A useful airport in the middle of nowhere (Frankfurt Hahn Airport (HHN))

Member Name: sun-is-shining

Product:	Frankfurt Hahn Airport (HHN)
Date:	29/07/09 (152 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: cheap flights, great destinations

Disadvantages: it's located in the middle of nowhere

This airport feels like my second home; my family lives only about 1 hour away and it is my usual airport when I fly home to visit them; as I haven't lived in Germany for almost 4 years that has been quite a lot recently and I arrived/departed in Hahn way over 40 times.

Waiting at the airport is never a really pleasant experience, usually it's very dull and boring and Hahn is no exception from this rule - food, drinks and newspapers are there but apart from that not much else.

However, the airport is always very clean and the staff is incredibly polite and helpful. In all this time I never had any serious problem with the facilities of the airport.
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Where is it?

Frankfurt/Hahn IS NOT Frankfurt International Airport. I met several people that upon arriving in Hahn wanted to go to 'the city centre' by taxi, not realising that this would cost several hundred pound and take over two hours.
It's actually a joke, Hahn is nowhere near Frankfurt, it is over 75 miles away from the actual city.

Hahn is located in the Rhein-Hunsrück area in the county of Rheinland Palatinate; it's in the southwest of Germany close to the luxembourgish and French border.
The area is exceptional beautiful but unfortunately the transportation links are not very developed. Depending on from where you are coming you cannot even use the motorway to go to the airport. The two motorways you can use are the A1 and the A61.

There are sufficient parking facilities at the airport. Please note that parking is very expensive and only advisable for short time users; if you want to leave your car for longer consider leaving it in a nearby village and using the nus to reach the airport.

Hahn does not have a railway connection; the closest station would be in Bulley but bus connections to the airport are very infrequent; it's only advisable if you plan ahead and have some time to spare.

The easiest way to and from Hahn is by bus; many bus companies offer rides to all major cities throughout the day. However, these buses don't leave very often; to go to Trier for example there's only 1 bus every 3 hours - which is a long time to wait in a small airport like Hahn.

If you want to go to Frankfurt city centre you have to be prepared to pay 12euro for the 2 hour bus ride. Tickets don't have to be booked in advanced, you can just turn up and it's highly unlikely that the bus will be full.

Car rental is possible at the airport with Avis, Europcar and Sixt operating from the airport.
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Which airlines and destinations?

Only three airlines are currently operating from Hahn, Iceland Air (Reykjavik), Whizzair (Poland) and Ryanair. Hahn is one of the main hubs of the Ryanair network with flights to most European countries.

The UK - Germany connection is very good and cheap with up to 4 flights every day between Hahn and London Stansted. Other destinations in the UK and Ireland include Manchester, Edinburgh, Dublin, Kerry and Birmingham.

All in all you have 52 destination you can choose from, some as exotic as South Tenerife and Reykjavik. Even if you don't want to stay in Germany you can still use it as a base to catch a connection flight.
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What is there to do?

Despite all the Ryanair flights that arrive in Hahn daily it is still a very small airport with only few options to spend your time there. 5 years ago the only shops at Hahn were a bakery, a solarium, a casino and a erotic shop - all apart from the bakery are gone now.
Of course you can find the typical airport shops here, you definitely won't die of starvation - however, you might die from boredom.

There are several small shops selling travel accessories from suitcases to sleeping masks and some traditional souvenirs. As always the souvenirs are quite tacky and the rest is usually overprices.

There's one newsagent/bookshop with a good selection of national and international newspapers and magazine as well as travel books and dictionaries for all major languages.

You'll find plenty of options to grab a quick snack or even a big meal but be warned that all of these places are very expensive. Don't use the Döner Kebab place - it's very pricey and the food is just horrendous, fatty fries, tasteless meat and not really fresh veggies.

For a cheap snack have a look at the food stalls outside selling bakery products and hot dogs or grab a pre-made sandwich at the newsagent.

There are 3 places where you can have coffee/tea, sandwiches and cakes - all three are equally priced and the products seem to be the same.
The upstairs restaurant is a lot more expensive than the similar one on the ground floor, both are offering soups, salads and pasta dishes.

After you checked in you'll find the usual duty-free shopping options with a good selection of spirits, jewellery and perfume. There are a few bars that serve coffee and little snacks but not a real meal.
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My experience

Frankfurt/Hahn was really close to the city I lived in while being at University; this combined with the many cheap offers Ryanair has lead to tons of flights to destinations all over Europe.

As parking is incredibly expensive I always went by bus to the airport, unfortunately there was only a bus every 3 hours which meant ages waiting at the airport to check in.

Given that there's not much to do and most of the bars are really expensive I regularly passed the time with sitting on the floor - as seating is limited - and staring into space. Food and drinks are very expensive but that's normal for an airport; however there are some cheaper options as well. Just outside the main building are several food stalls, normally a bakery, a fish & chips shop and a hot dog stall - I have to urge you to try the hot dogs, the best I've ever had in my whole life and with 3 Euro the cheapest available food.

It is not the most comfortable airport in the world, the seats are few and hard, the food is good but expensive and the bus connection are not very frequent. All in all it is an ok-ish airport but let's be honest, the destination itself is a lot more important than some minor inconveniences at the airport.

I used Hahn more than 40 times so far - yes, I know that I travel a lot - and never had any major problems. The staff was always polite and friendly and the airport itself is clean and has all the facilities you need.

I can recommend this airport to everyone who is looking for cheap no frills flights that will bring you to some of the most stunning places in Europe.
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Extra tips!

If you use Frankfurt/Hahn as a stopover between flights please note that it is very expensive to go to the next bigger city - it might work out cheaper to stay in the business hotel next to the airport than going to a town in search of a hostel.

You can stay or even sleep at the airport but unfortunately it's not very comfy. I slept in quite a few airports and my experience lasts from loud music in Girona, cheap free wine in Milan to comfy couches in Stockholm - sadly Hahn was the worst airport I stayed in; there are only chairs so you cannot sleep, the bars close at night so you cannot get a coffee and it is very, very cold throughout the whole year.

If sleeping at Hahn is your only option you can try to go to the bar on the upper floor after they closed (around midnight) and sleep on their couches - security won't be happy but the worst thing that can happen is that they wake you up and you have to go downstairs again.
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Ryanair

As you are probably travelling with Ryanair to and from Hahn please note that this is one of the strictest airports concerning security and luggage; double check that your hand luggage is withing the allowed measurements or you have to pay extra.

Hahn is very busy and you are well advised to come early. Ryanair is not going to wait for you and if you - because of too much/big luggage - have to use the normal check in you'll have to be prepared for long waiting times.

There are many Ryanair flights every day as it is one of the main hubs of the airline so it's worth looking for connection flights from here.
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The surroundings

Frankfurt/Hahn can be used as a base to visit many great places in Germany; from the obvious Frankfurt you can also visit Trier (50min by bus) which is the oldest town in Germany, Koblenz (1 1/2 hours by bus) and Luxembourg (70min by bus).

This is one of the most beautiful regions you'll find anywhere in Europe, lush green valleys, clean rivers and great local wines invite you to a relaxing break from the English summer rain.

There are many good reasons to explore Germany's Rhineland-Palatinate region

1. Visit the famous wine-growing regions and enjoy delicious white wines
2. Go walking, cycling or relax in one of the many spas in this area
3. See the beautiful rivers Rhine, Moselle and Saar
4. Many medieval castles are waiting to be explored
5. Taste the delicious local food and the friendly atmosphere.
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Useful websites

http://www.hahn-airport.de/default.aspx?menu=pass engers_visitors&cc=en
http://www.flibco.com/faqs
http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/
http://www.flyhahn.com/indexryanair.htm?partner=R HEINLAND&pos=HOME_BOTTOM_SIDE1

Summary: see review