Getting There

Main Airports

Frankfurt/M (FRA) (Rhein/Main) (www.airportcity-frankfurt.com) is Germany's major air transport hub, 13km (8 miles) southwest of the city. To/from the airport: Regular buses connect the airport with the city centre (main railway station). S-Bahn (www.rmv.de) rail lines S8 and S9 go to the city's main rail station - Hauptbahnhof - from directly beneath the Terminal 1 arrival hall (journey time - around 15 minutes). S8 also goes directly to Mainz and Wiesbaden (journey time - 40 minutes). Intercity ICE trains also stop at the airport station. Taxis are available around the clock (journey time to city centre - 20-30 minutes). Facilities: Left luggage, medical facilities, duty-free shops, banks, restaurants, bars, conference rooms, post office, tourist information and car hire. Find new shopping mall "Marktplatz" in Terminal 2. 

Berlin-Tegel (TXL) (www.berlin-airport.de) is Berlin's international airport, located 8km (5 miles) northwest of the city centre (journey time - 25 minutes). To/from the airport: Buses go to the city every 5 to 10 minutes from 0500-2400. Facilities: Duty-free shop, banks/bureaux de change, left luggage, 24-hour medical facilities, post office, restaurant, bars, tourist information, conference rooms and car hire.

Munich (MUC) (Franz Joseph Strauss) (www.munich-airport.de) is 28.5km (18 miles) northeast of the city (journey time - 45 minutes). To/from the airport: Direct links with the S-Bahn S8 and S1 run every 10 minutes from Hauptbahnhof (main railway station) from 0330-0030. The Airport City Bus runs every 20 minutes from 0700-1930 to the Hauptbahnhof and every 30 minutes from 0800-2100; further bus services are available. Coach Oberbayern runs every 10 minutes to the city centre. Facilities: Duty-free shop, left luggage, 24-hour medical facilities, snack bar, restaurants, post office, banks, conference centre, car hire and bars. The airport also has a Visitors' Park, an aircraft simulator, cinema and a play area.

Getting There by Water

Main ports: Bremen (www.keyports.de), Bremerhaven (www.bremen-ports.de), Hamburg (www.hafen-hamburg.de), Rostock (www.rostock-port.de) and Kiel (www.port-of-kiel.de).

The following shipping lines serve routes to Germany (via other countries) from the UK:
DFDS Seaways (tel: 0871 522 9955, in the UK; www.dfdsseaways.co.uk): Newcastle-Amsterdam.
Stena Line (tel: 08447 707070, in the UK; www.stenaline.com): Harwich-Hook of Holland, Gothenburg-Kiel.
P&O Ferries (tel: 08716 645645, in the UK; www.poferries.com): Dover-Calais, Hull-Rotterdam, Hull-Zeebrugge.
SeaFrance (tel. 0871 423 7119, in the UK; www.seafrance.com): Dover-Calais.
Norfolkline (tel: 0844 847 5042, in the UK; www.norfolkline.com): Dover-Dunkerque.

Various cruise ship itineraries call at Germany.

Rail Passes

InterRail: InterRail Global Passes are valid for travel in up to 30 European countries. There are two InterRail Global Pass types to choose from: ‘flexi passes’ and ‘continuous passes’. A flexi pass entitles you to unlimited travel on a fixed number of days during your trip . A continuous pass entitles you to unlimited travel every day of your trip. With a One Country Pass you can choose from unlimited travel on 3, 4, 6 or 8 days of your choice during a month.Available from Rail Europe (tel: 0844 848 4064, in the UK; www.raileurope.co.uk/inter-rail).
Eurailpass: Offers broadly the same freedoms as the InterRail Passes, but is for sale solely to non-European residents. Tickets are valid for 15 days, 21 days, one month, two months or three months. Available from The Eurail Group (www.eurail.com).

Getting There by Road

Germany is connected to all surrounding countries by a first-class network of motorways and trunk roads.

Coach: Eurolines (tel: 0871 781 8177; www.eurolines.com) runs regular coach services from the UK to France. Passes: Travellers can buy a 15- or 30-day pass, offering unlimited travel between 40 cities.

The Channel Tunnel: Eurotunnel runs shuttle trains for cars, bicycles, motorcycles, coaches, minibuses, caravans and campervans between Folkestone in Kent, UK, and Calais, France. The journey takes about 35 minutes from platform to platform. Fares are charged according to length of stay and time of year and whether or not you have a reservation. For further information, contact Eurotunnel (tel: 08443 353535, in the UK; www.eurotunnel.com).

Getting There by Rail

Germany's rail network is operated by Deutsche Bahn (tel: 11861 in Germany; www.bahn.de).

Eurostar: If travelling from the UK, Eurostar operates direct high-speed trains from London (St Pancras International) and Ashford International to Paris (Gare du Nord) and to Brussels (Midi/Zuid). It takes 2 hours 15 minutes from London to Paris (via Lille) and 1 hour 51 minutes to Brussels. For further information and reservations, contact Eurostar (tel: 0870 518 6186, in the UK; +44 1233 617 575, outside the UK; a £5 booking fee applies to telephone bookings; www.eurostar.com); from Brussels, there are direct connections to Cologne and Frankfurt, and onward high speed trains to all major German centres. With opening of the TGV Est line in 2007, journey time between Paris and Frankfurt has been cut to less than four hours.

There are excellent connections between Germany and other main European cities. For more information, contact Deutsche Bahn in the UK (tel: 0871 880 8066; www.bahn.co.uk).