Trips from Berlin - Denmark? Norway? Croatia?

Can you fly into another city first then train or train to Berlin? I wouldn't want to fly to Berlin, then fly somewhere else then back to Berlin four days later.

If you could fly into Prague, you could start there and then head over to Berlin - about four hours by train.

Or you could visit Poland - Wroclaw and Poznan are not far away by train. You could hit the lovely German town of Görlitz on he way back by train for a night, perhaps, after visiting Wroclaw.

Agree it's not worth it to fly to Berlin, then go to any of the places you mention, then turn around and go back to Berlin. You would burn a day getting there, another getting back. If you can do it "in-line" (on the way to Berlin) then maybe. Problem is, the places you list are all worth more than a couple days...

If you must go to Berlin first, consider someplace more close-by via train. Bruges. Strasbourg. Paris...

We would be flying to whatever country we are starting our trip in, then transfer to Berlin by train or plane.

I think Bruges and Paris are 8 hours from Berlin by rail; even Strasbourg seems to be 6-1/2 hours away. I had hopes for Copenhagen, but no, that's also too far.

Does the cruise really depart from Berlin rather than Warnemunde? If it's actually Warnemunde, that could change things. The train time Berlin-Warnemunde seems to be over 3 hours itself.

The trip is 2 nights in Berlin, then on the Viking ship with a final destination of Prague.

How about the Julian Alps in Slovenia? Fly into Ljubljana (if you can find a reasonably-priced flight). Pick up a rental car and drive about an hour to spend a few days at Lake Bohinj or Kranjska Gora (with a visit to Bled from either). easyJet has a direct flight from the Ljubljana airport to Berlin Schönefeld Airport.

For a city, I would go with Riga, Latvia. Old Hanseatic League city. Rich history. Flowers everywhere. Art nouveau architecture everywhere. Air Baltic has 3 direct flights per day to Berlin Tegel.

Hi,

Where will you be before going to Berlin? Norway or close to Oslo? If it is Norway, you have two choices...flying from Oslo to Berlin.

If you reject the flying option and depending on you time constraint, you can take the ferry. Take the ferry from Oslo to Kiel, then the ICE train to Berlin, or you'll need to transfer in Hamburg Hbf., the worse station to change trains .

If elsewhere, look at the flying options to Berlin...all doable.

I myself would spend the 4 days prior to Berlin in North Germany to any of these places....Hamburg, Kiel, Schwerin, Lübeck, Bremen, Lüneburg, Magdeburg, or Flensburg, Eutin/Holstein, and esp. Weimar.

With only 2 days in Berlin before the cruise, you are already cutting Berlin a bit short in my opinion.
You could fly into Berlin and take the train to one of the northern German towns, like Fred suggests. such as Lübeck, Wismar, Schwerin, Stralsund or even the big city Hamburg.

Berlin has far more than two day's worth of major sights if you're interested in art museums, WW II history or Cold War history. I believe someone commented recently that Potsdam alone could consume two days.

We did this same cruise last year and added three days each in Berlin and Prague (on our own, not as a Viking extension). If you have never been to Berlin, I would suggest spending your four days there. With the cruise your "first day" involves arrival in Berlin and checking in at your hotel (not to mention possible jet lag), leaving little or no time to see Berlin. That leaves just one day; the morning will be filled with a bus tour of major Berlin sights but very little time to get out and really experience any of them.

Spending four days in Berlin allows for scheduling a tour of the Bundestag (highly recommended!), as well as exploring any areas in which you may have special interest (WWII sights? Museums? East/West/Cold War? Something else?). If you are interested in Potsdam, transportation from Berlin is easy and you could see much more than is included in the half-day stop while on the Viking tour.

Berlin is very spread out; the transit system is excellent and we found it easy to use. Even with three additional days we wished we had more time in Berlin and plan to return in the future. If you decide on Berlin, return to this Forum with questions that you may have--I found excellent advice here that really enhanced our experiences!

Are you planning to see Berlin after the cruise? You can easily spend four productive days there. You could go toward Jutland and see Lubeck, and maybe Hamburg, prior to the cruise.

I love Scandinavia but you need to fly there, train or car are expensive and inefficient. I generally agree with arriving somewhere that is convenient to Berlin. A good choice is Prague, or perhaps Vienna (I think Paris is a little far unless you fly). I don't think you have time to pick a list of destinations. Pick one place and enjoy it then get to Berlin (likely Warnemunde) early for your cruise.

Thank you all for the excellent advice. Surprisingly the tour company assisted with my flight changes and we are spending the extra time in Zurich!

Why Zürich?

I thought going north to denmark or norway would be easier to get to Berlin than Italy or Switzerland, but the travel advisor found an easy flight from Zurich. Switzerland is one of my favorite countries, we decided to go back there instead of Denmark.

You need to start with how many days I have and the budget? What is your priority, where you will land? It is easy to reach every spot if you are active. For example, if you will land in Germany duo cheap long flights. And you want more affordable transportations than Flix bus to Italy. When you are in Italy, you will ask how to get to alps. From Italy, by train or bus, you can head to Zagreb, Croatia. Bus transportation is very popular in Croatia. For reaching the islands, you can search Kapetan Luka ferry agent. Top destinations In Croatia are Plitvice Lakes, Split, Hvar, Korcula, and Dubrovnik.

You didn't indicate whether this is a Viking ocean cruise or a Viking river cruise. You've made your decision.

I wouldn't have gone that far. Last time we were in Berlin, I found it was too time-consuming to visit Poland on a short-term basis close to departure time. If it were not an ocean cruise, I'd consider Baltic Germany. If you haven't been to Leipzig, Weimar, Erfurt, Gotha, Dessau-Worlitz, that would be a good area to see from Berlin.