Home / Cologne /Bonn Airport / SB60 airport express bus to Bonn Hbf vs Pre-booked private transfer

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SB60 airport express bus to Bonn HbforPre-booked private transfer?

The short answer

These do not go to the same place, so price is not the comparison. The Pre-booked private transfer reaches Köln Hauptbahnhof, at the foot of the cathedral; the SB60 airport express bus to Bonn Hbf does not. 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.

The Pre-booked private transfer is quicker: 15 min against 41 min. The SB60 airport express bus to Bonn Hbf varies between 39 and 41 minutes.

SB60 airport express bus to Bonn Hbf: 05:30–00:30. Pre-booked private transfer: Runs all night.

Priced against each other

Whole-party totals · adult fares
What each costs for the whole party, in EUR. The cheaper of the two is marked on every row.
TravelersSB60 airport express bus to Bonn HbfPre-booked private transferDifference
1€10.50€56€45.50
2€21€56€35
3€31.50€56€24.50
4€42€63€21
5€51.40€63€11.60
6€61.90€63€1.10
7€72.40€63€9.40
8€82.90€63€19.90

The cheaper option changes at 7 travelers, from the SB60 airport express bus to Bonn Hbf to the Pre-booked private transfer. That is the whole reason this comparison is not a single number.

Side by side

Where each one leaves you
SB60 · 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

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.

SB60 airport express bus to Bonn Hbf: price for every party size

SB60 fares and conditions from SWB
transfer · Welcome PickupsPre-booked private transfer
From
Driver meets you in arrivals with a name board
To
Any address
Luggage
Stated when booking; choose the vehicle by luggage as well as seats.
Runs
All night
Journey
15 min

This price is indicative: the operator sets it, and it moves with vehicle size, luggage and the exact address. Confirm the total at the time you book.

Pre-booked private transfer: price for every party size

Book transfer through Welcome Pickups

Partner link

This compares two of 5 options. See all of them ranked for your party size

The other comparisons at Bonn Airport