Warnemunde Port To Berlin: Private Tour ?

[zimmedl]

Four of us will be arriving in Warnemunde on a cruise ship in August. We have decided to bite the bullet and make the trip to Berlin and back in one day. May be the only time we will ever be in the area.

Does anyone know of a good private tour driver that would pick us up at the port in the a.m., take us to Berlin (tour), time for some shopping and back to port in the p.m. around 8:00?

 

Would love to here your thoughts or suggestions.

[Got2Cruise]

Contact SPb tours. You can get a good deal if you book both Berlin and St. Petersburg. Vika runs the St. Pete part of the operation, and her husband stays in Berlin and runs the Germany part, so there is always someone available to help. Top notch operation, we used them last season.

Four of us will be arriving in Warnemunde on a cruise ship in August. We have decided to bite the bullet and make the trip to Berlin and back in one day. May be the only time we will ever be in the area.

Does anyone know of a good private tour driver that would pick us up at the port in the a.m., take us to Berlin (tour), time for some shopping and back to port in the p.m. around 8:00?

 

Would love to here your thoughts or suggestions.

[dogs4fun]

Four of us will be arriving in Warnemunde on a cruise ship in August. We have decided to bite the bullet and make the trip to Berlin and back in one day. May be the only time we will ever be in the area.

Does anyone know of a good private tour driver that would pick us up at the port in the a.m., take us to Berlin (tour), time for some shopping and back to port in the p.m. around 8:00?

 

Would love to here your thoughts or suggestions.

 

We used ALLA TOURS last August and had absolutely outstanding tours in both Saint Petersburg and Berlin. Out of all the tour operators that we contacted, Alla was the only one that guaranteed accomodating our wish to visit the Pergamon museum in Berlin, which was an absolute "must see" for us. We were sold. Check out the the major independent tour operators in SPB & compare their offerings.

Get in touch with Alla, the owner of Alla Tours...she is simply fantastic. She is offering some package deals this season:

4-city open group package: St Petersburg, Berlin/or Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn - $490

5-city open group package: St Petersburg, Berlin, Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn - $570 to $595

These prices average out to about $99 per day of touring. :)

If you are interested, you can check-out her website at: http://alla-tour.com/

Enjoy your cruise in the baltic.

jill

[zimmedl]

Thanks to those of you who have replied to my question. I greatly appreciate it. Are there any others that we should consider?

 

Thanks again.

[SixOneTwo]

I am watching the responses with interest, too. I wonder if anyone has a recommendation for a guide or company (including transport) that is NOT associated with the St. Petersburg companies.

[lafngas]

One concern I have with Warnemunde being a 3 hour trip to/from Berlin would be getting stuck in road delays due to an accident or construction. Can anyone advise on the wisdom of being driven to Berlin from Warnemunde by car/van and then getting a one way train ticket back to Warnemunde from Berlin? Has anyone done this or thought of this to play it safe with not missing the ship?

[dogs4fun]

One concern I have with Warnemunde being a 3 hour trip to/from Berlin would be getting stuck in road delays due to an accident or construction. Can anyone advise on the wisdom of being driven to Berlin from Warnemunde by car/van and then getting a one way train ticket back to Warnemunde from Berlin? Has anyone done this or thought of this to play it safe with not missing the ship?

You can actually take the train yourself from Warnemunde...both ways. Search the threads on CC and you will find many cruisers who have successfully done this.

The tour companies mentioned above have never, to my knowledge, missed the ship. We were back onboard ship an hour and a half prior to sailing. The tour companies rely on recommendations on sites such as Tripadvisor and CC...they make sure that you get back to the ship on time or their reputations would be "mud".

However, if you are concerned re: missing the ship, your cruise line should offer a "Berlin on your own option" wherein they only provide the transportation to/from Berlin. The ship would wait for you if there was a delay on the road if you availed yourself of this option.

jill

[Travelanni]

One concern I have with Warnemunde being a 3 hour trip to/from Berlin would be getting stuck in road delays due to an accident or construction. Can anyone advise on the wisdom of being driven to Berlin from Warnemunde by car/van and then getting a one way train ticket back to Warnemunde from Berlin? Has anyone done this or thought of this to play it safe with not missing the ship?

 

Hi,

The only way to absolutely 'play it safe' is to take a ship's tour to Berlin! Many lines now offer the train/coach ride only - the day in Berlin is yours to spend as you like. The ship must, and frequently does, wait for the delayed trains/coaches which they have hired. The next safest way is with a reputable tour company who are aware of possible delays and always have a Plan B.

The train service between Rostock and Berlin only runs every two hours and unfortunately the timetable does not fit very well with the arrival and departure times of most cruise lines.

Happy cruising :)

Anni

http://www.travelanni.webs.com

[KirkNC]

We used SPB and they did a great job. While we did not look forward to the drive, we are glad we went as our tour guide did an excellent job on our whirl wind tour.

[HAVANA]

We are using "A FRIEND IN BERLIN" tours. They will pick you up at the port and bring you back to the port. Transportation from the Port to Berlin and back to the port is be car or van depending on the size of your group. We have booked a group of 6 and are still looking for 2 more to share the costs.

[Bluesmama]

I have organized a private tour with for our cruise with Insider Berlin Tours

they are highly rated on Trip Advisor #2....http://www.insidertour.com/

 

I am glad to post reviews upon our return, which will likely be too late for you but may help others.

We have built in a hour at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, which does take time away from Berlin but this may be our only opportunity.

I would not worry about not making back to the ship on time,they all build in extra time and they would quickly be out of business if they screwed up :)

Good luck!

Margo

[sippican]

Since Berlin has not been the primary focus of the St. Petersburg companies, there is some speculation as to whether they can provide the same quality of service as a locally-based company. (Berlin is a fairly new market for them.) Being that the port is so far away from the city, I would be a bit more cautious. There are many recommended tour opertators in Berlin and I would look at the ship's DIY transportation, as recommended by another poster, then explore tour options for the city of Berlin.

An interesting option on the Tripadvisor site:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187323-d1025949-Reviews-Sandemans_New_Berlin_Tours-Berlin.html

Since the guides work purely for tips, they seem motivated to provide a top notch experience.