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Train from Warnemunde sea port to Berlin

Which is the better choice?

1) Train from seaport to Berlin?

Or taxi from Seaport to Hamburg train station & then train from Hamburg to Berlin?

Thank you.

Posted by
7 posts

We are arriving via cruise ship at Port of Warnemunde and wish to get to Berlin. It seems to me that we can take the train immediately from the sea port to Berlin or we can taxi into the Hamburg railroad station & take a train to Berlin from the city. My understanding is that the train from Hamburg to Berlin runs hourly and takes about one & one-half hours. The train from the Seaport leaves @ 8, 10 & 12 & takes about 3.25 hours. Which is the better choice? How far is a taxi ride from the sea port to the Hamburg railroad station?

Thank you.

Posted by
19052 posts

ViaMichelin shows the route from Warnemunde to Hamburg as 190 km, 2h20min. How much does a taxi cost for 190 km?

It only takes 35 min longer my car (taxi?) from Warnemunde to Berlin (247 km) than from Warnemunde to Hamburg. Why not just take the taxi to Berlin?

Does the cruise ship have its own extra cost tour to Berlin? Take it!

Posted by
7 posts

O.K. Thanks for your info. I will do more research next time. I should have known that if Rick Steves suggested the train from the seaport that there would not be a comparable alternative. One more question: do you suggest reservations for the 1000 train to Berlin from the seaport to Berlin?

Thank you.

Posted by
19052 posts

Reservation?

If you are talking about full fare tickets from Warnemunde to Berlin, with seat reservations, sure. If the boat is late getting into Warnemunde, the 4,50/seat reservations will be null, but that's all you'll lose.

But if you are talking about train specific, advance purchase, Savings Fare tickets, you'll be taking a risk. If the boat is late, your tickets could be worthless.

But, looking at the schedule between Warnemunde and Berlin, it looks like most connections are by regional train, so Saving Fare tickets, or reservations, are not available.

Posted by
868 posts

Berlin is more than 3h away from the coast, which means you will spend at least 6 hours on the train, and need further 30-50min to get from the train station to the sights and back. So, half of the day is wasted by traveling, and unlike Paris Berlin wasn't built to impress at first sight. Unter den Linden, the area where you will spend most of your time, is a huge building site right now. And your ship doesn't wait for you if the train is delayed.
Sadly most people decide to go to Berlin, mostly because the Baltic Coast is unknown to them. Rick Steves doesn't know the region either. Which is a shame, since the second most popular tourist region of Germany offers everything a tourist expects from the country. Castles and palaces like the one in Güstrow or Ludwigslust, or a wonderful fairytale castle like in Schwerin for example. Schwerin also offers a beautiful preserved old town, just like Stralsund, Wismar, Greifswald or Lübeck (all World Heritage Sites). Bad Doberan offers one of the most valuable chuches of Northern Europe, and a nostalgic steam train that crosses the old town and goes to the first resort on the continent. Even Warnemünde is a nice seaside resort. And Prora is the biggest Nazi structure ever built.
All these places are much closer to Warnemünde. Instead of wasting your time on the train you could see not just one but two of these places, like Wismar and Schwerin, or Schwerin or Wismar and Bad Doberan for example. And it's damn cheap, since you can use a Länderticket, which means less than 30€ for 2.

Posted by
16893 posts

I assume your reference to Rick's advice means that you have his Northern European Cruise Ports book, where he goes into a fair amount of detail describing the 3-hours-each way transportation to Berlin. Given the choice, I'd visit Berlin for 3 days, not a half-day. He also provides some info for visiting Rostock and Warnemunde.

Posted by
7 posts

Hi Laura: I am using Rick's Snapshot Berlin since we were planning to stay 5 nights in Berlin from the ship's docking in Warnemunde and then leaving for home. I was assuming this book would contain all the info. I needed for Berlin.