Train or auto from Berlin to Hamburg
 

Any ideas pros and cons of either driving or taking the train from Berlin to Hamburg.

In short, if you think you can drive city center to city center in 90 minutes (which is time it takes for the fastest Berlin-Hamburg rail service) go ahead.

Should have added...the distance is approximately 180 miles.

I keep doing this about every two weeks.
The train indeed takes 90 minutes if you catch one of the faster ICE trains that run about every second hour.
The price is steep though, at an undiscounted EUR 55.00 one way.
The slightly slower IC trains that take about 1 hour and 50 minutes are slightly cheaper at EUR 45.00 per one- way- ticket.

The Autobahn A 24 is usually not prone to congestion with the exception of probably Friday afternoons.
If you adhere to speed limits, esp. the long stretch of 130 km/h regulated traffic near Wittstock, which you should as they usually enforce it there, and if you floor it for the rest of the trip, you can make it in about 2 hours and 10 minutes.

While the train has a lot going for it, I still like to use the car. One important factor is the flexibility ít gives you. Another one is that even though the train is faster, you would still have to commute to and from the station, which does take its time, too. Thus, it sometimes can still be quicker to use the car.

Should you need any further advice, do post here!
hsv

OK..let's take this one notch further. Are you RENTING the car, if so figure the cost of rental, and insurance, and parking, and petrol...

2 hrs and 10 minutes IF you "floor it" means you are still spending 40 minutes more on the road AND doing the driving.

And one more thing..once you get to the outskirts of Hamburg there is no way you are going to be "flooring it" to get into the center of the city.

How much flexibility do you need to get from Point A to Point B? The train is so good it is even harder to get a flight between these two cities anymore.

Intrepid,

there are in fact no flights between Hamburg and Berlin anymore.

The driving time I indicated is indeed door-to-door, including passing through the outskirts and the respective city centers.

I am more than willing to concede, though, that this would require a style of driving that tourists with little routine on the German Autobahns might be a bit unaccustomed to, if they might not find it stressful.

Still, if you allow for another 30 minutes in each city for getting to and back from the station, it is 2.5 hours easily from door to door if you take the train. And this is a time that can be matched by car, too.

Finally, if donnae_b has a rental car anyway, she would only have to pay for the gas. At 10 l/ 100km this would equal about 27 litres (and this includes "flooring it"). The litre currently sells for approx. EUR 1.20 for Super and 1.08 for Diesel (and having a Diesel, you would likely use 20 litres for the trip only). This would lead to the trip costing EUR 32 at worst. Depending on the number of travellers this might easily pay off.

All that said, the train might be the most relaxing option, just to make the picture complete ;-)

Intrepid1 and hsv, wow! Thank you for your input.
We love taking the train, we have taken the train all over Europe, but, we are not sure if we would be missing some great castles or other beautiful sights along the way.
In your opinions, would there be incredible places to stop along the way or should we just "take the train."

Schwerin might be worth a visit.
There is a comapratively nicely restored Center of Town and a Palace right on the shore (or rather within) of Lake Schwerin. It nowadays houses the parliament of the German state of Mecklenburg- Vorpommern (McPomm ;-) ) and I am not sure whether all of it can be toured at all times. Still, there is a museum which should be open.

Apart from that, the Müritz Lake Region is quite appealing if you like nature and would like to spend a leisurely day out in the green. The Müritz is Germany's largest lake (I believe) and it is connected by small channels, natural rivers and creeks with many other lakes. The area is becoming increasingly popular with tourists who like bike there or charter a boat.
On the other hand, apart from nature there isn't that much to see, so taking the train might as well work out. I would say it depends on how many days you have to spend. I would allow for 3 days min. for Berlin and 1.5 to 2 days for Hamburg.