Travel to Germany

Flying to Germany

The national airline is Lufthansa (www.lufthansa.com). Low-cost carriers flying to German airports from the UK and the United States include Eurowings (www.eurowings.com). 

Major airports are:
Berlin-Tegel Airport
Bodensee Airport Friedrichshafen
City Airport Bremen
Cologne Bonn Airport
Dresden International Airport Dusseldorf Airport
Frankfurt Airport
Hamburg Airport
Leipzig/Halle Airport
Munich Airport
Münster Osnabrück International Airport
Nuremberg Airport
Paderborn/Lippstadt Airport
Rostock-Laage Airport
Stuttgart Airport
Sylt (Westerland) Airport

Notes

The new Berlin Brandenburg Airport is scheduled to open in October 2020, around 18km (11 miles) south of central Berlin itself.

Airport Guides

Flight times

To Frankfurt: from London - 1 hour 30 minutes; New York - 7 hours 40 minutes.

Air passes

Various air passes are available which incorporate Germany. These include the Star Alliance Europe AirPass and the SkyTeam Go Europe Pass.

Departure tax

None.

Travelling to Germany by Rail

There are excellent connections between Germany and other main European cities. For more information, contact Deutsche Bahn (www.bahn.com).

Eurostar (www.eurostar.com) is a service provided by the railways of Belgium, the UK and France, operating direct high-speed trains from London (St Pancras International) to Paris (Gare du Nord) and to Brussels (Midi/Zuid). Both Paris and Brussels have direct services to Cologne and Frankfurt.

Rail passes

InterRail: offers unlimited first- or second-class travel in up to 31 European countries for European residents of over six months with two pass options. The Global Pass allows travel for three days in a month, five days in a month, seven days in a month, 10 days in two months, 15 days in two months, one month and two months across all countries. The One-Country Pass offers travel for three, four, six or eight days in one month in any of the countries except Bosnia & Herzegovina, Lithuania, North Macedonia and Montenegro.

Reductions are available for travellers under 27 and over 60. Children under 12 are free when travelling with an adult using an Adult Pass. Supplements are required for some high-speed services, seat reservations and couchettes. Discounts are offered on some ferry routes. Interrail passes are available for European residents only.

Eurailpass: offers unlimited train travel in up to 31 European countries. Tickets are valid for three days in a month, five days in a month, seven days in a month, 10 days in two months, 15 days in two months, one month and two months across all participating countries. Reductions are available for travellers under 27 and over 60. Available from Eurail (www.eurail.com).

Driving to Germany

For travellers already on the continent, Germany's central position makes it easily accessible by major roads from almost any direction you care to choose.

From the UK, Eurotunnel runs shuttle trains for cars, bicycles, motorcycles, coaches, minibuses, caravans and campervans between Folkestone in Kent and Calais in France. The journey takes about 35 minutes from platform to platform. Road access across to Germany is then relatively easy.

Getting to Germany by boat

The north (and only) coastline of Germany is readily accessible by water. The biggest ports are Bremen (www.bremenports.de), Bremerhaven (www.cruiseport.de), Hamburg (www.hafen-hamburg.de), Rostock (www.rostock-port.de) and Kiel (www.portofkiel.com).

Cruise ships

Various cruise ship itineraries incorporate Germany. On the north coast, Hamburg's location sees it figure prominently, while towns and cities along the Rhine, Main and Danube are popular stop-offs for river cruises.

Ferry operators

The following shipping lines sail from the UK to ports within reasonable driving distance of Germany:

DFDS Seaways (www.dfdsseaways.co.uk) sails Newcastle-Amsterdam, Newhaven-Dieppe Dover-Dunkirk and Dover-Calais.

Stena Line (www.stenaline.co.uk) sails Harwich-Hook of Holland.

P&O Ferries (www.poferries.com) sails Dover-Calais, Hull-Rotterdam and Hull-Zeebrugge.

There are also year-round ferry services to Germany from Scandinavia.

River Routes

In terms of inland waterways, the Danube and Rhine Rivers both offer potential access to Germany for travellers coming from other countries.