Can someone give me a rundown of how to pay for public transportation options in Berlin? I will be doing most travel via foot, but from time to time will need to take a bus/tram or u-bahn. I will only need that for 2-3 (non-consecutive days). What is the best option on how to accomplish that? Are there travel cards or can you pay per trip? A basic overview would be very helpful.
Thank you.
PS -- are there buses, or only trams and underground?
There are buses, some very useful ones, like the 100 bus or 200 bus. Tickets can be bought on board buses, and that includes day tickets which are also good on trams, U-bahns, S-bahns. For U and S bahns, buy tickets out of ticket machines at all stops.
Info at www.vbb.de
In your case separate tickets are probably best. When you stay within Berlin itself (Zone AB) they cost EUR 2,80 (Einzelfahrkarte) or EUR 9,00 for 4 (4-Fahrtenkarte). A day ticket (Tageskarte) costs EUR 7,00.
Potsdam is still within the Berlin transport system, but needs a Zone ABC ticket (single EUR 3,40).
They must be stamped before boarding S-Bahn and U-Bahn, or in the bus and tram. Keep your ticket with you during the whole journey. There are occasional inspection teams.
Get yourself a map of the system, such as this one.
Here is the link to the bus map. Click on "Bus network Berlin inner city"
https://www.vbb.de/fahrplan/liniennetze
For instance, we stayed at Savignyplatz, and took the M49 bus to Zoologisches Garten, then switched to the 100 bus that went to Alexanderplatz, passing the Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate, down Unter den Linden.
most travel via foot
Do not underestimate the size of Berlin. It is really huge.
A summary of relevant basics about Berlin's public transport:
https://welcome2berlin.weebly.com/berlin-public-transport-basics.html
Step-by-step instructions & photo series how to use the two different ticket machines:
https://welcome2berlin.weebly.com/berlin-ticket-machine.html
My personal tip: check BVG journey planner before longer trips, e.g. to / from airport because we have a lot of reconstructions currently. Next week for example two subway lines are interrupted.
Journey planner: https://fahrinfo.bvg.de/Fahrinfo/bin/query.bin/en?
Hi,
Keep in mind that Berlin is vast, especially if you are going laterally from west to east on the S-Bahn. A few years ago I ended up at the terminus of the S-Bahn line at Ahrensfelde at night, which I knew was way out there in the east by northeast. I had to get back to Bahnhof Zoo area to walk back to the Pension.
I asked a local who got on how long would the ride back to Bahnhof Zoo take. He said one hour, so I figured plus/minus five minutes. When the S-Bahn reached Bahnhof Zoo, it was exactly one hour just as the guy had said.
Do take seriously the advice you've received about the size of Berlin. It's supposed to be eight times the surface area of Paris! I went with my mother and she loved our time there, but one thing she was not prepared for was how "transit dependent" a visit to the city is (mass transit not being her favorite thing). That said, she was very impressed with how well all the transit worked. There are trams (in the former east only), buses, U-bahn (mostly underground) and S-bahn (some underground, some elevated above ground). One ticket allows you to transfer among all kinds of transit for the time allotted.
Thank you all for your very thorough input.
Very much appreciated.
One of the fun things to do in Berlin is to ride the S-Bahn laterally from a point in the outer western part , say Spandau, to all the way in the east, say Karlshorst. This lateral ride might take 80 minutes or more depending how you tailor the ride and with how many transfers.
Agree to Fred. You can also ride a round trip - the "Ringbahn" S41 (clockwise) and S42 (counter-clockwise).
Btw: subway line U1 inspired an author to the legendary musical "Linie 1", a really local cultural highlight. And even written and produced first in the 80s it has a tourist song :-) Also in the 80s the U1 was a different route than today (a mix of today's U2 and U1) - driving from Ruhleben to Schlesisches Tor, last station before Berlin Wall.
