What is the best way to get from Bern, Switzerland to Hamburg, Germany? When our tour ends in Switzerland we will have 5 free days before the Germany tour begins. Any suggestions on where to go?
There is one direct train from Bern to Hamburg, but it goes a long way around and takes over 10 hours. Faster is to take an IC train to Basel and change to an ICE to Hamburg that takes a more direct route, taking 8 hours and 20 minutes. The trains go every 2 hours from Bern at 36 past the odd hours (7:36, 9:36, etc)
https://www.bahn.com/en
You can also get an Easyjet from Basel to Hamburg that goes every evening except Saturdays. More flights (and more expensive flights) available from Zurich with Swiss/Lufthansa and Eurowings.
Define best please.
If you have 5 days, I'd suggest a stop or two along the way.
Thanks for the replies. When I said 'best' way I meant the available transportation. Never having traveled in Switzerland we wanted input on dependable types of transportation.
Thanks.
If you want to break the train journey between Bern and Hamburg, Strasbourg (Alsace, France) would be a great stop that would not be included in a Germany tour.
Or if you'd rather fly from Basel, spending 2 nights there is worthwhile too.