Berlin Airport/Tegel to Dresden by Train
 

I need to get to Dresden from NYC. All flights involve a connection thru Munich or Frankfurt. I was thinking, instead of flying direct to Berlin on Continental (I have enough miles for an upgrade) then taking the two hour train ride to Dresden. Way more leisurely and I'll give myself a day in Berlin at the end. How difficult is it to get from Tegel (sp?) to the train station? Any advice, also on airport hotels, would be appreciated. Thanks!

Bus #X9 and #109 go every 10 min from Tegel Airport to the Zoo train station - there are direct trains every two hours from the Zoo station to Dresden - lockers in Zoo station but sometimes can be full.

Berlin Tegel to Dresden isn't too difficult, although total travel time flying through Frankfurt or Munich will probably be less than flying through Berlin.

In Berlin, you can take the X9 express bus from Tegel to Berlin Zoo Bahnhof, then catch a 2hr 30min train to Dresden. I think the bus runs every 15-20min, and there is a good train every couple of hours. You'll want a train with 0 changes if possible. Such a train will stop at Berlin Ost, Berlin Schonefeld airport then on to Dresden. Check www.bahn.de.

If the train you want to take from Berlin to Dresden doesn't pass through Zoo Bahnhof, you'll have to get yourself to Ostbahnhof (from which all trains to Dresden depart). I believe there's a Tegel express bus to Ost as well, but not exactly sure.

I stayed in Hotel Alsterhof in Berlin last mo before catching an early flight out of Tegel and it was quite easy. The hotel is right off the K'damm, about a 20min walk or 5min subway ride from Zoo Bhf. Booked the hotel through priceline for $60/night.

Gotta run now. If you have specific questions I'll see if I can answer. Maybe our resident Dresden expert Ingo will chime in as well.

I'd agree that you do not necessarily need to stay at an airport hotel prior to your departure from Tegel; it is easy to reach both by bus and by taxi.

A lot of the trains going to Dresden start out at the Zoo Station and there are many hotels within that vicinity for when you return.

Some of us here actually like that part of Berlin although generally everyone here insists that you "stay in Mitte" which I agree with.

Let us know your budget, etc.

Ooops, sorry..not to confuse you...I should have written that I do NOT agree that you "have" to stay in the Mitte district.

tegel to Zoo station is easy.the airport is quite small. at the entrance is the BVG bus ticket counter.a one way ticket to zoo should be under €2. you wait for the bus a few steps outside the airport door.a bus arrives around every 10min. i caught the 109 but the others previously mentioned are good too.

on DB's bahn.de i found that trains from zoo to dresden are quite frequent, this night in berlin for instance there will be 3 trains to dresden,21:30, 00:40 and 01:06

This has been so helpful. Thank you. One more question. How much time should I allow to get from the airport to train station?

Me again... Intrepid, I've got a pretty good budget for one night in Berlin... Any 4 or 5 star hotels in the area. Thanks.

flyer,

the hotel i listed above was classified as a 4*, although it seemed more like a 3* to me. Got it for $60/nt (incl tax) when lowest rate I could find for same hotel was 2x that.

I recommend bidding for a hotel on priceline. Visit the web site biddingfortravel.com to familiarize youself with hotels by area, recent winning bids etc. There are a couple of 4* or 5* hotels right near the Zoo Bhf or K'damm area.

The great thing about Berlin is the excellent subway, bus and tram system. As interpid points out, there is no need to stay in the Mitte - just about any hotel you stay in will be 5min walk to a subway station and with at most 1 or 2 connections you can be anywhere in the city quickly.

It's about a 15-20min bus ride from Tegel to Zoo Bhf. The bus stops right outside the bhf, so it's a quick walk to the tracks.