How to get from Berlin Brandenburg Airport to City Centre (the easy & cheap way)

It’s easy to get from Berlin Airport to the city centre. It can cost as little as 3.80 euros and take 30 minutes.

Planning a last minute trip to Berlin? 🇩🇪
Here are my favourite places to stay & things to do in German capital.

🛌 Places to Stay:
1. Hotel Adlon Kempinski (luxury hotel where all the celebs are staying too, right by the Brandenburg Gate)
2. NH Collection Mitte (very good hotel with an even better location in the heart of Berlin)
3. H4 Hotel Alexanderplatz (affordable hotel near Alexanderplatz and my favourite area, Prenzlauer Berg)

🎟️ Top Activities & Tours:
1. Fast-track ticket to the TV Tower (skip the slow-moving queue)
2. Go on Boat Tour on the River Spree (lovely way to see a lot of sights)
3. Take a Third Reich and Cold War Walking Tour
4. Take a guided tour to the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial

🚇 Get The Berlin WelcomeCard for easy access to public transport (it's also valid on the Airport Express train) & huge discounts on a lot of activities in Berlin.

If you fly to Berlin, you will land at Berlin Brandenburg Airport. You can no longer fly to Tegel, Schönefeld or Tempelhof, for that matter – they’re all finally closed, and Berlin only has one large international airport, Berlin Brandenburg Airport.

So you’ll be going to the modern Berlin Brandenburg Willy Brandt Airport, which opened in November 2020 – in this guide, I will tell you how to get from the airport to the centre of Berlin easily and quickly.

I’ve flown to both Terminal 1 and 2 in Berlin – here I am just arrived in Terminal 1 in the spring of 2023 😀

The quickest and cheapest way from airport to city centre

In this guide, I’ll dive into all modes of transport available from Berlin Airport to the city centre, but if you’re looking for the quickest and cheapest way from the airport to your city centre hotel – here you go:

The easiest way to get from Berlin Brandenburg Airport to your city centre hotel is by train. Regional trains, which are the fastest, and suburban trains (S-Bahn), stop at several stations.

If you buy Berlin Welcome Card online, you can use it on your phone to take any train that departs from the airport’s train station towards the city centre. Just make sure you get the ABC-card as the airport is in zone C.

The regional trains stop at main stations Ostkreuz, Ostbahnhof, Alexanderplatz, Friedrichstrasse, Berlin Hauptbahnhof and Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten.

It takes only 25 minutes from the airport to Alexanderplatz. The S-Bahn stops at all stations, so it takes longer (43 min from the airport to Alexanderplatz).

Have you seen my extensive guide on where to stay in Berlin?

Train from the airport to the city centre 🚆

I always travel by train to and from the airport in Berlin.

It works flawlessly, is cheap and you avoid the traffic that can be if you arrive during rush hour and take a taxi.

I recommend taking the airport express train from Berlin Airport to the city centre as it’s convenient and cheap.

Please note that the train station is located under the Terminal 1 building.

So if you’re landing in Terminal 2 you’ve got a 5 minute walk to reach the train station which is not a problem, but I just wanted to let you know 😉

How long is the train ride from BER to the city centre?

It depends on where you are getting off and which train you are taking. The train journey from the airport to Alexanderplatz takes about 25 minutes – to Berlin Hauptbahnhof, the journey takes 30 minutes.

This applies to the two regional trains, RB14 and RE7 and the dedicated airport train, FEX.

Airport Express (FEX)

• Route: Berlin (Hauptbahnhof – Gesundbrunnen – Ostkreuz) – BER T1-2
• Frequency: every 30 minutes

RE7

• Route : Dessau / Bad Belzig – Berlin (Wannsee – Charlottenburg – Zoologischer Garten – Hauptbahnhof – Friedrichstraße – Alexanderplatz – Ostbahnhof – Ostkreuz) – BER T1-2 – Wünsdorf-Waldstadt

RB14

• Route: Nauen – Berlin (Spandau – Charlottenburg – Zoologischer Garten – Hauptbahnhof – Friedrichstraße – Alexanderplatz – Ostbahnhof – Ostkreuz) – BER T1-2

In addition, suburban trains (the S-Bahn) also run directly from the airport, stopping at several stations:

S9

• Track: 5/6
• Route: Berlin (Spandau – Charlottenburg – Zoologischer Garten – Hauptbahnhof – Friedrichstraße – Alexanderplatz – Ostbahnhof – Warschauer Straße – Treptower Park – Schöneweide – Adlershof) – BER T5 – BER T1-2
• Departures: every 20 minutes

S45

• Track: 5/6
• Route: Berlin (Südkreuz – Schöneweide – Adlershof) – BER T5 – BER T1-2
• Departures: every 20 minutes

You can see timetables on the airport’s website here.

It’s easy to get a quick overview when you get to the train station in BER Airport:

Train ticket prices and how to buy

Berlin is divided into three zones: A, B and C. Berlin Airport is located in Zone C.

This means that the trip from BER to the centre costs 3.80 euros. The price is the same regardless of whether you take the S-Bahn or the regional train.

Read more about the prices at BVG here.

• BVG is responsible for all public transport in Berlin, so the tickets are valid for trains, subways, buses and trams.

You can buy tickets in the machines at the station or in The BVG Ticket app.

The app is translated into English so everyone can use it.

There are quite a few ticket machines in the station-area as well:

Get the Berlin Welcome Card for airport transport and public transport in Berlin

However, there is a smart alternative if you travel to Berlin and use public transport quite often (most people have to, as Berlin is big and public transport works well).

You can buy a Berlin Welcome Card, which is also valid on the route from the airport to the city centre.

The Berlin Welcome Card thus gives access to unlimited use of public transport in Berlin and the card provides a 25-50% discount on attractions such as the TV Tower, Berliner Dom, Madame Tussauds and a long list of other experiences in the city.

It can quickly be ‘earned in’ if you have to see a lot of the best things to do in Berlin.

Read more about the card here.

With the Berlin Welcome Card, you can skip the ticket machine queues and get straight to the city centre.

Have you found a place to stay in Berlin? Check out my video where I’m showing 3 of the best areas:

Bus from the airport to city centre 🚌

Public buses also run from the airport. You will find the stops on Level 0 when you come out of the arrival hall in Terminal 1 directly in front of the building.

X7

• Route: U Rudow – BER T5 – BER T1-2 (Bus stops A 6-7)
• Departure times: every 5-10. minute

X71

• Route: U Alt-Mariendorf – Johannisthaler Chaussee – U Rudow – BER T5 – BER T1-2 (Bus stops A 6-7)
• Departure times: every 20 minutes

The price is the same, and you can also buy tickets in the BVG app or use the Berlin Welcome Card.

Few people take the bus from Berlin airport to the city centre, as the train works so well, and few tourists stay in the areas of southern Berlin that the buses go to.

It might make sense to take the bus to Rudow and change to the u-Bahn if you stay in southern Neukölln, but I would probably still take the S-Bahn and then change to U-Bahn on that route.

But at least now you know about the option 😀

Taxi from the airport to the city centre 🚖

It is also possible to take a taxi from the airport directly to your hotel. There is a taxi queue immediately outside Terminal 1, where the official taxis can be hailed.

How much is a taxi from the airport to the city centre?

The price of a drive naturally depends on where in Berlin you need to be dropped off. The taxis run with a taxi meter.

Typically, however, the price will be around 45-50 euros for a journey to your hotel in Mitte.

Book a taxi with an English-speaking driver for the same price

If you would like to pre-book a taxi from home and have an overview of the price and a dedicated driver who will meet you in the arrivals hall, I recommend Welcome Pickups.

You just have to enter your hotel name or address in Berlin and you can see the price for your trip in advance – go to Welcome Pickups here.

I’ve used their service from Berlin Airport to the H4 Hotel at Alexanderplatz, which is also a great hotel (see more about it here).

The price was 49 euros – so the price can compete with the official taxis. And the driver spoke fluent English, which isn’t always the case in Germany.

Are you worried about your flight being delayed? The driver tracks your flight arrival, so he knows when you arrive at Berlin Airport.

I hope you are ready for your trip to Berlin and know how to get from Berlin Brandenburg Airport to the city centre.

I have lived in Berlin and still go there several times a year, so please comment if you have any questions about your trip.

FAQ about Berlin Airport

Travel ressources & websites I use all the time 👇

• Booking.com has the best offers on hotels and unique places to stay
• GetYourGuide is the best place to book tours & activities with free cancellation
• NordVPN is the only VPN I've ever needed for travel (it just works, everywhere)
• Welcome Pickups is the best & safest place to pre-book airport transfers

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