Getting Around

General information

The best way for you to get to Berlin – by car, by train, by coach: you can get to Berlin easily and comfortably. The airports and railway stations also have great connections to your destination.

Public transport in Berlin:

  • U-Bahn: is a typical metro with yellow wagons, lines are designated U1, U2, U3…
  • S-Bahn: ground city railway with wine-cream wagons, lines are designated S1, S2, S3…
  • Regional trains: the fastest connections are complemented by busy S-Bahn lines, which always continue beyond Berlin, but you can also use it within the city. Lines are designated RE, RB, FEX

Tickets:

All tickets you can buy on the airport, ticket automat in all station or you can get app Ticket-App – choose ticket, buy & go | BVG or Mobile tickets | VBB and buy them directly from your mobile phone.

  • 24-hour ticket (zone AB): 8.80 EUR
  • 24-hour ticket + around/airport (zone ABC): 10 EUR
  • 120-minutes transfer ticket (zone AB): 3 EUR
  • 120-minutes transfer ticket + around/airport (zone ABC): 3.80 EUR
  • Ticket for short trip (3 stations by U-Bahn/S-Bahnem or 6 stations by bus): 2 EUR

More info about tickets: www.bvg.de/en/tickets-tariffs.

Arrival by Airplane

Berlin offers two airports which both are accessible with the public transport system very easily. Schönefeld is situated in the southeast of Berlin, approximately 18 km from the city centre. The airport is connected with the city centre by the S-Bahn (suburban train) line S9 as well as with several Airport Express trains that run from/to Hauptbahnhof, Zoologischer Garten, Friedrichstraße, Alexanderplatz and Ostbahnhof every half an hour.

Arrival by public transport

Schönefeld Airport

Schoenefeld Airport is also well connected to public transport, with six local bus lines. However, it is quicker and easier to get to the city centre by S-Bahn. With the S9 you reach the Abba Berlin hotel from BER Airport – Terminal 1–2 to the station Savignyplatz after 70 minutes, so you can easily get to the city centre without changing trains.

Another possibility is the regional train, which also runs to the surrounding area of Berlin. You can reach Abba hotel Berlin by regional train RE7, RB14 from BER Airport – Terminal 1–2 to Berlin Friedrichstraße station, where you have to change to S-Bahn S3,S5 or S7 to the Savignyplatz. This trip takes 55 minutes.

Or last possibility is to take BUS X7, X71 to U Rudow, where you can change to the U-Bahn (metro), and continue by U-Bahn (metro) to Adenauerplatz. This trip takes 55 minutes.

All trains and the S-Bahn stop at the station BER Airport – Terminal 1–2.

If you decide to travel to or from the airport by public transport, please remember that you will also need to buy a ticket for your luggage. A single ticket for the AB area is enough to get to Tegel. Schoenefeld is already in the C range, so you need an ABC ticket. A reduced ticket can be validated for children up to and including 14 years of age.

Airport Tegel

Tegel Airport can only be reached by bus, but there are three different routes. The buses arrive on time and very often.

Line 109: It will take you from the station General-Ganeval-Brücke to the station Bleibtreustr. (Berlin) and then it´s 350 m to the Hotel ABBA Berlin. Departure is every 20 minutes and this trip takes 36 minutes.

BUS M21 from the station Hinckeldeybrücke (Berlin) does not take you directly to the city centre, but you can change after 2 stops to the underground line U7 and get to the station Adenauerplatz which is 900 meters away from the hotel. This trip takes around 45 minutes.

Arrival by Train

You can reach Berlin from all directions by using the fast InterCity Express-, InterCity-, EuroCity- and InterRegio Trains. The new central station Berlin Hauptbahnhof in the heart of Berlin was opened in 2006 and a new concept for the railways and stations in Berlin was installed. All train stations are well connected to the public transport system.

The best way how to get to the Hotel ABBA Berlin is use S-Bahn S3, S5, S7 and S9 from the station
Berlin Hauptbahnhof. Departure is every 3 minutes and get you to the station Savignyplatz.

Arrival by car

It is easy and comfortable to go to Berlin by car. The city has a good connection to the motorway, there a several big streets going to the centre and enough spots for parking in the inner city.

Berlin’s Environmental Zone

Please note that you need an environmental badge for your car because the centre of Berlin is an environmental zone. Berlin’s city centre has had a designated environmental zone in which only vehicles that meet certain emission standards are allowed to be driven. Vehicles that are used in the environmental zone must have a sticker that identifies its pollutant group.

Special Permission for Coaches in the Environmental Zone

The new rule for the second stage of Berlin’s environmental zone includes a driving ban within Berlin’s S-Bahn ring for vehicles with yellow stickers. German coaches need a green sticker to be allowed in Berlin's city centre. Foreign coaches are not affected by this rule and can continue to drive with a yellow sticker in the city centre.

Car parks

There are plenty of multi-storey car parks available in all of Berlin’s districts, where you can park cheaply and quickly get to your sightseeing destination.

Parking zones

In the city centre are many parking zones where you have to buy a ticket.

Car-sharing and rental car

Berlin has a good network of car-sharing operators – your choice for excursions around the city. For long term stays, choose your rental car here – easy, fast and on good terms. In cooperation with mietwagenmarkt.de you can compare different agencies and prices and reserve your desired car directly online.

Arrival by coach

Coaches are a popular form of transport for people visiting Berlin, and not just for school trips, bowling excursions and senior citizen outings. They are affordable, reliable and comfortable. With a number of coach stations all over the city, you can head straight to your desired location. National and international coach services to Berlin arrive and depart at the central bus station in the Charlottenburg district, opposite the ICC International Congress Centre.

Scheduled coach tickets

Here is a selection of long distance buses in Germany:

FlixBus: With more than 1,000 connections across Germany, this network of coach (long-distance bus) companies operating under the FlixBus name offers lots of flexibility for travellers. Free Wi-Fi, on-board toilets and snacks are as much a part of the experience as the low ticket prices and the opportunity to make a small contribution to climate protection. You can catch the FlixBus in Berlin at the central coach station (known as the “ZOB”) in Charlottenburg and at Südkreuz. Tickets are available online and through travel agencies.
IC Bus: The IC Bus is an inexpensive and comfortable way of travelling between Krakow or Copenhagen and the German capital. In addition to free Wi-Fi, the IC Bus also features an entertainment system with a large selection of music and films to help pass the time during your trip. The bus stop in Berlin is centrally-located near Berlin main station, affording travellers simple connections to the long-distance train services of Deutsche Bahn. A trip that includes travel on both an IC Bus and a train can be completed using a single, combined ticket. Tickets are available for purchase at www.bahn.com and at DB Travel Centres.

Special Permission for Coaches in the Environmental Zone

The new rule for the second stage of Berlin’s environmental zone includes a driving ban within Berlin’s S-Bahn ring for vehicles with yellow stickers. Since January 2012 German coaches need a green sticker to be allowed in Berlin's city centre. Foreign coaches are not affected by this rule and can continue to drive with a yellow sticker in the city centre.

Taxis in Berlin

Time is money: more than 7,000 taxis offer their fares a quick and comfy ride to their destination. Get safely and comfortably to where you want to go in Berlin whenever you want – airport or railway station, a business meeting or anywhere else you may have in mind.

Berlin call-a-cab lines

You can order a taxi in Berlin on the following phone lines:

  • Taxi Berlin: +49 30 – 20 20 20
  • Würfelfunk: +49 30 – 21 01 01
  • TaxiFunk Berlin: +49 30 – 44 33 22
  • Quality Taxi: +49 30 – 26 300 0
  • City-Funk Berlin: +49 30 – 21 02 02
  • Funk Taxi Berlin: +49 30 – 26 10 26
  • Talixo: +49 30 – 346 497 360
  • EcoTaxi: +49 30 – 210 10 20

If you’re on the move already, you can also simply flag down a free cab. A taxi is free if its roof sign is lit up. There are also taxi ranks all over the city, with taxis waiting for you or with taxi-call points for requesting pick-up.

From and to the airport in Berlin

There are also taxi ranks at all railway stations and airports. You can choose any taxi waiting there, you’re not obliged to take the first in line! Recommended: at Berlin’s airports, go to the indicated taxi ranks – this way, you’ll avoid impostor taxis charging excessive fares. You can tell a real taxi from a fake one by the Berlin number plate and the concession number on the rear window. Berlin does not hand out concessions with a number greater than 8,000. To get from your hotel to the airport, your hotel’s reception will also be happy to call a taxi for you.

Berlin taxi fares

Since 30 June 2015, the base fare is €3.90, the kilometre price is 1.65–2.30 EUR. For standing and waiting time, €33.00 is charged per hour. This lets you estimate your fare pretty accurately before you even get into the taxi. Mini-van taxis and bulky luggage incur an extra charge. Waiting in heavy traffic shouldn’t usually affect the fare – the meter does not account for time until after a two-minute delay.

Taxi short trips

If you only want to travel a short distance, you can flag down a taxi on the roadside. The fare for what Berlin cabbies call a short trip is €5.00 for a two-kilometre trip. Please tell the driver straight away that you want a short trip (Kurzstrecke in German). You can only get the short-trip fare for flagged taxis, a maximum trip distance of two kilometres and if you do not interrupt your journey.

Prices for standard routes in Berlin

Depending on the number of people and the amount of luggage, or if you have bulky luggage, fares may vary. Unless desired otherwise by the passenger, drivers are obliged to take the shortest route.

Paying your taxi fare

If you can, keep some banknotes of lower denomination with you – taxi drivers are not obliged to hold large amounts of change. Today, paying your fare by credit card or EC cash card should be possible in any cab.

Receipt for taxi trips

Always ask for a receipt. This is important should you accidentally leave something in the vehicle. The receipt will allow you to identify the vehicle you travelled in. The receipt is also evidence in the event of trouble with the paid fare. Make sure that the receipt includes the following details:

  • Operator's address
  • Concession number (usually pre-printed, number must match the number on the bottom right of the rear window)
  • Fare
  • Date
  • Distance
  • Signature

More detailed information on taxi services is available at the Taxiverband Berlin, Brandenburg e.V.

© 2022 GUARANT International spol. s r. o.