trio to Berlin before RS tour

Please send suggestions on how many days we should stay in Berlin?

That really depends on what you want to see and do. You can spend a week in Berlin without any problems.

Hotels near the sites would also be appreciated.

Near which sites? Berlin is a large city.

What sites are most important and how much time for each?

Again, it depends on what you're looking for and why you decided to go to Berlin.

Is it difficult taking a train if we don't speak German?

No, the depature time and train number is on your ticket. Then you just look at the information screens at the station to see which track (Gleis in German) it departs from.

I stayed in Berlin for 4 nights at the beginning of my trip, and then another 2 nights at the end, and could easily have spent more. But I would say to really get to see a lot, I would go for at least four nights if possible. Keep in mind that Berlin is quite large with many opportunities for sightseeing. You might want to check some guidebooks first for the main sights, which are spread all over the city.

When I was there in 2022, I stayed in Hackescher Markt, at the Adina Apartment Hotel Hackescher Markt. My room was a studio since I was by myself but they also have 1-2 bedroom apartments with fully equipped kitchens, washers and dryers and so on. They do have hotels in other Berlin locations as well, but I personally really liked this location. The staff was friendly and courteous, and the rooms were very well prepared, large, clean and nice. Breakfast is available although given the kitchen facilities, I just ate in my room in the morning.

Also, the hotel is very convenient to the U-Bahn, S-Bahn, and trams, and is an easy walk to the major museums. The DDR museum is only a few blocks away, along with the TV Tower, and Museum Island is a quick 5 minute walk. You can easily walk to Lindenstraß from there, There are several grocery stores a few blocks away along with a couple of wine shops, many cafes and good restaurants. I would definitely stay in this location again.

You do not need to speak German to take the trains. The rail system is at https://int.bahn.de/en (this is the English site), and it's easy to get a train to Munich. Keep in mind that the earlier you book your ticket, the cheaper it will be. Tickets usually open up about 3+ months ahead of time.

You might want to check the Berlin page here to see what interests you and how much time you might want to spend in Berlin:
https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/germany/berlin

I did the Berlin, Prague, Vienna in June. I flew into Munich and after a few days touring on my own, took the train to Berlin the day before the tour began.

Don’t worry about it speaking German, almost everyone spoke English and my high school German from 55 years ago was long forgotten.

My must see list included Kaiser Wilhelm Kirche, less about the church itself but because I remembered walking past a burned out hulk and area in 1969. It gave me a chance to familiarize myself with Berlin’s trams and buses.

My other must sees were the Topography of Terror Museum. I found it hauntingly interesting but didn’t expect my reaction would be so upsetting. Checkpoint Charlie is now a tourist photo op, unlike the former scary guard post between West and East. Burning Book Memorial was worth the viewing, knowing the Nazi book burning and book banning history.

Go on the Bundestag/Reichstag tour. You need to get timed tickets as soon as your date opens. They fill very quickly. I’d guess that most people don’t know the timeline history of the building. Look for the bullet holes and Russian graffiti. I left the RS tour for my afternoon visit.

Enjoy your tour. After mine ended in Vienna I spent more days there, in Salzburg and back to Munich.

Two important historical eras in Berlin should be of interest. Our guide took us to places involved in both the Communist and Nazi eras. It was very, very interesting to my dh and me. You should buy a guide book that is 100% focused on Berlin.
We weren’t too interested in Germany prior to our visit to Berlin which is now one of our favorite European cities.

We would like to fly into Berlin from the US for a few days prior to
our trip and then take a train from Berlin to Munich where our tour
will begin.

So after reading about Berlin on RS & watching some of the videos here on the website, go to the library with whomever is on this trip and research Berlin, there's a lot to see & you may be surprised at what speaks to you.

How many days on the ground in Berlin, excluding arrival and departure days? I wouldn't bother if that number is less than 3, and even that depends how you handle jet lag. AND then you're taking the train to Munich for a tour that starts the same afternoon? Trains get delayed, just look at the details, allow yourself a lot of time to transit so you don't miss the start of your tour in Munich! (I'm not up to date on strikes & rail closures, check closer to departure dates.)

If you love museums, Museum Island is chock full of museums, much of it from the ancient world. We actually preferred the Gemäldegalerie, off on it's own and not very busy at all. We sat in front of a Vermeer for 10 minutes, one other person came by. As others have suggested, get the Reichstag tickets as soon as they become available, we spent 1/2 a day there.

What about a bike tour to start the trip off and combat jet lag? 10AM, Fat Bike Tours does a great job on the history & architecture, & the Berlin Wall.

Last time we were in Germany, we flew through Berlin and stayed there about a week. It wasn't our favorite German city, however it's an important place. We found lots of deli's and American food restaurants--and Vietnamese food. The Museum Island museums were simply not on par with Paris or Amsterdam or Vienna.

We stayed across the street from the Berlin train station at the Hotel Ibis, and it was very decent. My wife is mobility challenged and rides a personal scooter so we needed to be close to mass transit and elevators.

We took the two hour train down to Dresden and absolutely loved the place. The German food was authentic and the Munich breweries all had restaurants there. And the museums were absolutely top of the line. We will be returning to Saxony when we have more time to tour the mountains in the area.

I don’t know if it will be open when you are there but we have visited the history museum twice and would love to go back. So much to see. Also the Pergamon (check spelling) museum but it might be closed for renovation

Thank you everyone for replying to my questions. Your answers were very helpful.