For more than five hours you will be crossing a flat plain

Berlin to Warszawa / Warsaw by train

How to travel from Berlin to Warsaw by train

Taking the train from Berlin to Warsaw is blissfully simple as direct trains link the German and Polish capitals.

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Routes

From Berlin Hbf to Warszawa Centralna

Travel Information

Departing from Berlin:

These trains usually depart from the upper level (tief) in Berlin Hbf.

They also call at Berlin Ostbahnhof, so if your journey is commencing in the heart of east Berlin, it will be an easier journey if you take a S-Bahn train to that station and join these trains there.

The usual first train of the day does not depart on Sundays.

Arriving in Warszawa:

These trains call at three stations in Warszawa/Warsaw, so check your final location in your city to see which of these three stations will suit you best - leaving the train at Warszawa Centralna may not be your best option.

They will call first at Warszawa Zachodnia, so take care not to leave the train there if you are heading to the city centre.

They will terminate at Warszawa Wschodnia which is on the eastern side of the the city centre.

Mon-Fri: 6 x trains per day

Sut/Sun: 5 x trains per day

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings usually open: 3 months ahead of the travel date

A choice of tickets

Three types of tickets are available:
Two types of discounted tickets, which will be cheaper the further ahead you book - Sparpreis and Super Sparpreis
One type of non-discounted ticket - Flexpreis,

A key difference between these types of tickets is refunds:

  • Super Sparpreis tickets are cheapest, but they can't be refunded at all.
  • Sparpreis tickets can be refunded for a fee, but the refund will be in the form of travel vouchers to be used for alternative / future journeys.
  • Flexpreis tickets can be refunded at no additional charge.

The other key difference is that both types of Sparpreis tickets are only valid on the specific departures selected when booking, but Flexpreis tickets live up to their name, as they can be used on any departure on your travel date.

Note that none of the tickets can be exchanged to a different departure.
There's no need for this to be available for Flexpreis tickets, as they aren't train departure specific.
If you book a Sparpreis ticket and want to travel by a different departure you can refund it and then use the travel voucher towards the cost of the new booking.
Super Sparpreis tickets can't be exchanged or refunded.

The Sparpreis and Flexpreis tickets also include 'City tickets' for Berlin which can be used on public transport between locations in the city centre and Berlin hbf.

Seat reservations

Seat reservations are optional on this route - take note if you will be using a rail pass.
They cost €4.90 when travelling in 2nd Class and €5.90 when travelling in 1st class.
Specific seats can be selected from seating plans - you don't have to accept the seat(s) that you will be automatically offered.

They are included within the cost of booking 1st class Flexpreis tickets.
Though despite seats being automatically assigned when booking these tickets, which are valid on any departure, you will need to pay to re-book the reservations, if you subsequently decide to travel on an alternative train.
So because you won't save by booking these tickets in advance, it can be a good idea to wait until you are sure when you will want to travel.

When booking Super Sparpreis, Sparpreis and 2nd class Flexpreis tickets, you have the option of purchasing seat reservations later.
It can be worth re-looking up a journey a week or two ahead of travel, because the DB website will indicate how busy a departure will be.

1st Class tickets

No matter what type of ticket booked, if you choose to travel 1st class, you will have access to the same seating areas on the train.
Though only those who have booked 1st class Flexpreis tickets can access the DB Lounges at the major stations.

Booking on the DB website

You can find these direct trains more easily by making a proactive selection of 'Direct Trains Only'.

Or to see all the combinations of trains and journey options, some of which may be cheaper, take off the 'fastest connections' default.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
DB from €29.90

DB Guide

DB is the national railway operator in Germany, so its website can be used for booking journeys by German express trains; the ICE and IC trains and it doesn't charge booking fees.
It also sells tickets for journeys by direct trains on all international routes from Germany regardless of whether DB is operating the train service.

It also sells an extensive range of end-to-end journeys which involve making connections both within Germany and in neighboring countries, but journeys between Germany and Britain cannot be booked on DB.

On journeys within Germany and on most international journeys from and to Germany on trains operated by DB:

  • For journeys by the express trains, EC. IC and ICE trains an adult (on German railways an adult is a person aged 15 and over) can take up to four children aged 6 - 14 with them at no additional charge.
  • Tickets need to be booked for children aged 0 - 5, but there is no charge for them.
  • Those aged 65 and over can take journeys at a discounted rate.
  • Dogs, which are too large to be placed in pet carriers, require tickets which cost 50% of the adult rate.

When booking both types of the discounted 'Sparpreis' tickets seat reservations are an optional extra, so need to be added when booking if you want an assigned seat(s).

Happy rail frofrom €29.90

Happy rail Guide

Happy Rail is a Netherlands rail ticket agency which sells tickets for both national and international journeys within a range of countries including Belgium France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland.

HappyRail doesn't charge booking fees in the conventional sense, but if you're not Dutch you can expect to pay additional transaction fees, which will be added to the total cost.
That's because the most common form of online payment used in The Netherlands is 'iDEAL' and HappyRail doesn't charge a transaction fee for 'iDEAL' payments, but only Dutch residents can sign up to 'iDEAL'.
Other forms of payment include Visa debit cards will incur a fee.

Omio frofrom €29.90

Omio Guide

Omio is an online ticket agency which offers tickets for rail journeys in France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain.

The three key advantages of using Omio are

  • it offers prices in multiple currencies
  • it usually offers price comparison with other modes of travel including flights and buses
  • when visiting Europe, you can book journeys in multiple countries in one transaction.

The disadvantage of booking with Omio is that it often adds a booking fee to the final price; therefore when it does so without offering a price advantage, SMTJ doesn't tend to offer Omio as a booking option.

Polrail *

On this journey

Journey Features

Scenic - NoNot High Speed
For more than five hours you will be crossing a flat plain For more than five hours you will be crossing a flat plain
On the Berlin - Warsaw train journey, this is as good as the scenery gets On the Berlin - Warsaw train journey, this is as good as the scenery gets

This is an exceptionally dull journey by train through forests and across hour after hour of largely flat farmland, so having something to watch or read is highly recommended.

Take the stress out of your journey Everything planned to your specification, so sit back and relax… Try Concierge
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