Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [618]
Autokraft ( 208 8660; www.autokraft.de, in German) operates numerous services within Germany.
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Car & Motorcycle
The major A1 and A7 autobahns cross south of the Elbe River. Three concentric ring roads manage traffic flow.
For ride-shares, try the Mitfahrzentrale (Map; 194 40; www.citynetz-mitfahrzentrale.de; Ernst-Merck-Strasse 12; 9am-8pm Mon-Fri, 10am-8pm Sat, 11am-6pm Sun). Destinations include Berlin (€18.50), Frankfurt (€27.50), Cologne (€28) and Munich (€42).
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Train
Hamburg has four mainline train stations: the Hauptbahnhof, Dammtor, Altona and Harburg. Remember this as you read the timetables or you may end up at the wrong station.
Frequent trains serve Lübeck (€18.50, 40 minutes), Kiel (€27, 1¼ hours), Hanover (€40, 1¼ hours) and Bremen (€20.80 to €28, 55 minutes). A direct service to Westerland on Sylt Island leaves every two hours (€44, 3¼ hours).
The Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein-Ticket and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern-Ticket, and Bremen, Niedersachsen-Ticket (used in Bremen and Lower Saxony) day passes are valid in Hamburg state, including public transport in Hamburg’s city centre.
There are direct ICE services to Berlin-Hauptbahnhof (€68, 2¼ hours), Cologne (€79, four hours), Munich (€127, six hours) and Frankfurt (€106, three hours). A direct service to Copenhagen runs several times a day (€78.80, five hours). The fastest rail connection to Paris (€182, 8½ hours) requires a change in Frankfurt.
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GETTING AROUND
To/From the Airport
The S1 S-Bahn connects the airport directly with the city centre, including the Hauptbahnhof. The journey takes 24 minutes and costs €2.70; see below for ticket information.
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Bicycle
Many hostels and some hotels arrange bike rental for guests, or try Fahrradladen St Georg (Map; 243 908; Schmilinskystrasse 6; per 24hr €10-12, refundable €50 cash deposit; 10am-7pm Mon-Fri, 10am-1pm Sat).
StadtRAD Hamburg (www.stadtradhamburg.de), run by Deutsche Bahn (called Call in Bike at other major German cities) operates from U-Bahn and S-Bahn stations and other key points across the city. Rental of its bright-red, seven-gear bikes will be free for the first 30 minutes, €0.04 per minute for the next 30 minutes, and €0.08 per minute each hour thereafter.
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Car & Motorcycle
Driving around town is easy: thoroughfares are well signposted, and parking stations plentiful.
All the major car-hire agencies have branches in Hamburg. Europcar ( 01805-5000) is at the Hauptbahnhof and airport. The city office of Hertz (Map; 01805-333 535; Kirchenallee 34-36) is just opposite the Hauptbahnhof.
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Public Transport
The HVV ( 194 49; www.hvv.de) operates buses, ferries, U-Bahn and S-Bahn (plus A-Bahn commuter services), and has several offices, including at the Jungfernstieg S-/U-Bahn station, and the Hauptbahnhof.
The city is divided into ‘rings’ (zones). Ring A covers the city centre and inner suburbs, while ring B covers the Grossbereich (Greater Hamburg area), encompassing the city centre plus outlying communities like Blankenese. The Gesamtbereich (rings C, D and E) covers the entire Hamburg state. Kids under six travel free. Day Passes (Tageskarten; both after 9am and all day) cover travel for one adult and up to three children aged six to 14.
S-/U-Bahn tickets must be purchased from machines at station entrances; bus tickets are available from the driver. Ticket types include the following:
If you catch an express bus (Schnellbus), it costs an extra €1.40.
Services run around the clock on weekends and the night before a public holiday, but between approximately 12.30am and 4am Sunday to Thursday the night bus network takes over, converging on Rathausmarkt.
Bikes are allowed free of charge aboard S-/U-Bahn trains and buses outside peak hours (6am to 9am and