Travelling to Europa Park from the UK using public transport

Europa Park is one of the best theme parks in the world with a fantastic mix of family-friendly attractions and some incredible roller coasters for those seeking a bigger thrill (including the new multi-launch coaster Voltron). In this post I’ll share how to travel to Europa Park from the UK using public transport, breaking down the best airport to fly into and the busses and trains you need to catch (including prices). It may sound complicated but it’s not as tricky as it sounds and it is well-worth the trip out!

As an aside, if you’re party is bigger than two people it’s probably going to be cheaper to drive…if you opt for this it’s just under a 7 hour drive from Calais if you use the toll roads and go through France or, for a more budget friendly option, adding an extra 45 minutes to your trip by going via Luxembourg will save you a lot on tolls! This blog isn’t about driving to Europa but if you do that it’s as simple as driving to Dover/Folkestone and getting the ferry to Calais (or Dunkirk if you’re planning to drive via Luxembourg) or getting LeShuttle (Euro Tunnel).

Flying to Europa Park

There are several airports that are within reach of Europa Park with the closest two being Strasbourg in France and Karlsruhe/Baden Baden in Germany. Both are only 64km from the park so flying into one of these and hiring a car or getting one of Europa’s shuttle’s is the simplest way to get to the park however, with taxi’s costing between €200 and €250 to get to the park you’re probably going to want to opt for public transport.

If going via public transport I would recommend flying into Karlsruhe/Baden Baden airport. This is a relatively small airport but has regular flights from London Stansted Airport using Ryanair. This means flights are relatively cheap and, if you’re able to pack super-light with just a carry on bag could be a super-cheap option!

Travelling from Karlsruhe/Baden Baden Airport to Europa Park on Public Transport

Once you’re at the airport you’ll need to get the bus to Baden Baden main station (train station in German is Bahnhof so keep a look out for this word!).

Getting the bus to Baden Baden Station from Karlsruhe Airport

When you exit the airport the bus stop is immediately on your left. To get to Baden Baden station you’ll want bus 215 which is roughly every hour. There is a ticket machine by the bus stop which takes cash and card payment and can be put into English, however, on our visit we found the card function didn’t work. This meant taking a walk back into the airport where there is a free-to-use cash machine (Geldautomat in German). As an aside, for paying with card and withdrawing cash across the world I’d highly recommend a Monzo account as there is no charge for any of this and you’ll even get a nice spending summary at the end of your trip. If you get a Monzo account with this link you’ll even get a fiver!

If the ticket machine is completely broken (as was the one at Baden Baden station during our trip) you can buy a ticket on the bus. Tickets are priced by zones and travelling to Baden Baden station is three zones which (at the time of writing) will cost €4.50 per adult for the 20-30 minute journey. I found the bus drivers friendly and helpful (makes a change from the UK!)

Getting from Baden Baden Station to Ringsheim/Europa Park using the Train

Once you reach Baden Baden station (which is next to the bus stop) you’ll want to get a train out to Ringsheim/Europa Park. This is a train that is roughly every half an hour and is a total journey of 55 minutes with one change at Offenburg. The first train is Rb 26 followed by RE 2.

You can buy tickets from the machine at the station, via the DB (Deutsche Bahn) website or via the DB Navigator App. I would highly recommend using the app as it easily allows you to search for times, shows you platform numbers and translates into English really well. If you use this your ticket(s) appear as a QR code and the app will even send push notifications reminding you of upcoming changes on your journey.

A single journey from Baden Baden Station to Ringsheim/Europa Park station will cost you €13.20 per adult. It’s also worth noting that children under 14 can travel free with an adult (up to 3 children per adult).

Getting from Ringsheim/Europa Park Station to Europa Park via Bus

The final part of your journey is to get the bus from Ringsheim station to Europa Park. Once again, the bus station is immediately outside the station and timetables are easily on display. Depending on the time of day busses are every 15 minutes and run pretty late into the night too. You’ll want bus 7231 to Europa Park which also has stops at Rulantica (the water park where other hotels are also located), Bell Rock Hotel, Europa Park main entrance and Europa Park Hotels (which are situated at the back end of the park in their Spain-themed area).

The bus will cost you €3.50 per adult and the journey only takes around 15 minutes depending on where you’re going. It’s important to note that these busses are cash only.

What does it cost to use public transport to get to Europa Park?

Our two busses and train cost a total of €21.20 per adult (just under £18) and took just under 2 hours from Karlsruhe airport. In my opinion this makes it pretty affordable and a massive saving on the €200-250 a taxi would cost although worth mentioning the taxi would only take 1 hour.

The German public transport system (minus the maintenance of the bus stop ticket machines) is excellent, easy to follow and reliable. I’d actually go as far as to say it’s easier to work out which bus you need in Germany than it is in the UK!!!

In addition to that with Ryanair flights to Baden Baden from Stansted as little as £20 with just a carry-on bag if you can pack light you could get all your travel in for around £80 per person which is incredibly good value!

Should you take public transport to Europa Park from the UK?

After completing this trip recently I think this is the easiest way to get to the park from the UK and for parties of 2 or less almost certainly the most affordable even if you have to pay for extra baggage for Ryanair and airport parking.

This is a breakdown of my recent trip’s travel costs:

Flights – £98 per adult with priority boarding and a 10kg carry on bag for Ryanair from Stansted

Airport Parking – £62.55 for 6 days in the Jet Park parking area (my home-town of Colchester has a Stansted bus that will take you there for £2 per person but it has a reputation for being unreliable and not turning up so wasn’t worth the risk!)

Public transport in Germany – €42.40 per adult for the round trip

If we halve the airport parking cost to account for the two adults that went on my trip this comes to around £165 per adult for all your travel and extra bags…pretty good value in my opinion (and this trip was during October half term so within school holidays).

Final thoughts and travel tips!

My number 1 tip (which goes against what I usually try and do on trips) is to carry some cash for public transport as the busses do require cash payments. The only time you’ll need cash on the trip is for the busses so just carry enough to cover the costs outlined in this post.

Secondly, I’d recommend having a good portable charger. I’ve been using the XDIGI 20000mAh power bank which has 1 USB A output and 2 USB-C and can charge 3 devices at once and supports fast charge. The massive battery capacity and fast-charge capacity makes this the go-to portable charger for journeys.

Finally, make sure you plan! – This blog should give you everything you need to know but have a note of the bus numbers you need to catch, download any apps in advance and make sure you have a mobile plan that allows you to use your data in Europe. 5G works pretty well in Baden Baden and on the journey to Europa Park. Baden Baden Airport also has good free wifi and Europa Park has good free wifi throughout too. If your phone supports e-sims then check out Global Yo which offers really cheap data-only e-sims that are perfect for trips like this. Using that link will get you $10 free credit too!

Questions?

If you have any questions of comments then use the comments section below, drop me an email or reach out on social media. I’d love to help you with your trip!