Getting to Berlin's Tegel and Schönefeld Airports to connect to cheap low-cost flights is easy. Trains and buses from Zoo and Mitte are fast, frequent, and cheap.
Berlin’s Tegel and Schönefeld Airports are best reached by public transportation. Tegel is in tariff zone B, requiring an AB ticket from Central Berlin, while Schönefeld is currently in tariff zone C, requiring an ABC ticket from Central Berlin. All regular tickets and passes are valid.
Tegel is the more convenient in the northwestern suburbs of Berlin and mostly used by full-service airlines. It is due to close when the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BBI) opens after 2011. BBI is being constructed next to Schönefeld Airport to the south of Berlin. Most cheap flights on low-cost airlines are from Schönefeld, although Air Berlin uses mostly Tegel.
Buses from Tegel Airport (TXL) to Central Berlin Mitte
Buses are the most convenient way from Tegel Airport to central Berlin. Buses generally operate from before 5 am to around midnight. Buses run every few minutes making timetable consultation fairly irrelevant during normal business hours.
Two JetExpressBuses – extra-long buses with special space for luggage – run from Tegel Airport. These buses only halt at major stops, which are where most foreign travelers get of anyway.
X9 connects Flughafen Tegel with Zoologischer Garten Station, the heart of former West Berlin, in 20 minutes.
TXL runs from Flughafen Tegel to Prenzlauer Berg in 40 minutes. En route, it stops amongst others at the Hauptbahnhof (20 minutes), Unter den Linden (30 minutes), and Alexander Platz (35 minutes).
Regular bus lines from Tegel Airport to Central Berlin:
Bus 109 connects Flughafen Tegel with Zoologischer Garten Station in 27 minutes. It has more stops than bus X9 – amongst others at the following S and U-Bahn train stations: Charlottenburg (17 minutes), Adenauerplatz (19 minutes), Uhlandstraße (23 minutes), and Kurfürstendamm (25 minutes).
Transportation from Schönefeld Airport (SXF) to Central Berlin Mitte
Schönefeld Airport is currently less conveniently located than Tegel for users of public transportation to Central Berlin. Most foreign visitors will find the Airport Express or other S-Bahn trains the most convenient.
Trains from Schönefeld Airport to Berlin
The Airport Express is the fastest and generally most convenient way to central Berlin. It is a special regional train (RE7 or RB14 but clearly marked as Airport Express) that runs every half hour from S-Bahn Station Flughafen Berlin-Schönefeld through central Berlin to Spandau in 45 minutes. En route, it stops at Ostbahnhof (17 minutes), Alexanderplatz (21 minutes), Friedrichstraße (24 minutes), Hauptbahnhof (28 minutes), and Zoologischer Garten (32 minutes). The Airport Express runs from around 5 am to 11 pm. S-Bahn train S9, which follows the same route in just over an hour but with more stops, has more services late at night.
It is a 400-m (1/4 mile) walk via a covered walkway from the airport to the railway station – bus 162 or 171 can also be used. (The new Berlin Brandenburg International Airport, due to open in 2011 but probably a few years later, will have the S-Bahn and long distance train stations right in its center.)
RB22 goes directly from Schönefeld to Potsdam hourly in just less than an hour.
Buses from Schönefeld Airport
For foreign travelers, buses from Schönefeld Airport are generally less useful except to connect to the nearby S-Bahn and U-Bahn train stations.
Buses 162 and 171 (and night bus N60) run from Flughafen Schönefeld via S-Bahn Station Flughafen Berlin-Schönefeld (3 minutes) to S-Bahn Station Adlershof in 19 minutes.
X7 is a JetExpressBus connecting Flughafen Schönefeld and U-Bahn station Rudow (U-Bahn line U7) in 7 minutes. Night bus N71 does the same route.
Expressbus-Linie SXF1 is a new fast, if somewhat expensive, express bus service to Südkreuz Station and may be of use to travelers going to southern parts of Berlin.
For visitors, Berlin’s public transportation is the cheapest way to connect to low-cost flights at Berlin's two airports. It is also the easiest way to transit between Tegel and Schönefeld airports if luggage is not too bulky.
The copyright of the article Transportation to Berlin Airports in Budget Transportation is owned by Henk Bekker. Permission to republish Transportation to Berlin Airports in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
Thanks for the great information. My wife and I
are traveling to Berlin the September and I found some information on the
Visit Berlin website regarding the Schonfeld fare zone. It says:
"Attention: Since April 1, 2008 you will need the ABC ticket from
Schönefeld to Berlin because Schönefeld belongs then to the zone C S-Bahn."
So it would appear that travelers using the
Airport express will now need a ticket or pass valid for zones A, B and C.
The link is:
Thanks for pointing it out. I’ve adjusted the information in the article to
prevent confusion. €2.80 from downtown Berlin to Schönefeld is still cheap,
even if Tegel can be reached for €2.10, but being caught with the wrong
ticket could set you back around €40.
German cities have an
irritating habit of milking train passengers on the way to the airport.
Frankfurt International Airport (FRA), for example, has its own tariff zone
to up the price for travelers from downtown.
Oct 30, 2008 8:50 AM
Guest
:
Hi We are looking in to arriving at Schonenfeld airport at 09:10 and
departing from Tegal airport at 11:50 on the 2nd December. Given that we
have to pick up our bags and arrive at least 30 minutes before departure
what is the best way to travel between the airports? Ian
Nov 1, 2008 12:05 AM
Henk Bekker :
The easiest will be taking the Regional-Express (RE) or S-Bahn S9 from
Berlin Schönefeld to Berlin Hauptbahnhof (Central Train Station) and change
there to Bus TXL for Tegel Airport.
The RE trains leave
Schönefeld at 9:25 & 9:55 (10:26 will get you to Tegel only at 11:25)
and S9 trains leave at 9:38 and 9:58. TXL buses depart so frequently it is
hardly worth checking the schedules. Total traveling time should be between
just less than an hour and 1h10.
By car, the transfer from
Schönefeld to Tegel can be done in about 45 minutes but it will of course
cost whether taking a taxi or booking a Berlin transfer service.
Nov 2, 2008 6:37 AM
Guest
:
Hello Henk, I'm arriving at Schönenfeld airport at 22:45 on Thursday
20th november with EasyJet. I'm a worried beacause I can't find enough
information about the timetable for rail and buses at night from 23:00 and
through the night in case my flight is delayed. Is there any train running
around midnight or later, or any bus. I've got to get to Alexanderplatz. Thank you, Carol
Nov 2, 2008 7:22 AM
Henk Bekker :
Up to 23:58, simply take the Regional-Express or S-Bahn S9 directly to
Alexanderplatz – a train is available every 20 minutes or so.
Thereafter things are slightly more complicated but transportation
remains available throughout the night. The easier option is to take S-Bahn
S9 towards Warschauer Straße and get off after four stops (14 minutes) at
Berlin-Schöneweide. Change to bus N65 in the direction of Hackescher Markt
and get off at Alexanderplatz. This S-Bahn & bus combination takes 40
minutes with the S-Bahn leaving Schönefeld twice hourly (28 & 58
minutes past the hour) – last departure at 02:28.
Further
options are available during the night but require several bus changes.
Direct RE and S-Bahn trains run again from just before 4 am.
Nov 2, 2008 8:54 PM
Carol22 :
Thank you so much for your tips, Henk! I was mistaken about my
destination. My hotel is not exactly at Alexanderplatz but at Schönhauser
Allee.
Up to 23:58, I can take the Regional-Express or S-Bahn S9
directly to Alexanderplatz, and then how do I get to Schönhauser Allee?
If it's after 23:58, I still take S-Bahn S9 towards Warschauer
Straße and get off at Berlin-Schöneweide and change to bus N65? Do I have
to take another bus in Alexanderplatz?
Thank you!
Nov 2, 2008 11:32 PM
Henk Bekker :
Assuming your destination is the Meininger Hotel at Schönhauser Allee 19,
Prenzlauerberg, you have to use U-Bahn Stop Senefelderplatz, which is
directly at the hotel:
Up to the 23:58 departure of S-Bahn S9,
change at Alexanderplatz to U-Bahn U2 (direction Pankow) and get off at
Senefelderplatz (two stops).
For later departures, follow the
description in the previous post but continue past Alexanderplatz to
Hackescher Markt. Change here to bus N2 (direction Pankow) and get off at
Senefelderplatz. (Note that the S-Bahn trains after midnight run in the
direction away from central Berlin so don’t miss the Schöneweide stop.)
Dec 18, 2008 9:27 AM
Guest
:
On Dec. 30th, I arrive from Schönefeld airport at 9:30 am. The following
day, I have a 6 am flight from TXL. Therefore, have chosen to stay near
TXL. What is the best way to get from Shonefeld to TXL?
Dec 18, 2008 10:05 AM
Henk Bekker :
Click on transit link in the final paragraph of the article above to get
details on the easiest ways to travel between SXF and TXL.
It is
not really necessary to stay close to Tegel – bus X109 can get you to Tegel
Airport from Zoologischer Garten before 4 am if needed and various options
are available from other parts of Berlin. However, at this early hour it is
best to check timetables in advance.
