00 (five), sold at the same machines.
S19 and RE6 take the same EUR 4.00 ticket and both reach the Hauptbahnhof; take whichever leaves first. The S19 runs every 20 minutes by day, the RE6 hourly at :48, and the S19 alone through the night.
Five or more of you: the 24hTicket 5 Personen at EUR 19.20 beats five singles at EUR 20.00 — or the KölnCard for five at EUR 19.00, if a museum is on the list. Four pay EUR 16.00 in singles and should.
The S19 runs all night, every 30 minutes, except on Deutsche Bahn's engineering nights. As of 14 September 2026, there is no S19 after about 21:30 on the nights of 17, 18, 19 and 29 September; 1, 2, 3, 7, 15, 16, 17, 27, 29, 30 and 31 October; 4, 12, 13, 14, 24, 26, 27 and 28 November; and 2, 10 and 11 December. On those nights, a replacement bus leaves Terminal 1, stand 6, for Köln Breslauer Platz/Hbf every 30 minutes, and the RE6 runs until 00:48.
Your ticket is not valid on the ICE, which leaves from the same station: the airport's long-distance platforms are Deutsche Bahn fares. A Rail&Fly or a DB ticket bought through to "Flughafen Köln/Bonn" does cover the S-Bahn leg.
Do not buy a Kurzstrecke: the EUR 2.90 short-hop ticket is not valid on S-Bahn or regional trains at all.
Deutsche Bahn's own page says 14 minutes from the Hauptbahnhof to the airport; the timetable gives 16 the other way. Both are right.
bus · SWB Bus und Bahn, Rheinlandtarif plus SB60 surchargeSB60 airport express bus to Bonn Hbf
From
The bus station outside Terminal 1, stand (Bussteig) 5; the bus calls at Terminal 2 three minutes later
To
Bonn Hauptbahnhof bus station, stand F2, in 41 minutes (39 in the evening and on Sundays), setting down first at Konrad-Adenauer-Platz in Beuel (26 minutes), then Brüdergasse/Bertha-von-Suttner-Platz (36) and Markt (38)
Luggage
A low-floor express bus that SWB says runs at motorway speed; no wheelchair space on board, so folding wheelchairs travel as luggage.
Runs
05:30–00:30
Journey
39–41 min
On the SB60, a single or 24-hour ticket between Bonn and the airport is level 2 — EUR 5.50 an adult, EUR 2.50 a child — plus a EUR 5.00 (adult) or EUR 2.50 (child) surcharge, per person, per ride, payable even by a child riding free on another ticket. So EUR 10.50 an adult, EUR 5.00 a child; five on the level-2 24hTicket 5 Personen (EUR 26.40) pay EUR 51.40, though four singles at EUR 42.00 still beat four surcharges (EUR 46.40). Deutschlandticket holders and eezy.nrw check-in fares pay no surcharge, per SWB.
The surcharge is per person, per ride, and a group ticket does not waive it: EUR 5.00 an adult, EUR 2.50 a child, on top of a level-2 ticket, due even from a child riding free on someone else's ticket. Only a Deutschlandticket, an eezy.nrw check-in fare, a Rail&Fly naming the SB60, or a disabled pass with the supplement escapes it.
Buy or validate the surcharge ticket before you board. The VRS app sells both; the bus's cashless machine behind the driver sells the airport ticket with surcharge included, or the surcharge alone — card, phone or watch, no cash. In Bonn, street machines sell a combined "SB60" ticket at the same price.
The train costs more: EUR 13.90, and needs a change — the S19 to "Siegburg/Bonn" (in Siegburg) and the 66 tram, or the S19/RE6 to Köln Hbf and a train back down. The RB26 trips reaching Bonn Hbf via Cologne in 47 minutes are empty turnarounds, not a service you can board.
Five or more of you: the level-2 24hTicket 5 Personen at EUR 26.40 plus five surcharges is EUR 51.40, against EUR 52.50 in singles. Four are better off with four singles at EUR 42.00.
Last bus 00:30, first 05:30, every night. Between them the only way to Bonn is a taxi on Cologne's meter, whose compulsory area includes Bonn.
Since 9 February 2026, while the Friedrich-Ebert-Brücke (Nordbrücke) is closed to vehicles over 7.5 tonnes, the bus is diverted and skips Mozartstraße, Frankenbad/Kunstverein, Innenministerium and Beethovenhalle/SWB.
Konrad-Adenauer-Platz is on the Beuel side of the Rhine, not in the city center; the center stops are Brüdergasse and Markt.
From Terminal 1, stand 5: Monday to Friday every 30 minutes, 05:30 to 23:30, then 00:30. Saturday every 30 minutes to 17:30, then hourly 18:30 to 23:30 and 00:30. Sunday and holidays hourly 05:30 to 13:30, then every 30 minutes, 14:00 to 23:30, and 00:30. Nothing between 00:30 and 05:30. Terminal 2 is served three minutes later.
regional · National Express, Rheinlandtarif (VRS/VRR cross-border)RE6 to Düsseldorf Hbf
From
Flughafen Köln/Bonn station, platform 3 — the same train that serves Köln Hbf
To
Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof in 59 minutes, via Köln Messe/Deutz (10), Köln Hbf (14, with a five-minute stop), Dormagen, Neuss and Düsseldorf-Bilk; the train continues to Düsseldorf Flughafen and the Ruhr
Luggage
An RRX regional express; no published luggage rule, and busy between Cologne and Düsseldorf at rush hour.
Runs
04:48–00:48
Journey
59 min
Cologne to Düsseldorf: EUR 13.90 an adult, EUR 6.30 a child, EUR 27.80 for a one-person 24hTicket, EUR 55.60 for the 24hTicket 5 Personen. This level-3 ticket is valid only on the route, not across the network. The NRW-Tarif and eezy.nrw also price this ride, by distance.
Buy the ticket to Düsseldorf, not to Cologne: the airport's EUR 4.00 level-1b ticket ends at the Cologne city boundary, and the through fare is level 3.
A level-3 ticket bought for Düsseldorf is valid on that route only, by the tariff's cross-border rules — not for a day around the whole network.
Five or more of you: the 24hTicket 5 Personen at EUR 55.60 is the price of four singles and saves EUR 13.90 on five.
The ICE from the airport's long-distance platforms also reaches Düsseldorf through Cologne, on a Deutsche Bahn fare that changes by the day; this ticket does not board it.
Düsseldorf has its own airport, one stop and 15 minutes beyond the Hauptbahnhof on this train.
Hourly at 48 minutes past, 04:48 to 00:48, Monday to Sunday; Düsseldorf Hbf at 47 past the following hour. In the week of 14 September 2026 the evening service thins to a last train around 21:48.
What is the cheapest way from Cologne Bonn airport to Cologne city center?
For one traveler, the S19 or RE6 to Köln Hauptbahnhof at €4. Per-person fares multiply with the size of your party and per-vehicle fares do not, so check the total for your group rather than the single fare.
How do I get from Cologne Bonn airport to Cologne city center by train?
One train reaches Köln Hauptbahnhof: the S19 or RE6 to Köln Hauptbahnhof, €4 for one traveler, 14–16 min, to Köln Hauptbahnhof in 16 minutes on the S19 (14 on the RE6). For one traveler that is the cheapest way into Cologne by any means. See every option by train →
How long does it take to get from Cologne Bonn airport to Cologne city center?
S19 or RE6 to Köln Hauptbahnhof: 14–16 min
How far is Cologne Bonn airport from the city center?
Cologne Bonn Airport does not publish a distance to the city. By time: the fastest way in, the S19 or RE6 to Köln Hauptbahnhof, takes 14–16 min.
Where is the train station at Cologne Bonn airport?
Cologne Bonn Airport has its own ICE and S-Bahn station immediately next to both terminals, and trains call there round the clock.
Is there Uber or Bolt at Cologne Bonn airport?
Uber operates at Cologne Bonn Airport, booked through its app. Pickup is at the Uber lane between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, apart from the taxi lanes.
Where do I catch the S19 or RE6 to Köln Hauptbahnhof at Cologne Bonn airport?
Flughafen Köln/Bonn station, under the terminals — the S19 from platforms 1 and 2, the RE6 from platform 3; lifts and escalators come up inside the terminal. Follow the signs from arrivals. It leaves you at Köln Hauptbahnhof in 16 minutes on the S19 (14 on the RE6), calling at Köln Messe/Deutz three minutes before; the S19 goes on to Hansaring and Ehrenfeld.
Does the SB60 airport express bus to Bonn Hbf go to Köln Hauptbahnhof, at the foot of the cathedral?
Runs south to Bonn, not into Cologne. The only direct public transport between the airport and Bonn Hauptbahnhof, and cheaper than the train despite its surcharge.
Does the RE6 to Düsseldorf Hbf go to Köln Hauptbahnhof, at the foot of the cathedral?
Runs through Cologne to Düsseldorf. For Cologne itself the same train is the EUR 4.00 option above; this is the fare for staying on.
Worth knowing
The airport sits inside Cologne's fare zone: EUR 4.00 to the Hauptbahnhof on the S19 (16 minutes) or RE6 (14). Bonn is a different city and a different price level. The tariff changed on 1 June 2026 — ignore any older VRS fare.
To Bonn, the bus is cheaper than the train despite its surcharge. The SB60 express bus costs EUR 10.50 (level 2, EUR 5.50, plus a EUR 5.00 surcharge) to Bonn Hauptbahnhof in 41 minutes, every 30 minutes from 05:30 to 00:30. Any train is level 3, EUR 13.90, and none runs directly to Bonn Hauptbahnhof — the S19's "Siegburg/Bonn" is in Siegburg. Deutschlandticket and eezy.nrw check-in fares pay no surcharge.
The 24hTicket 5 Personen covers up to five people for 24 hours: EUR 19.20 into Cologne against EUR 20.00 in singles, EUR 51.40 to Bonn against EUR 52.50, and EUR 55.60 to Düsseldorf against EUR 69.50. Four still pay singles into Cologne and to Bonn. The KölnCard, sold at the same machines, covers the Cologne area for EUR 9.00 (one person) or EUR 19.00 (five), with museum discounts.
The S-Bahn runs all night, except on 26 engineering-works nights between 17 September and 11 December 2026 (dates in the S19 caveats). On those nights a replacement bus runs from Terminal 1 to Breslauer Platz/Hbf every 30 minutes, and the RE6 runs until 00:48. To Bonn, nothing runs between the 00:30 and 05:30 buses.
There is no fixed taxi fare, so no taxi is priced here. Cologne's meter (from 1 June 2026): EUR 4.90 to start, EUR 2.90 a kilometre, EUR 0.60 a waiting minute, EUR 6.00 extra for a van or more than four passengers. The compulsory area includes Bonn and Düsseldorf. A pre-booked ride may be fixed within 20 per cent of the meter; Uber has its own lane between the terminals.
The RE6 that reaches Köln Hauptbahnhof in 14 minutes carries on to Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof in 59, hourly at :48 from 04:48 to 00:48, on a level-3 ticket of EUR 13.90, valid on that route only. The ICE from the airport's long-distance platforms runs on a Deutsche Bahn fare that changes daily; no Rheinlandtarif ticket boards it.
Can we count your visit?We use Google Analytics to see which airports people look up. It sets cookies. Nothing runs until you say yes, and refusing changes nothing about the site.What is stored
