Getting 5 people from Berlin Tegel airport to Berlin Schoenefeld airport

Prices on Air Berlin and Lufthansa between Berlin and Paris are fairly competitive with easyJet and they fly out of Tegel. That would be easier, when you are tired and cranky after a trans-Atlantic flight (well, I always am) and will save the cost of the airport commute. Finding a mid-day flight might be not so easy. Look at www.skyscanner.com for an overview of European low-cost carriers.
More basic question: Why not fly into Paris in the first place? Is the trans-Atlantic fare from the eastern US to the various Western European hubs really so varied as to justify this considerable hassle and loss of tourism time?

Getting a taxi is the option to minimize stress in your situation, but it's certainly not cheaper (taxi: 50-60 euro vs public transport: max 16 euro depending on the age of the kids). Nothing compared to the cost of intercontinental travel though. Yes, you'll need a van. But that shouldn't be hard to find at the airport. Depending on -- again -- the age of the kids the availability of child car seats might be a problem though. Most cabs only carry two booster seats (for children over, I think, 22 kg).

Kristi, This may be a moot point. As I recall, Berlin Brandenburg Airport is scheduled to open in March 2013 at the site of Schöenfeld, and it will replace Tempelhof, Schönefeld, and Tegel airports. I haven't seen any recent information on whether this will take place on schedule, but it's something to consider. Cheers!

Southam, thank you for suggesting that! I think I got EasyJet stuck in my head and couldn't see anything else, but I just checked Lufthansa on your advice, and I can see that will probably work well for us. As for your question about just flying into Paris, we'd be saving about $300 per person to fly into Berlin instead, which yes, we lose some of that having to fly to Paris, but it's a good excuse to spend a couple days in Berlin before we fly home. Mark, my kids are 15, 13, and 9, so no need for boosters, luckily. My thought was that a taxi might be easier if it was a flat rate, but clearly I was underestimating what that rate might be. Thanks! Ken, I read that as well, but I assumed the flight information would take that into consideration. Ha! I'm probably being a little naive, huh? Thanks!

Ken and Kristi - The Berlin Brandenburg Airport opening date was pushed out until at least October 2013 ... I saw one news article that stated it had been moved to October 2013 and then a second article that said the date might be pushed out even further into 2014.

Thank you, Laura.

Hi, "...a few transfers...." The "few transfers" can be avoided when you take public transportation, actually quite direct with only one transfer going from Tegel to Schönefeld. I would do the ride like this: take the TXL Bus at Tegel to Berlin Hauptbahnhof, (central station) where the bus stops on Invalidenstrasse, right in front. At Hauptbahnhof transfer to a special train "Airport Express Schönefeld"...a red color train with these words plastered on it, can't miss it, and easier than using the S-Bahn.

Thanks, Fred!

You're welcome. It doesn't surprise me since pushing back the date has become a variation on a theme.

@laura, Thanks for the revised information on Brandenburg Airport. It appears that this is the fifth time the opening date has been extended, and critics are calling for the resignation of the Mayor of Berlin. It's odd that this has happened in Germany, as they're usually so well organized there. Cheers!

These guys are cheaper than a taxi: Black Lane. We use them Germany-wide in our company and I've even used them at private occassions.

It's not the first embarassing transport foul-up in Berlin lately. A couple of years ago the suburban rail system collapsed completely due to a large proportion of the trains having to be withdrawn due to wheel/brake problems.