4th TripCom Meeting


Hosted by the Hotel Sylter Hof
Kurfürstenstr. 114 - 116
10787 Berlin, Germany

 January 18-19, 2007



Home

Getting to the venue

Accommodation

Getting to and
around Berlin

Social activities

Agenda

Getting to Berlin shouldn't be too difficult.

By air Berlin is flown directly to from all major European cities. Please be aware that there are three Berlin airports! If you have a choice, Tegel is preferable as it is more central than the others and is closest to the meeting venue. You can search for connections and learn more about the Berlin airports at their website.
By train Berlin can equally be reached from major cities directly like Paris, Amsterdam, Rome and Brussels. Note that international trains now halt at the new Hauptbahnhof and no longer at Zoologischer Garten. You can check connections at Deutsche Bahn
By road the Yahoo Maps service offers driving directions that seems to cover all of Europe. Coming by bus is also possible as Berlin is part of the Eurolines network. Berlinlinienbus connects Berlin with many towns and cities in Germany.

Getting around Berlin should also not be very difficult

Public transport: provided one gets used to the public transportation network and deciphering the schedules which are displayed at all public transport stops, public transport is plentiful and regular and so can be recommended for your stay. Berlin offers a city train network (S-Bahn, white S in green circle), an underground network (U-Bahn, white U in blue square), buses (stops are white with a green H in a yellow circle) and also trams (mostly in the eastern part of the city). Oh, and ferries, but it's unlikely you'll need that...
You can check how to travel from any address or stop in Berlin to another using public transportation at FahrInfo

Tickets:For an occasional journey, a single ticket Einzelfahrkarte costs 2.10€ (if you are travelling less than 3 train stations or 6 bus stops you can take a short trip ticket Kurzstrecke for 1.20€). If you expect to take three or more trips in a day it is better to buy a day ticket Tageskarte for 5.80€ or, if you'll be travelling constantly as a group of three to five people then the small group ticket Kleingruppenkarte is cheaper at 14.80€. OK, that's not enough. If you are taking a few days extra to see Berlin too then check out the tickets for visitors.
Ticket counters are only at major stations, generally you'll get your ticket at a yellow ticket machine (in every station and some bus stops) - the machines can operate in English and many other languages. You can also buy a ticket from the bus driver. Tickets need to be stamped after purchase or they are not valid. This means you can buy several tickets in one go and stamp them only prior to your journey.
In buses you need to get in at the front and show your ticket to the driver. In the trains, there may be spot checks both by uniformed and plain clothed controllers (they'll say "Fahrkarten bitte" and look at you seriously until you show them your ticket).

Advisory! Berlin is constantly changing so we don't recommend trying to get around using an out of date street plan or public transportation map.

Taxis: plentiful and hence generally easy to hail down on the street. You'll also find taxis waiting at major traffic locations, for example, in front of the Zoologischer Garten station. If you need to, you can also call (local) 210 101 to arrange a taxi. If you hail a taxi on the street and are travelling less than 2km you can say 'Kurzstrecke' and pay a flat rate of 3€. All taxis are metered.  

All information in this page courtesy AG NBI, Free University of Berlin. Last updated 26-09-06.