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-   -   Question on Berlin's holiday Passes (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/question-on-berlins-holiday-passes-1090974/)

merlef Mar 25th, 2016 08:36 AM

Question on Berlin's holiday Passes
 
I read about several passes to purchase. They can be purchased in Berlin or online. It seems that most of these passes even if you order online have to be picked up when you get to Berlin.
We will be visiting Berlin for eight full days. We enjoy art museums and seeing historical sites. It looks like a very interesting city to visit. We may want to go on a day trips near Berlin.
My question is what Passes should we get? Do you still have to stay and wait in the general entrance line if you get these passes? There are so many choices: The Berlin Pass, WelcomeCard, option for travelcard, Berlin City Tour Card and Museum Pass, etc. Which passes would you recommend for the amount of time we will be in Berlin?
I read another Berlin post about getting a time slot for seeing Museums on Museum Island. Do you get the time slot that day or online in advance? If you have one of these passes how do you get the time slot?

traveller1959 Mar 25th, 2016 10:01 AM

The best option for you is the Berlin WelcomeCard for 3 days (72 hours) AB inclusive Museum Island + another WelcomeCard AB for 5 days.

AB means you have free public transport within Berlin. For Potsdam and other daytrips you need additional tickets for minimal surcharges.

The Museum Island option gives you free entrance to Berlin's best museums. The normal WelcomeCard give free entrance to some other interesting museums like the Jewish Museum, the Natural History Museum.

You can buy the WelcomeCard online and let it ship to you (postage will be €20 to the USA) or you just print a voucher and get your card in Berlin.

http://www.visitberlin.de/en/welcomecard

merlef Mar 25th, 2016 10:59 AM

You suggested the Museum Island Card. Is this card better to get than the Museum Card?

lynda_berlin Mar 25th, 2016 11:21 AM

How many of you are travelling? If more than 2 (up to 5) it may work out better value getting the Small Group Ticket every day. 17.30€ for AB, 17.80€ for ABC.

Alternatively the individual 7-day travel-pass (30€ AB/37.20 ABC) plus a 3-day museum pass might cover it. http://www.visitberlin.de/en/article/museum-pass-berlin

In fact 8€ is the average entrance charge for individual museums. You don't beat lines at museums by having the pass (but lines aren't long normally)

Most of the memorial sites (Nazi period/Cold War) have free entry in any case and there is an area ticket for Museum Island and also (separate) for Kulturforum. They are valid for a day so it is intense museum-going that day admittedly esp on Museum Island(NB Thursdays they are open till 8pm ).

It is not worth buying 2 Welcome cards AB to cover the 8 days especially if you are planning to visit places in Zone C (Potsdam, Oranienburg for Sachsenhausen) as the add-on ticket (BC) for the extra zone is 3€ per journey. If doing those trips getting a 72-hour ABC would be better value as you can then use the buses in Potsdam, Oranienburg etc but obviously you have to those trips during those 72 hours

lynda_berlin Mar 25th, 2016 11:35 AM

Museum Island area ticket is 18€, the museums are also included in the 3-day museum pass. smb.de
Kulturforum museums don't accept the Welcome card, only the museum pass.
Some museums accept both museum pass and Welcome card, but quite a few accept only one. It's all very complicated!

merlef Mar 25th, 2016 12:30 PM

Thank you for your responses. There will be two of us traveling.I am still trying to figure out the best option for pass purchases.


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