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Travel to Hamburg

Flying to Hamburg

Flights to Hamburg depart from all the UK’s major airports, with both BA and Lufthansa running services, along with a host of budget airlines, such as easyJet and Ryanair, offering cheap flights to Hamburg year-round.

Flight times: 

From London – 1 hour 40 minutes; New York City – 9 hours 30 minutes; Toronto – 10 hours 40 minutes; Sydney – 24 hours.

Travel by road

Summary:

Germany is covered by an excellent and extensive system of major roads and motorways. Traffic drives on the right and the minimum age for driving is 18. There are no tolls or speed limits on the German motorways (the famous Autobahnen) but a maximum of 130kph (81mph) is recommended. On other roads, speed limits are 130kph (81mph) or 100kph (62mph) on major and minor roads outside the cities, and 50kph (30mph) in built-up areas.

Foreign drivers require their national driving licence and proof of insurance – third-party insurance is mandatory, but a green card is strongly recommended. A country identification sticker or national licence plate must be displayed on the vehicle.

Emergency breakdown service:

ADAC (tel: 01802 222 222).

Routes:

The A1 motorway runs to Hamburg from the southwest and north, the A7 from the north and south, the A23 from the northwest and the A24 from the east. Road signs and directions to Hamburg are clear and frequently posted.

Driving times:

From Berlin – 2 hours 30 minutes; Copenhagen – 3 hours; Amsterdam – 4 hours; Paris – 8 hours; Zurich – 8 hours 30 minutes. If you want to take your car to Hamburg from the UK, you will have to take the Eurostar to Calais or Brussels and drive for a further 763km (477 miles) or 588km (365 miles) respectively.

Coaches:

National Express (tel: 0871 781 8181, in the UK; www.nationalexpress.com) runs a regular coach service from London to Hamburg.

Travel by rail

Services:

Hamburg’s rail system is efficient and well connected nationally and internationally across Europe. In fact, it’s possible to make a rail journey from London to Hamburg in under a day.
There are four main train stations in Hamburg, the Hauptbahnhof is the largest of these, and lying slightly east of the city centre, this is the terminus for most trains arriving in Hamburg, as well as being a hub for buses and the U-Bahn (Hamburg’s underground rail network).

The other three main stations - Dammtor, Altona and Harburg - are also centrally located and directly connected to the U-Bahn and S-Bahn (the city’s overground light railway). Altona is the departure point for many long-distance and international journeys, although most also stop at Hauptbahnhof. There are regular hourly services to Hamburg’s nearest towns and cities, including Lubeck, Kiel, Hanover and Bremen, all taking between 45 minutes and 1 hour 15 minutes.

Further afield, Germany’s excellent IC (Intercity) trains connect with Berlin, while high-speed ICE (Intercity Express) trains leave regularly for Frankfurt, Cologne and Munich. There is also a twice-daily service northwards into the Danish capital Copenhagen and southbound, a night train runs directly to Paris.

Operators:

Deutsche Bahn (DB) (tel: 0180 599 6633; www.bahn.de) is the national service provider. To travel by train from London to Hamburg, take a Eurostar train (tel: 0843 218 6186, in the UK; www.eurostar.com) to Paris, a high-speed Thalys or ICE train from Paris to Cologne, and then an IC train from Cologne to Hamburg.

Journey times:

From Berlin – 1 hour 30 minutes; Frankfurt – 3 hours 30 minutes; Cologne – 4 hours; Munich – 6 to 9 hours.

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