Note that from around ish! The two most common ways to get from Berlin Tegel airport to downtown Berlin is either via express bus or taxi. We set this out below in detail based on our personal experience visiting the city on many occasions. The Berlin Welcome card also means you skip the long queues for metro tickets, which can sometimes be huge.
It also saves you stress if you don't know any German. The Jet Express bus is the cheapest and one of the quickest ways to reach downtown Berlin from Tegel airport.
There are several express bus options you can take from Hegel airport, depending on where exactly in Berlin you want to get to:. With regards to bus tickets, note that Tegel airport is in Zone B. So you'll need to get a ticket valid for zones AB to get you from Tegel airport to central Berlin. The Berlin Welcome Card includes buses so you won't have to worry about buying a ticket at the airport. Metro tickets in Berlin are valid for a maximum of 2 hours and in this period you can travel with any number of changes bus, metro or train.
When you validate your ticket, the stamp will show the time so you can calculate your 2 hours from there. This is one of the quirks of taking the metro in Berlin. No one tells you this and if you don't, you risk paying a fine if a ticket inspector catches you! It can take a bit longer if there's traffic. We highly recommend going to the taxi desks and avoiding unofficial taxi drivers who approach you in the terminal as they are likely to rip you off. If you want to avoid waiting for a taxi or if you arrive in the middle of the night, we recommend booking a private transfer like this one:.
If you're staying longer in Germany, it maybe worth considering a car rental. Tegel airport has most of the big car rental names located on the lower floor near Terminal E and also at car park P2.
