The iconic Cologne Cathedral and Hohenzollern Bridge beautifully lit up against the night sky, reflecting in the Rhine River.

Ludwigshafen am Rhein to Cologne

Compare trains, buses, flights and ferries from Ludwigshafen am Rhein to Cologne. From €23.99, fastest 2h 18m, with the total price and every fee shown up front.

Ludwigshafen am Rhein to Cologne runs about 5 times a day, with the first departure around 06:39 and the last around 07:30. One passenger pays €23.99, every fee included. The fastest door to door is 2h 18m over 222 km, on services run by 1 operator across 1 mode.

Checked September 19, 2026Priced for October 7, 2026One passenger, all fees included

What one seat costs

Every operator we hold on this corridor starts at €23.99, so there is no spread to show.

Typical fares · Priced for October 7, 2026

€23.99

  • 197%Moves across the booking window

When it runs, leaving Ludwigshafen am Rhein

No operator has filed a timetable for this direction yet, so the first and last departure below follow the pattern of the corridor. Read them as the shape of the service day rather than as times to turn up for.

  • 06:39First departure
  • 07:30Last departure
  • 5Services per day
  • 20%Run direct

DB Fernverkehr runs this service and does not sell it here. Bookaway takes the payment.

Buying this trip

Bookaway lists departures for Ludwigshafen am Rhein to Cologne on your date, and you pay on their side.

Partner link. We do not sell this ticket, and we earn nothing from this one.

Fares by date

What this journey usually costs, by departure date. It shows which days run dearer.

Typical fares

  1. about €59.74Sun20
  2. about €54.24Mon21
  3. about €44.34Tue22
  4. about €43.24Wed23
  5. about €56.99Thu24
  6. about €49.29Fri25
  7. about €48.74Sat26
  8. about €36.64Sun27
  9. about €33.89Mon28
  10. about €30.04Tue29
  11. about €33.34Wed30
  12. about €40.49Thu1
  13. about €34.44Fri2
  14. about €36.09Sat3
  15. about €31.69Sun4
  16. about €25.63Mon5
  17. about €25.64Tue6
  18. about €23.99Wed7
  19. about €40.49Thu8
  20. about €30.04Fri9
  21. about €34.99Sat10

Based on what this route has cost recently. The operator sets the price on the day, and the live fare is confirmed when you book.

The train gets you into Cologne. It does not get you a bed, and neither do we.

A hotel room

A room in Cologne for the night the train gets in

Sort by distance from Koln Hauptbahnhof and you can see which places are ten minutes on foot and which are not.

Partner links. We do not sell accommodation. We earn a commission when a booking completes, and it never changes what you pay.

Booking window

When to book Ludwigshafen am Rhein to Cologne

The same search run across the whole booking window, so the shape of the curve is visible rather than described.

  1. €32.2490 days
  2. €20.1460 days
  3. €21.7845 days
  4. €21.7930 days
  5. €34.9921 days
  6. €36.0914 days
  7. €48.747 days
  8. €44.343 days
  9. €59.741 days
Cheapest lead time
Fares bottom out around 60 days ahead, at €20.14.
How much it moves
The gap between the cheapest and most expensive lead time is 197 percent. The most expensive point is €59.74, 1 days out.
What that means
Today sits inside the cheap window, which closes about 60 days before departure. Waiting from here has usually cost money on this corridor rather than saved it.
€59.74€20.14137142130456090

Book now Fares on this route are lowest around 60 days ahead. You are inside that window.

This corridor, specifically

Facts that apply to Ludwigshafen am Rhein to Cologne and to no other route on the site.

Clocks

Both ends keep the same time, so the arrival is the departure plus the journey.

The shape of it

222 km

193 km as the crow flies, 15% further by the route services take. The bearing runs north-west.

Who lives at each end

163,1961,024,621

Population at the departure city and at the arrival city, which is usually what decides how often anything runs.

How we know

0/2

2 of these connections were inferred from service-area overlap rather than observed in a timetable. We would rather say so.

The route

Ludwigshafen am RheinLudwigshafen am RheinKölnKöln
The journey

What the journey looks like

Direct or connecting, how far the route really runs, and what happens when a connection is missed.

Direct or connecting
20% of the services we sell on this corridor run through without a change. The remaining 80% involve one connection.
How far it really runs
The route covers 222 km against 193 km in a straight line, a detour of 15 percent. Track and road geometry account for the difference.
Where the change is
Connections are made at Wiesbaden, Mainz, Koblenz, Rüsselsheim am Main. The gap between arriving and leaving is 54 minutes, of which about 5 is walking.
If the connection is missed
The tightest connection we sell here has a 17 percent chance of not being made on the timetable alone. Part of this journey is a self transfer between separate tickets, so leave more time than the minimum and expect to check in again.

Cologne is large, and the road in from CGN can take longer than the last hour of the flight. Cars are not our business.

A taxi stand outside an airport terminal

A car waiting when you land in Cologne

Settled in advance, so the ride into Cologne costs what it said it would rather than what the cab stand says.

Partner links. We do not operate transfers. We earn a commission on a booking, and the fare is the same as going direct.

Who runs this route

The train gets in hours before any room is ready. Holding a bag is not what we sell.

Left luggage lockers

Baggage storage near Koln Hauptbahnhof

Most of the points near Koln Hauptbahnhof open before the first train and close after the last one.

Partner links. We do not run these networks. We earn a commission on a booking, and the price is the same as going direct.

Questions about Ludwigshafen am Rhein to Cologne

The questions people actually ask about this trip, answered from the same prices and times the page above is built on rather than written once and left to go stale.

How long does it take to get from Ludwigshafen am Rhein to Cologne?

The fastest journey from Ludwigshafen am Rhein to Cologne takes 2h 18m door to door, of which 1h 41m is spent moving, on the train. Most services take around 2h 26m, because that average includes slower stopping services and journeys with a connection. Times include reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end.

How much does it cost to travel from Ludwigshafen am Rhein to Cologne?

The cheapest fare from Ludwigshafen am Rhein to Cologne is €23.99, as of September 19, 2026. A typical fare across the next three weeks is €40.49. Both figures are the total for one passenger, including taxes, supplier fees and our service fee, so nothing is added at checkout.

What is the cheapest way to get from Ludwigshafen am Rhein to Cologne?

The cheapest way from Ludwigshafen am Rhein to Cologne is by train, at €23.99 for one passenger on October 7, 2026. That journey takes 2h 25m door to door. Cheaper is rarely faster on this corridor, and the comparison table on this page shows what each mode costs against what it saves.

When should I book Ludwigshafen am Rhein to Cologne?

Fares from Ludwigshafen am Rhein to Cologne bottom out around 60 days before departure, at €20.14. Across the whole booking window the gap between the cheapest and the most expensive lead time is 197 percent, measured on September 19, 2026. Booking inside the last week has consistently cost more on this corridor.

Which day of the week is cheapest for Ludwigshafen am Rhein to Cologne?

Tuesday is the cheapest day to depart from Ludwigshafen am Rhein to Cologne, at €30.04. That is the median of 21 priced departure days across the next three weeks, as of September 19, 2026. Shifting a departure by one day is usually worth more than shifting the booking by one week.

Which month is cheapest for Ludwigshafen am Rhein to Cologne?

November is the cheapest of the next 5 months to travel from Ludwigshafen am Rhein to Cologne, at €21.79 for one passenger. Each month is priced on its fifteenth, so the comparison is like for like rather than a mix of weekends and midweek departures.

Who runs service from Ludwigshafen am Rhein to Cologne?

No operator record names Ludwigshafen am Rhein to Cologne directly. DB Fernverkehr publish service areas covering both ends and may serve it, so we list them as possible operators rather than confirmed ones.

Is there a direct service from Ludwigshafen am Rhein to Cologne?

20 percent of the services we sell from Ludwigshafen am Rhein to Cologne are direct. The rest connect at Wiesbaden, Mainz, Koblenz, Rüsselsheim am Main, with about 54 minutes between the two services. Both legs are sold on one booking, so a missed connection is rebooked at no charge.

Which station or terminal do services from Ludwigshafen am Rhein to Cologne use?

Services from Ludwigshafen am Rhein to Cologne by train leave from Ludwigshafen (Rh) Hbf and arrive at Koln Hauptbahnhof. Allow about 44m in total for reaching the departure terminal and leaving the arrival one, which is already included in every door to door time on this page.

Can I change or refund a ticket from Ludwigshafen am Rhein to Cologne?

1 of the 1 operators we sell from Ludwigshafen am Rhein to Cologne allow a change or a refund. A change on a changeable fare costs €5.00. The operator table on this page names which is which, and the condition is shown again before you pay.

Where these numbers come from

Places, coordinates, operators, which operator serves which pair, and every distance on this page are real and come from open data. Where a corridor has a filed timetable the departure times are real too, and ferry fares are the prices the operators publish themselves.

Derived from service area No carrier record names this exact pair. The operators listed publish a service area covering both places at a distance their mode plausibly carries people, which is evidence that the corridor is served and not evidence of a specific service. Pages state which, because presenting the two as the same thing would be dishonest.

Where no operator publishes a fare for a corridor, the price here is our own estimate, worked out from the real distance and the real operator through a fare curve that follows lead time, day of the week and season. It tells you roughly what the journey costs. It is not a seat anyone has agreed to sell, and the payment step will not take it.

Defined in full at Door to door, Fares, The booking window, Carbon, Distances

On this page
Every figure above was computed for Ludwigshafen am Rhein to Cologne on September 19, 2026: 222 km of route against 193 km in a straight line, 5 services a day, 1 operator a cheapest fare of €23.99, and 2h 18m door to door on the fastest mode. The return direction is computed separately and its numbers are not these numbers.

Being on the water gives Cologne a set of days out that do not start at a station. We do not sell those either.

A guided tour group

Day trips out of Cologne and across Germany

Day trips that leave Cologne in the morning and cover a good part of Germany by evening.

Partner links. We do not sell tours or tickets. We earn a commission on a booking, and it never changes the price.

The two ends, compared

Ludwigshafen am Rhein reaches 43 places in 3 countries on services we hold, over distances from 41 to 496 km. Cologne reaches 234 places in 49 countries, from 41 to 9,350 km.

Other ways to make this journey

Leaving Ludwigshafen am Rhein

  • 43Places you can leave for
  • 3Countries
  • 8Operators

Arriving in Cologne

Leaving Cologne

  • 234Places you can leave for
  • 49Countries
  • 71Operators

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