Stuttgart Airport: 27 Minutes on the S-Bahn for €4

Stuttgart is one of those German airports where the transport links simply work. It is still worth a close look, because one fare quirk makes the difference here between an expensive arrival and a very cheap one.

First the basics.

The S-Bahn

Two lines run between the airport and the city: the S2 towards Schorndorf and the S3 towards Backnang.

The journey to the Hauptbahnhof takes 27 minutes. Between them the two lines run every 10 to 20 minutes, and every 15 minutes at weekends.

On operating hours: the first S-Bahn leaves the Hauptbahnhof for the airport at 04:55 Monday to Friday, and the last leaves the airport for the Hauptbahnhof at 00:30.

Those two times are worth remembering, because they are the limits of the simple solution. A flight landing at 01:15 is a taxi case, and no frequency changes that.

The fare, and the figure that makes the difference

Now the point this article exists for.

A journey across two zones costs €4.00 for adults and €1.80 for children aged 6 to 14. A day ticket for two zones is €8.00.

And now the interesting item: a group ticket for up to five people costs €15.50.

Let us work that through, because it reverses the decision for many. Four adults pay €16 in single tickets — for the outward journey alone. With the group ticket, five people pay €15.50 and travel all day, in both directions and on everything else they use in Stuttgart.

That overturns the comparison with a taxi completely. A family of four, for whom a taxi often pays because four singles get expensive, travels here for €15.50 — and a taxi into the centre costs several times that.

So my recommendation is unambiguous: from three people, buy the group ticket without further calculation. Above that number it is practically always cheaper than the alternative.

The exhibition station

A quirk of this airport that matters to business travellers.

Stuttgart’s exhibition grounds sit directly beside the airport, and the same S-Bahn station serves both. Arriving for a trade fair, you do not get out at the Hauptbahnhof and come back — you stay at the airport.

That is an unusually convenient arrangement; at most German venues airport and exhibition centre are far apart. If your appointment is on the exhibition grounds, you do not need the transfer into the city at all.

Conversely: during fair weeks the S-Bahn is full at peak times, because air passengers and fair visitors take the same trains. Allow more time in the morning.

The walk from terminal to platform

A practical section, because the journey time is only half the story.

The S-Bahn station sits beneath the airport and is signposted from the terminals. The walk is manageable and has lifts, but it is not nothing — reckon on around ten minutes from baggage reclaim to the platform, or fifteen with luggage and children.

That sounds pedantic and is not: on a 20-minute interval, exactly that quarter of an hour decides whether you catch the next train or wait for the one after. Walking briskly to the platform after landing saves you more time than any choice of transport mode.

A note for the return: the platform is the same for both lines towards the city, so you need not distinguish between S2 and S3 — take whichever comes first. Both run the same route to the Hauptbahnhof.

Bus and car

For completeness, because both are secondary options at this airport.

Long-distance coaches stop at the airport and are useful for connections to surrounding towns rather than for the trip into central Stuttgart. If your destination is Tübingen, Reutlingen or Ulm, it is worth looking at the direct services from the airport — they save you the detour via the Hauptbahnhof.

By your own car the airport is well reached by motorway. For getting to a flight that is a question of parking costs; for the transfer into the city the car plays no part, because you leave it at the airport.

Hire cars have desks at the airport. That is the right choice when your real destination is not Stuttgart but the region — the Black Forest, the Swabian Alb, Lake Constance. For the city itself a hire car is the worst option, because you have to park it again there.

When I would still take a taxi

Three situations where the S-Bahn is not the answer.

Outside operating hours. See above: nothing runs before 04:55 or after 00:30. On a late-landing flight, book ahead.

Lots of luggage, few people. Two of you with four cases is possible on the S-Bahn but unpleasant — particularly changing at the Hauptbahnhof if your destination is not there.

A destination outside the centre. The S-Bahn takes you into the city. If your hotel is in Fellbach, Sindelfingen or Ludwigsburg, check the connection door to door — it can become a detour.

How a taxi fare is constructed in general is under taxi fares in Germany. And if you need a fixed price in advance, a pre-booked transfer is the alternative; the logic behind it is under chauffeur services.

The airport itself

Briefly, because it affects how you plan the walk.

Stuttgart is a compact airport with manageable distances — the gap between the furthest gate and the platform is not the quarter of an hour it would be at a large hub. That is why the ten minutes above are realistic rather than optimistic.

Two practical points. The terminals are connected on foot, so changing terminal needs no bus. And the arrivals level leads straight down to the rail level without a detour across a forecourt.

Arriving very early, you will find the catering landside open before operations begin — a detail that matters on a 5am departure.

Worked through for a family

Since the group ticket is the heart of this article, here is the commonest case.

Two adults and two children aged 6 to 14: in single tickets that is €4.00 plus €4.00 plus €1.80 plus €1.80, so €11.60 — per direction. There and back, €23.20.

With the group ticket the same family pays €15.50, travels in both directions and uses Stuttgart local transport all day. So the saving already exceeds seven euros on the day of arrival, and everything else you travel on in the city comes free on top.

So once more, because it is the most valuable sentence here: at the machine, do not ask for the single — ask for the group ticket.

What to watch when buying the ticket

Buy the right number of zones. The airport is not in the same zone as the city centre. The two-zone ticket is the correct one; the cheaper single-zone ticket is not valid for this journey.

Check the group ticket even for two. At €4.00 per person per direction, two people there and back is €16 — the group ticket costs less and lasts longer.

Use the app if you have no cash. The machines take both, but straight after landing the app is quicker.

And plan the return with slack. 27 minutes of travel plus up to 20 minutes waiting plus the walk to the terminal — wanting to be at the desk two hours before departure means standing at the Hauptbahnhof three hours before.

How the same comparison looks at another German airport is under Hannover Airport into town.

If you’re after city-wide taxi tariffs rather than the airport journey, the base fare, tapered rate and the TAZ dispatch centre are covered under taxi fares in Stuttgart.

All details reflect the position in 2026. Fares, zones and operating hours are set by the transport association and change; check the first and last service before booking an early or late flight. What holds: from three people the group ticket is the answer, with no arithmetic required. More on transfers under Airport Transfer.