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Looking over Hamburg Hbf from its observation deck

From Bern to Hamburg by train

How to take a direct journey by train from Bern to Hamburg

There are typically two daily direct trains from Bern to Hamburg, though neither of them arrive in northern Germany's largest city until after 23:00.
Though it's possible to be in Hamburg before 14:00 by taking an IC train from Bern to Basel and connecting there for an ICE train on Hamburg.
There are ICE trains from Basel to Hamburg every two hours.

It's also possible to make a connection in Basel for an overnight journey to Hamburg
A Nightjet train typically departs from Basel SBB station at 21:13.
The train which typically departs from Bern at 19:36 usually offers the optimum connection at Basel into this Nightjet service, which typically arrives in Hamburg shortly after 08:00.

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Routes

Option 1: taking the EC train

Journey Summary

From
Bern
The platforms under the concrete roof at Bern station
Bern Rail Station Guide
To
Hamburg
Hamburg Hbf Rail Station Guide
Travel Time
11hr 12min
Frequency
Daily
Travel Information

Final Destination: Hamburg-Altona

This trains also calls at: Bremen

This train will call at two stations adjacent to Hamburg city centre, the main station in the city, Hamburg Hbf and Hamburg Dammtor.
So it can be worthwhile working out which of these stations in the city, will suit your needs best, before making the journey.

This train typically departs from Bern daily at 13:04 and arrives in Hamburg around 23:15.

1 x train per day

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date

When making an online booking, check that you’re looking at booking info for this direct EC train, if you want to take the more scenic route, this train typically departs Bern at around 13:04.
Though as the journey by this train is much slower than the alternative ICE service, the primary reason for taking this train is price, if it happens to be much cheaper than the ICE.
It arrives in Hamburg only shortly before the ICE train and seeing the Rhine Gorge from a train is wonderful, but the scenic highlights are over in less than 30 minutes.

Reservations are recommended for this journey; book a 1st class ticket on DB Bahn and your seat will be assigned, but not in 2nd class
They can also be booked separately at a later date on the DB website.

If you will be travelling with a rail pass reservations are optional, but if you do choose to reserve (recommended) book the reservation online on DB Bahn and avoid the booking fees you would be charged at the station in Switzerland.

The alternative routings:

When you up this journey you will see a swathe of other journey options, most of which are faster than taking this train because they involve either taking 2 x ICE trains OR connecting into an ICE train.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
DB *

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.

A key feature of DB website worth keeping mind is that it offers 1st class ticket purchasers complimentary seat reservations on journeys both within and to/from Germany.
Seat reservations for daytime in both 1st and 2nd class can also be booked separately from tickets.

Two types of ticket have recently been made available;

  1. Cheaper 'Young' tickets which can only be booked by those aged 15-26 on the travel date.
  2. Flexi Plus tickets, which are now the most expensive type of ticket, but they're the only type of 2nd class tickets which DO include a seat reservation.
Trainline *

Trainline Guide

Rail Europe *
Save A Train *

Save A Train Guide

Happy rail *

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.

On this journey

Travelling On
Exterior of a Swiss IC train typically used on these EC services
EC (Switzerland - Germany/Austria) Train Guide

Journey Features

Scenic - YesRiver views

Good to Know

One of the first class coaches on this train is a very groovy observation car, which offers particularly fabulous views as the train travels through The Rhine Gorge, at the time of year when the scenery can be appreciated.

It is a journey of eighht distinct phases, with a dramatic beginning.

  1. Between Bern and Olten a fast straight railway has been constructed which allows trains to travel at 200 km/h, though some of the best views of the entire journey are just to the north of Bern station
  2. The most scenic part of the journey is between Olten and Liestal, though its fairy average journey by Swiss standards.
  3. The train will reverse direction on departure from Basel SBB station
  4. From the suburbs of Basel until Offenburg, the railway travels through a rolling landscape.
  5. Between Offenburg and Mainz the train will race through a string of towns, though depending on the route taken, the first sight of the River Rhine may come in to view north of Worms
  6. The highlight of the journey comes north of Bochum, which is the town after Mainz.
    The views will be on the right, so sit on the left when boarding, due to the change of direction on departure from Basel.

You can then see incredible views of The Rhine Gorge between Bingen and Koblenz (the videos were filmed from a train travelling in the opposite direction.)

(Though trains can be diverted to run along the east bank of the river north of Mainz, and if that does occur, the equally fabulous Rhine Valley views will be on the left).

8, The train will arrive in Koln around 19:00 so the remainder of the journey will either be at dusk or after night fall.

Option 2: taking an ICE train

Journey Summary

From
Bern
The platforms under the concrete roof at Bern station
Bern Rail Station Guide
To
Hamburg
Hamburg Hbf Rail Station Guide
Travel Time
7hr 54min
Frequency
Daily
Travel Information

Final Destination: Hamburg-Altona

This trains also calls at: Hannover

This train will call at two stations adjacent to Hamburg city centre, the main station in the city, Hamburg Hbf and Hamburg Dammtor.
So it can be worthwhile working out which of these stations in the city, will suit your needs best, before making the journey.

This train typically departs from Bern daily at 16:04 and arrives in Hamburg shortly before midnight.

1 x direct train per day

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date

This direct ICE train is typically scheduled to depart from Bern at 16:04, but there are more frequent ICE trains from Basel to Zurich.
So when looking up this journey it's possible to arrive in Hamburg sooner on an end-to-end journey which can be longer than by less than 30 minutes, by making a fairly straightforward connection in Basel.

Reservations are recommended for this journey; book a 1st class ticket on DB Bahn and your seat will be assigned, but not in 2nd class
They can also be booked separately at a later date on the DB website.

If you will be travelling with a rail pass reservations are optional, but if you do choose to reserve (recommended) book the reservation online on DB Bahn and avoid the booking fees you would be charged at the station in Switzerland.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
DB *

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.

A key feature of DB website worth keeping mind is that it offers 1st class ticket purchasers complimentary seat reservations on journeys both within and to/from Germany.
Seat reservations for daytime in both 1st and 2nd class can also be booked separately from tickets.

Two types of ticket have recently been made available;

  1. Cheaper 'Young' tickets which can only be booked by those aged 15-26 on the travel date.
  2. Flexi Plus tickets, which are now the most expensive type of ticket, but they're the only type of 2nd class tickets which DO include a seat reservation.
Happy rail *

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.

Trainline *

Trainline Guide

Rail Europe *
Save A Train *

Save A Train Guide

Omio *

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.

On this journey

Travelling On
ICE 4 (Germany) Train Guide

Journey Features

High Speed (partial journey)

Good to Know

There is seemingly no direct trains in the opposite direction from Hamburg to Bern.

The train will travel on two high speed lines during the course of its epic journey and during these sections of the trip the speeds should reach more than 250 km, but most of the journey is on conventional railway lines.

It is a journey of nine distinct phases, with a dramatic beginning.

  1. Between Bern and Olten a fast straight railway has been constructed which allows trains to travel at 200 km/h, though some of the best views of the entire journey are just to the north of Bern station
  2. The most scenic part of the journey is between Olten and Liestal, though its a fairy average journey by Swiss standards.
  3. The train will reverse direction on departure from Basel SBB station
  4. From the suburbs of Basel until Offenburg, the railway travels through a rolling landscape.
  5. Then from Offenburg to Karlsruhe to a high speed line has been constructed right beside the conventional route, which will be on the right.
  6. Between Karlrsruhe and Frankfurt (Main) and the train will race through a string of towns
  7. The train will reverse direction on departure from Frankfurt (Main) Hbf.
  8. Between Fulda and Hannover the train will make use of Germany's first high speed line
  9. From Hannover to Hamburg the train will be back on conventional tracks
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