Hamburg to Kiel??

[Cooper30]

This may be unrealistic, but I'm curious of people's opinions, positive or negative.

This coming October, my wife and I are on a 7-night MSC Preziosa cruise out of Southampton that stops in Hamburg.  Has anyone traveled from Hamburg to Kiel, more specifically the Laboe Naval Memorial/U-995 Museum?  I am kicking around the idea of renting a car for the day like we are in Le Havre (in order to travel to Omaha Beach on our own).

Our time in Hamburg is 0700-2100 on a Sunday, and a quick look at Google Maps puts the travel time as 1 hour 30 minutes each way. 

Additionally, any thoughts on an American driving in Germany?  I'm not concerned about France as I can limp along in French well enough, but I am not familiar with the German language whatsoever.  I'm sure I can learn the very basics, but I will never feel as comfortable as I do with French (and Italian).

 

Thank you for your time.

[CruiserBruce]

Have driven numerous times in Germany. Similar to driving in France...lots of universal signs. Probably the only word you need is "ausfahrt", the German word for "exit".

[Cooper30]

34 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Have driven numerous times in Germany. Similar to driving in France...lots of universal signs. Probably the only word you need is "ausfahrt", the German word for "exit".

Yea, I guess the driving part isn't really that big of a deal other than normal paying attention to local laws.

 

Thank you

[CruiserBruce]

28 minutes ago, Cooper30 said:

Yea, I guess the driving part isn't really that big of a deal other than normal paying attention to local laws.

 

Thank you

I would add to watch for speed cameras, particularly in small rural town. The Germans are good at surprising you with these.

[edinburgher]

On 2/29/2024 at 10:52 PM, Cooper30 said:

Additionally, any thoughts on an American driving in Germany? 

Should the car rental option not be taken for any reason,, and you are still keen to visit inside a U-Boat, just mentioning that there is also a U-Boat Museum in Hamburg itself. Not a German U-boat  though, it is a Russian one.  Docked in front of the Fishmarket on the waterfront in Hamburg.

 

Should you be docked at the ALTONA cruise terminal, it would be super easy to reach it by ferry.  as these leave from next to the Altona cruise terminal and the U-Boat museum is only a short distance from there, i cannot remember exactly but possibly only one or two ferry stops from Altona to Fishmarket.  You could check that online.

[Cooper30]

7 hours ago, edinburgher said:

Should the car rental option not be taken for any reason,, and you are still keen to visit inside a U-Boat, just mentioning that there is also a U-Boat Museum in Hamburg itself. Not a German U-boat  though, it is a Russian one.  Docked in front of the Fishmarket on the waterfront in Hamburg.

 

Should you be docked at the ALTONA cruise terminal, it would be super easy to reach it by ferry.  as these leave from next to the Altona cruise terminal and the U-Boat museum is only a short distance from there, i cannot remember exactly but possibly only one or two ferry stops from Altona to Fishmarket.  You could check that online.

Thank you. 
 

This looks like a cheaper way to go. 

[edinburgher]

15 hours ago, Cooper30 said:

 

This looks like a cheaper way to go. 

and less stressful! 

 

I hope you get the Altona berth as the ferry dock is right next to the ship and there is a bus stop outside on the roadway which travels close to a number of sights. We found Altona  very convenient and used trains,  buses and ferries across our two days.  Bus route 111, search online for the route description which shows a sightseeing map of Hamburg where not only the route is shown, but it also marks each stop closest to a particular sight/attraction  so you know where to get off/on.  We printed off the image and took it with us. 

 

And search online for day passes for public transport.  After 0900 on weekdays, no 0900 restriction at weekends, it is actually cheaper to buy one "9-Uhr-Tageskarte“ which covers public transit in the central area for up to 5 persons, than it is to buy 2 regular day tickets.  We used it on the ferries, public buses, and the suburban trains. info online.

Edited March 3 by edinburgher

[Cooper30]

Excellent information. Thank you for sharing. 
 

 

[edinburgher]

17 hours ago, Cooper30 said:

Excellent information. Thank you for sharing. 

Thanks for achnowledging as not everyone does.

 

should you dock at Altona you will be good to go, if at one of the others you need to do some pre-trip homework, although the u-boat info will still be relevant.

[cruizingOmi]

If you rent a car opt for the NAVI (GPS) option. German Autobahn can be crazy especially on a Sunday, lots of daytrippers. One accident and the 1,5 hr drive can turn into 3-4 hrs.

Another option is to look into taking a train to Kiel. www.bahn.de, choose your language.

[Cooper30]

1 hour ago, cruizingOmi said:

If you rent a car opt for the NAVI (GPS) option. German Autobahn can be crazy especially on a Sunday, lots of daytrippers. One accident and the 1,5 hr drive can turn into 3-4 hrs.

Another option is to look into taking a train to Kiel. www.bahn.de, choose your language.

Thank you for the advice.  Much appreciated!!

[taylortime05]

On 4/13/2024 at 4:10 PM, cruizingOmi said:

If you rent a car opt for the NAVI (GPS) option. German Autobahn can be crazy especially on a Sunday, lots of daytrippers. One accident and the 1,5 hr drive can turn into 3-4 hrs.

Another option is to look into taking a train to Kiel. www.bahn.de, choose your language.

We're flying into Hamburg in a few days.  We’ll be there 3 days prior to our cruise departing in Kiel on Saturday, April 27th.  We were planning to take an uber/taxi from Hamburg Airport  to our hotel which is approx 5 miles away.  We also have our return transportation from Kiel port to Hamburg Airport through MSC cruise line.  

 

However, we do not have anything reserved to get us from our Hamburg hotel to Kiel port.  We’d like to arrive at approx 10:00 AM.  I checked prices for Uber and private rides and they are quite pricey.   It looks like all the early morning shared ride options are sold out.   Would you recommend taking a train?  Should I reserve the tickets now?  

 

I’d appreciate your recommendations.  I’m feeling a little stressed that I do not have our transportation plans complete and we’re leaving on Tuesday.    Our other option is to only stay 2 nights in Hamburg and find transportation to Kiel on Friday late afternoon.  Then we’d stay 1 night in Kiel. 

 

Thank you!

Edited April 21 by taylortime05

[Scottishclover]

3 hours ago, taylortime05 said:

We're flying into Hamburg in a few days.  We’ll be there 3 days prior to our cruise departing in Kiel on Saturday, April 27th.  We were planning to take an uber/taxi from Hamburg Airport  to our hotel which is approx 5 miles away.  We also have our return transportation from Kiel port to Hamburg Airport through MSC cruise line.  

 

However, we do not have anything reserved to get us from our Hamburg hotel to Kiel port.  We’d like to arrive at approx 10:00 AM.  I checked prices for Uber and private rides and they are quite pricey.   It looks like all the early morning shared ride options are sold out.   Would you recommend taking a train?  Should I reserve the tickets now?  

 

I’d appreciate your recommendations.  I’m feeling a little stressed that I do not have our transportation plans complete and we’re leaving on Tuesday.    Our other option is to only stay 2 nights in Hamburg and find transportation to Kiel on Friday late afternoon.  Then we’d stay 1 night in Kiel. 

 

Thank you!

Seriously, no need to stress about taking the train. It takes just over an hour from Hamburg Main Station to Kiel on a regional train and there’s at least 3 an hour. Just get your ticket on the day, you can’t reserve seating on regional trains anyway. Go on to the Deutsche Bahn and look for timings. Then taxi from station to the port in Kiel. 

[taylortime05]

55 minutes ago, Scottishclover said:

Seriously, no need to stress about taking the train. It takes just over an hour from Hamburg Main Station to Kiel on a regional train and there’s at least 3 an hour. Just get your ticket on the day, you can’t reserve seating on regional trains anyway. Go on to the Deutsche Bahn and look for timings. Then taxi from station to the port in Kiel. 

Thank you. Sorry if this is a silly question but how do I identify regional trains at the Hamburg Main Station?  

 

[Chocolate Teapot]

Regional trains in Germany are usually called Regionalbahn or Regionalexpress. The sign on the platform with the train number will have the letters in front of it.

 

So: RB 12345 or RE 54321

 

 

[Capt_BJ]

checking the main schedule board in Nuremburg for our express ICE to Hamburg

 

 

then to the platform

 

 

here it is ... and note that clock!

 

[Chocolate Teapot]

19 hours ago, Capt_BJ said:

then to the platform

 

 

 

The train diagram in the bottom right hand corner of the sign is useful so you can have an idea of where your carriage is going to be located on the platform. However I did once or twice stand in what appeared to be the correct spot, only to discover the train came in the opposite way around, so I had to dash to the other end of the (very full and busy) platform!

[gnome12]

40 minutes ago, Chocolate Teapot said:

The train diagram in the bottom right hand corner of the sign is useful so you can have an idea of where your carriage is going to be located on the platform. However I did once or twice stand in what appeared to be the correct spot, only to discover the train came in the opposite way around, so I had to dash to the other end of the (very full and busy) platform!

I thought the letters shown on the diagram match those on the platform. 

[Chocolate Teapot]

Yes, they are supposed to.