Coach & Minibus Hire in Germany

Stuttgart Airport by minibus: the bus terminal, the city and the Black Forest

Stuttgart gives buses a covered terminal of their own beside the passenger buildings. Group vehicles stop there, which makes finding your driver simple even on a grey evening.

The SAB bus terminal

You will find the Stuttgart Airport Busterminal (SAB) tucked beneath car park P14 at street level, with Terminal 4 on one side and Flughafenstraße on the other. Follow the signs from Terminal 3; the S-Bahn station is only 200 m away. It is roofed over and has a heated waiting room, a real comfort if your group lands on a wet November night.

Every group coach is registered with the terminal’s control centre, which must confirm the stop three hours or more before the coach turns up. The operator takes care of that, which is one more reason to send your flight details early. If the plane is late, there are coach parking spaces directly opposite, between Terminals 3 and 4.

Mercedes-Benz V-Class, rear view
Mercedes-Benz V-Class, rear view

Smaller groups, smaller vehicles

On the way home, a car or small van can use the Kiss & Fly zone on the departures level, which gives 8 free minutes. On arrival, the airport publishes no waiting area for cars with driver, so where a smaller vehicle meets you is arranged with the operator.

Terminals at a glance

  • Terminal 4
  • Terminal 3
  • Terminal 2
  • Terminal 1

Good to know: Stuttgart Airport

  • Freiburg im Breisgau (Münsterplatz) is about 204 km by road, about 2 h 10 min in light traffic.
  • Rothenburg ob der Tauber is about 152 km by road, about 1 h 55 min in light traffic.
  • Heidelberg (Bismarckplatz) is about 127 km by road, about 1 h 30 min in light traffic.
  • Taxi ranks are directly in front of Terminal 1 and Terminal 3; the airport gives about 20 minutes by taxi to the city centre.
  • The long-distance station at the airport (Stuttgart 21) is not open yet: under the plan announced on 26 June 2026 it is due in December 2030, at first probably with regional trains towards Reutlingen, Tübingen and Ulm, and linked to the new Hauptbahnhof from 2031.
  • Messe Stuttgart is next to the airport: its east entrance (Eingang Ost) uses the stop Flughafen/Messe (S2, S3, U6 and buses), and its west entrance uses the stop Messe West (U6 and buses).
  • On the nights of 12/13 to 15/16 October and 18/19 October 2026, from 21:00 to 04:20, replacement buses (line S2E) run instead of S2 and S3 between Stuttgart-Vaihingen and Filderstadt via the airport.
  • S-Bahn lines S2 and S3 run from Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof (ICE, EC and IC trains) to the airport every 15 minutes at core times without a change; light-rail line U6 runs every 10 minutes to the stop Flughafen/Messe, about 5 minutes from the terminals. Both take about 25-30 minutes.

Stuttgart's low-emission rules

The whole city is a low-emission zone, and diesel bans apply on top, stricter in the central basin. Give us the hotel address when you book, so the vehicle and the route are planned around these rules. The Schlossplatz is about 13 km from the airport, around 20 minutes in light traffic.

Heidelberg, the Romantic Road, the Black Forest

Allow about an hour and a half for Heidelberg, some 127 km away, and just under two hours for Rothenburg ob der Tauber on the Romantic Road, around 152 km.

Freiburg im Breisgau, where the Black Forest begins, is the longest of the three at roughly 204 km and 2 h 10 min. After a flight that is a full day, so plan a lunch stop on the way; on long days the driver's legal hours also shape the timetable.

Questions travellers ask

Can we board an ICE at the airport itself?

No. The airport’s long-distance station is still being built and is not due to open before December 2030. S-Bahn lines S2 and S3 run to Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof, where the ICE trains stop, in about 25 to 30 minutes.

Is Messe Stuttgart close by?

It is right next to the airport, with its east entrance at the Flughafen/Messe stop, which is handy if a fair visit is part of your trip.

How far ahead should we book?

Because coach stops at the terminal need confirming hours before you land, last-minute bookings are tight. A few weeks ahead gives the widest choice of vehicles, especially in the busy months.

More places your group could visit

Other vehicles with a driver