Destination Information: Berlin, Germany (BER )

Originally published in 2018

Ah, Berlin, Germany. One of my favorite cities in Germany; rich with history and lots to do. Plus I have a few friends who live there so it’s always fun to visit and it’s the country’s capital.

Where Is Berlin Located?

Berlin is located in the north western part of Germany. At the time of this writing, only two airlines Delta Air Lines (DL) and United Airlines (UA) has nonstop flights to the U.S. However, you can get good connections to Lufthansa’s (LH) hubs in Munich (MUC) and Frankfurt (FRA) and then you have many choices to get to the U.S. You can typically get to any of the European hubs on an early flight and then get to the U.S. or anywhere else in the world for that matter.

 

 

Here are some initial facts about Berlin, Germany that you should find useful.

Airports In Berlin

Berlin had three airports at one point:

• Tegel (TXL)
• Tempelhoff (THF) (now a park)
• Schonefeld (SXF)

Today, it is served by the Berlin-Brandenburg Airport (BER) which is located where Schonefeld once stood, at least it uses the same runway and sits on the other side of the runway from the Schonefeld terminal. 

Airlines Serving Berlin-Brandenburg Airport (BER)

Airport Website: https://www.visitberlin.de/en/ber-berlin-brandenburg-airport.

AJet (VF), Aegean Airlines (A3), Aer Lingus (EI), Air Cairo (SM), Air France (AF), Air Malta (KM), Air Serbia (JU), AirBaltic (BT), Austrian Airlines (OS), Azerbaijan Airlines (J2), Blue Bird Airways (BZ), British Airways (BA), Brussels Airlines (SN), Bulgaria Air (FB), Condor (DE), Croatia Airlines (OU), Danish Air Transport (DX), Delta Air Lines (DL), EasyJet Airlines (U2), El Al Airlines (LY), Eqyptair (MS), Eurowings (EW), Finnair (AY), Flynas (XY), FlyOne (5F), Freebird Airlines (FH), Georgian Airways (A9), Hainan Airlines (HU), Iberia Airlines (IB), Iberia Express (I2), Icelandair (FI), Jet2.com (LS), KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL), LOT Polish (LO), Lufthansa City Airlines (VL), Lufthansa German Airlines (LH),

Luxair (LG), Norse Atlantic Airways (N0), Norwegian Air International (D8), Norwegian Air Shuttle (DY), Nouvelair Tunisie (BJ), Pegasus Airlines (PC), Play (OG), Qatar Airways (QR), Royal Jordanian (RJ), Ryanair (FR), Ryanair UK (RK), SAS (SK), SR, Singapore Airlines (SQ), SkyAlps (BQ), SunExpress (XQ), Swiss Airlines (LX), TAP Portugal (TP), Tiger Airways (TR), Transavia France (TO), Turkish Airlines – Star Alliance (TK), United Airlines (Star Alliance) (UA), UR Airlines (UD), Volotea (V7), Vueling (VY), Wizz Air (W6), and Wizz Air Malta (W4).

Airfare Tip

In case you can’t get there using passes, you can check fares at my partner Skyscanner at https://www.passrider.com/skyscanner.

How To Get From The BER Airport To The City Of Berlin

The easiest way is to jump on the train. If it’s late at night or early in the morning, a shared ride or taxi is recommended as it will be more efficient and you won’t have to do train changes, etc.

Bus

There are several buses that serve the airport such as the X7 (N7 at night), X71 and BER that will connect you to the S-Bahn or the U-Bahn trains.

Train

The Airport Express (FEX), S Bahn (S9, S45) and the Regional Express trains (RE7, RE14, RRE22) serves the airport. The airport is in Zone C, so the fare is a little higher to get into Zones A and B (the main areas of Berlin). The train station is located under the main airport terminal. Just follow the signs.

SIXTride

This is a private service offered by SixT. You are picked up in a very fancy car with a uniformed chauffeur and taken to your destination. Cars come with newspapers and bottled water. This is traveling in style.

Taxi

Of course you can always take a taxi from the taxi rank. Don’t take a taxi from anyone who walks up to you and offer you one.

Rideshare

Rideshare services are available at the airport, check your ride sharing Apps for details.

Car Sharing Services

Several car sharing services are available at the airport.

Airport Hotels

Use this hotel map to book hotels at the airport.

 

Currency

Euro  (EUR). You can chance money at the airport or use ATMs. I recommend using an ATM.

Language

German; English is widely spoken in Berlin except when you get deep into the city suburbs.

Visa Information

U.S. citizens do not require a visa for stays less than 90 days. Alternatively, you can use the IATA Web site for visa/health requirements to see what are the requirements for your citizenship.

Social Media Information

Facebook, Instagram, twitter

Visit Berlin Tourism Board

http://www.visitberlin.de/en.

Ground Transportation

The transportation system is very efficient here. There is the S and the U-Bahn trains, the buses and the trams as well as the regional trains. They are all part of the same system, so your ticket works on all of them. Ensure that you validate your ticket once its purchased at the kiosk. Some kiosks take credit cards, but all take cash and will give change.

They use the honor system and you will get ticketed and fined if you fail the random checks.

Things to See/Do

The city is packed with things to see and do. I mean you could just take a casual walk and find local History. Before you set out though I recommend getting a Berlin Welcome Card as it gives you transportation on the buses and the trains and trams. The cards are valid for 48 hours to 6 days and can be bought for Zones ABC or Zones AB.

 

In Germany they use the honor system, so don’t forget to validate the card before you use it. They do have occasional checks on the trains so ensure you are validated. There are validators at every station to keep you compliant.

Here are some of the more common things to see/do though.

Take a Hop on/Off bus tour

Although I’m not exactly a fan, they are actually worth it in Berlin. They go all over the city and you can get off when you pass something you’d like to check out some more. I’d ride the entire route first and then on the second go around start getting off at the places that I’d like to see more.

See the Brandenburg Gate

Friedrichshain Park

This Park is not well known and not visited by tourists, but it is worth visiting.

Potsdamer Platz

 

Berlin TV Tower in Alexander Platz

Christmas Markets

If you are there at Christmas Time. They are a lot of fun and be sure you get some glühwein (mulled wine) which is served warm.

Check Point Charlie

The old check point between East and West

Visit the places Dr. Martin Luther King did when he visited in the ’60s

The Olympic Stadium

Take the U-Bahn to the station of the same name

The Berlin Cathedral

 

Berlin Haupht Bahnoff – Central Station

This is a beautifully built station. From here you can get almost everywhere in Germany and Europe. If you love trains, you MUST see this station.

Visit the Deutsches Technikmuseum (German Museum of Technology)

Spandau

This town just outside of Berlin used to be the center of everything back in the early 1900s. You can read more about it at http://www.unfamiliardestinations.com/spandauberlingermany/.

You can find much more information here as well lots of other places to see.

Berlin Hotels

As this is a major European city, you can find almost all the major hotel chains with a presence. The pricing is very competitive of course. Use this handy map to book your hotels.

 

Hotel Tonight

Perfect for last minute hotel bookings. If you sign up with HotelTonight and use my code kmckenzie15, you get $25 off your first hotel booking and I will get a $25 credit as well. So we both win.

Food

Currywurst and pomme frites is a must have while you are here. It’s everywhere and priced differently. Ensure that you say what you want on it as well. They also make good pizza if you can find a shop. Oh and there are a lot Turkish immigrants in Berlin so you can find kebabs and Turkish pizzas all over the place.

 

 

It’s Germany so you must have beer and its in abundance and quite cheap. But Germany is lesser known for wines, which is also available locally made and quite good at very cheap prices too.

If you go to the grocery store, ensure you bring your own bag otherwise you will have to either pay for a bag or take the items in your hands which is not uncommon by the way.

Have you been to Berlin? What do you think?

Please leave a comment below and let me know your findings.