There are 12 ways to get from Dresden to Cologne by plane, train, bus, car, train (Eurostar), or rideshare
Select an option below to see step-by-step directions and to compare ticket prices and travel times in Rome2Rio's travel planner.
Fly Dresden Airport to Düsseldorf International Airport, train
best- Fly from Dresden Airport (DRS) to Düsseldorf International Airport (DUS)plane DRS - DUS
- Take the train from Düsseldorf Hbf to Köln Messe/Deutz Bftrain
3h 38m€90–334Rideshare
cheapest- Take the rideshare from Dresden to Cologne569.8 km
6h 57m€29Train via Frankfurt am Main
- Take the train from Dresden Hauptbahnhof to Frankfurttrain 50
- Take the train from Frankfurt to Köln Messe/Deutz Bftrain 41 / ...
6h 9m€117–271Bus via Bergisch Gladbach Bensberg
- Take the bus from Dresden central station to Bensberg Busbahnhofbus N20
8h 29m€35–65Drive 569.7 km
- Drive from Dresden to Colognecar 569.7 km
4h 49m€82–118Fly Dresden Airport to Cologne Bonn Airport
- Fly from Dresden Airport (DRS) to Cologne Bonn Airport (CGN)plane DRS - CGN
4h 40m€185–451Train to Berlin Brandenburg Airport, fly to Cologne Bonn Airport
- Take the train from Dresden Hauptbahnhof to Flughafen BERtrain
- Fly from Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) to Cologne Bonn Airport (CGN)plane BER - CGN
4h 8m€87–263Fly Dresden Airport to Frankfurt, train
- Fly from Dresden Airport (DRS) to Frankfurt (FRA)plane DRS - FRA
- Take the train from Frankfurt to Köln Messe/Deutz Bftrain
3h 55m€162–405Train to Berlin Brandenburg Airport, fly to Düsseldorf International Airport
- Take the train from Dresden Hauptbahnhof to Flughafen BERtrain
- Fly from Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) to Düsseldorf International Airport (DUS)plane BER - DUS
4h 51m€97–296Train
- Take the train from Dresden Hauptbahnhof to Dortmund Hbftrain 55 / ...
- Take the train from Dortmund Hbf to Köln Hbftrain 43 / ...
7h 34m€121–286Bus, train
- Take the bus from Dresden, Bhf Sudseite Bayrische Str to Frankfurt Hbfbus Odesa
- Take the train from Frankfurt to Köln Hbftrain Ice / ...
15h 2m€70–129Bus
- Take the bus from Dresden to Kölnbus Ivano-Frankivsk
17h 28m
Dresden to Cologne by train
Questions & Answers
The cheapest way to get from Dresden to Cologne is to rideshare which costs €29 and takes 6h 57m.
The fastest way to get from Dresden to Cologne is to fly and train which takes 3h 38m and costs €90 - €340.
Yes, there is a direct bus departing from Dresden and arriving at Köln. Services depart once daily, and operate every day. The journey takes approximately 17h 28m.
No, there is no direct train from Dresden to Cologne. However, there are services departing from Dresden Hauptbahnhof and arriving at Köln Messe/Deutz Bf via Frankfurt. The journey, including transfers, takes approximately 6h 9m.
The distance between Dresden and Cologne is 550 km. The road distance is 569.7 km.
The best way to get from Dresden to Cologne without a car is to train via Frankfurt am Main which takes 6h 9m and costs €110 - €280.
It takes approximately 3h 38m to get from Dresden to Cologne, including transfers.
Dresden to Cologne bus services, operated by FlixBus, depart from Dresden central station.
Dresden to Cologne train services, operated by Deutsche Bahn Intercity (DB IC), depart from Dresden Hauptbahnhof station.
The best way to get from Dresden to Cologne is to train via Frankfurt am Main which takes 6h 9m and costs €110 - €280. Alternatively, you can bus via Bergisch Gladbach Bensberg, which costs €35 - €65 and takes 8h 29m, you could also fly, which costs €180 - €460 and takes 4h 40m.
What companies run services between Dresden, Germany and Cologne, Germany?
You can take a train from Dresden Hauptbahnhof to Köln Messe/Deutz Bf via Frankfurt in around 6h 9m. Alternatively, FlixBus operates a bus from Dresden central station to Bensberg Busbahnhof once daily. Tickets cost €35–65 and the journey takes 7h 25m.
- Website
- lufthansa.com
Flights from Dresden Airport to Düsseldorf International Airport via Frankfurt
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 40m
- When
- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday
- Estimated price
- €130–410
Flights from Dresden Airport to Düsseldorf International Airport via Munich
- Ave. Duration
- 3h 5m
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- €130–410
Flights from Dresden Airport to Cologne Bonn Airport via Munich
- Ave. Duration
- 4h 47m
- When
- Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday
- Estimated price
- €120–450
Flights from Dresden Airport to Frankfurt
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 5m
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- €120–280
Flights from Dresden Airport to Frankfurt via Munich
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 55m
- When
- Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
- Estimated price
- €120–280
Flights from Berlin Brandenburg Airport to Düsseldorf International Airport via Frankfurt
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 51m
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- €75–320
- Website
- eurowings.com
Flights from Dresden Airport to Düsseldorf International Airport
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 10m
- When
- Thursday and Friday
- Estimated price
- €75–290
Flights from Dresden Airport to Cologne Bonn Airport via Palma Mallorca
- Ave. Duration
- 6h
- When
- Wednesday
- Estimated price
- €130–550
Flights from Berlin Brandenburg Airport to Cologne Bonn Airport
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 5m
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- €55–180
Flights from Berlin Brandenburg Airport to Düsseldorf International Airport
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 5m
- When
- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday
- Estimated price
- €50–200
- Website
- swiss.com
Flights from Dresden Airport to Cologne Bonn Airport via Zurich
- Ave. Duration
- 6h 5m
- When
- Thursday and Friday
- Estimated price
- €140–550
- Website
- klm.com
Flights from Berlin Brandenburg Airport to Düsseldorf International Airport via Amsterdam Schiphol
- Ave. Duration
- 3h 5m
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- €45–280
- Phone
- +49 30 311 682904
- Website
- bahn.de
Train from Düsseldorf Hbf to Köln Messe/Deutz Bf
- Ave. Duration
- 20 min
- Frequency
- Hourly
- Estimated price
- €6–16
- Website
- https://int.bahn.de/en
Train from Dresden Hauptbahnhof to Frankfurt
- Ave. Duration
- 4h 26m
- Frequency
- Every 3 hours
- Estimated price
- €85–200
- Website
- https://int.bahn.de/en
Train from Frankfurt to Köln Messe/Deutz Bf
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 6m
- Frequency
- Hourly
- Estimated price
- €30–75
- Website
- https://int.bahn.de/en
Train from Dresden Hauptbahnhof to Flughafen BER
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 31m
- Frequency
- Every 4 hours
- Estimated price
- €29–70
- Website
- https://int.bahn.de/en
Train from Dresden Hauptbahnhof to Dortmund Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 6h 10m
- Frequency
- Every 4 hours
- Estimated price
- €100–240
- Website
- https://int.bahn.de/en
Train from Dortmund Hbf to Köln Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 11m
- Frequency
- Every 30 minutes
- Estimated price
- €16–40
- Website
- https://int.bahn.de/en
- Phone
- 0221 13 999 444
- Website
- nationalexpress.de
Train from Düsseldorf Hbf to Köln Messe/Deutz Bf
- Ave. Duration
- 37 min
- Frequency
- 4 times a week
- Schedules at
- nationalexpress.de
- Phone
- 0621 8301200
- Website
- suewex.de
Train from Düsseldorf Hbf to Köln Messe/Deutz Bf
- Ave. Duration
- 21 min
- Frequency
- Once daily
- Estimated price
- €10–15
- Schedules at
- suewex.de
- Phone
- +44 343 218 6186
- Website
- eurostar.com
Train from Dortmund Hbf to Köln Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 35m
- Frequency
- Twice daily
- Estimated price
- €27–50
- Website
- https://www.eurostar.com/rw-en
- Phone
- +31 30 751 5155
- Website
- ns.nl
Train from Frankfurt to Köln Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 9m
- Frequency
- Every 4 hours
- Estimated price
- €18–45
- Website
- https://www.ns.nl/en
Rome2Rio's guide to FlixBus
Contact Details
- Phone
- +49 30 300 137 300
- service@flixbus.com
- Website
- flixbus.fr
Bus from Dresden central station to Bensberg Busbahnhof
- Ave. Duration
- 7h 25m
- Frequency
- Once daily
- Estimated price
- €35–65
- Website
- https://www.flixbus.co.uk
- Phone
- +380 98 815 4444
- support@ewe.ua
- Website
- ewe.ua
Bus from Dresden, Bhf Sudseite Bayrische Str to Frankfurt Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 12h 53m
- Frequency
- Twice daily
- Estimated price
- €50–85
- Website
- https://ewe.ua/
- Phone
- +38 098-888-11-08
- igoruzhanskyi@grandbus.com.ua
- Website
- grandbus.com.ua
Bus from Dresden to Köln
- Ave. Duration
- 17h 28m
- Frequency
- Once daily
- Website
- https://www.grandbus.com.ua/en
- Phone
- +3 318 576 2228
- Website
- blablacar.com
Rideshare from Dresden to Cologne
- Ave. Duration
- 6h 57m
- Frequency
- 3 times a day
- Estimated price
- €29
- Schedules at
- blablacar.com
Want to know more about travelling around Germany
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More Questions & Answers
Dresden to Cologne bus services, operated by FlixBus, arrive at Bensberg Busbahnhof station.
Dresden to Cologne train services, operated by Deutsche Bahn Intercity (DB IC), arrive at Frankfurt station.
Yes, the driving distance between Dresden to Cologne is 570 km. It takes approximately 4h 49m to drive from Dresden to Cologne.
Book your Dresden to Cologne train tickets online with Omio.
There are 1814+ hotels available in Cologne.
Check out Blablacar's carpooling service for rideshare options between Dresden and Cologne. A great option if you don't have a driver's licence or want to avoid public transport.


























