How to Get from Prague to Berlin

Berlin is 350 kilometres north of Prague, about four hours by road and a little over four by train. The two cities are close enough that people do it as an overnight trip and far enough that the choice of transport actually matters. This page compares the ways to make the trip; if you have already decided on a car, prices and booking are on the Prague to Berlin transfer page.

The four options compared

Which one should you take

Travelling alone? The train, booked two weeks out. On this route the railway is genuinely good — direct, comfortable, and the stretch along the Elbe is worth the ticket on its own.

Watching the budget? The coach. It is half an hour slower and lands you further out, but it is the cheapest way to cross the border.

Three or four people, or with luggage? A transfer. Split 350 € four ways and it sits alongside four flexible train tickets, with none of the station-to-hotel business at either end.

Want to see something on the way? Only the car gives you that, and on this road there is an obvious candidate: Dresden sits almost exactly halfway. Two hours from Prague, two more to Berlin, and the Frauenkirche and the Zwinger are ten minutes from the motorway. A stop of an hour or two costs nothing extra on a transfer.

Is Berlin a day trip from Prague?

Only as a long day. Four hours each way leaves five to six hours in the city — not enough for Berlin’s museums or its outer districts, but enough for one walk through the historic centre, from the Reichstag and the Brandenburg Gate past Checkpoint Charlie to Alexanderplatz. Our free Berlin audio guide and walking tour is built for exactly that day. To see Berlin properly, two nights is the honest minimum.

If it is a day out you want at this sort of distance, Dresden is the better answer: two hours each way, and the old town is compact enough to see properly between lunch and dinner.

Practical notes

Take your passport. The Czech Republic and Germany are both in the Schengen area, but Germany runs temporary checks at its land borders, the Czech one included, so the police may stop your car, bus or train at Petrovice or soon after it. Every passenger needs a passport or national ID card.

German motorways are free for cars, but you still need a Czech vignette for the D8 as far as the border. Rental cars from Czech companies come with one; check before you set off.

The currency changes. Prague uses Czech crowns, Berlin uses euros. Change nothing at the border or at the airport — rates in either city centre are better, and cards work almost everywhere.

Berlin’s stations are not interchangeable. Trains arrive at Hauptbahnhof, coaches at ZOB in the west. If you are comparing door-to-door times rather than timetable times, that difference is worth twenty minutes.

Going the other way: Berlin to Prague

Southbound is the same 350 kilometres and the same four hours, and it has one advantage the northbound trip does not: Dresden sits almost exactly halfway, which makes the return the natural leg to break. Two hours from Berlin, a few hours in the Dresden old town, two hours on to Prague, and you have turned a transfer into a day.

Ask for the stop when you book rather than on the day — waiting is charged by the hour and we would rather quote it up front than surprise you with it.

If you are doing this leg by car, see the Berlin to Prague transfer.

Arriving at Berlin Brandenburg Airport

BER has its own station under the terminal. The airport express reaches Berlin Hauptbahnhof in about half an hour, and the EuroCity to Prague leaves from there — five to six hours from landing to Prague once you allow for the connection. A car from the terminal takes a little under four, since BER is already on the south side of Berlin — details on the Berlin to Prague transfer page.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to get from Prague to Berlin?

About four hours by road and roughly four and a quarter by train, for 350 kilometres.

Is there a direct train from Prague to Berlin?

Yes — EuroCity trains run direct from Praha hlavní nádraží to Berlin Hauptbahnhof every couple of hours, via Dresden.

What is the cheapest way from Prague to Berlin?

The coach, at roughly €10–25 booked ahead. A EuroCity ticket bought a couple of weeks early is not far off and is half an hour quicker.

Can we stop in Dresden on the way?

Yes, and it is the obvious thing to do — Dresden is roughly halfway and barely off the road. A short stop costs nothing extra; longer waiting is quoted when you book.

Is flying from Prague to Berlin worth it?

Usually not. The hour in the air disappears into two airports, and Berlin Brandenburg is a long way from the centre.

Where do the trains and coaches leave from?

Trains run from Praha hlavní nádraží to Berlin Hauptbahnhof. Coaches leave from Florenc and arrive at ZOB, the central bus station in the west of Berlin.

How do I get from Berlin Brandenburg Airport to Prague?

Take the train from the airport station to Berlin Hauptbahnhof, about half an hour, then the EuroCity south — five to six hours in all. By car from the terminal it is a little under four.

Going by car

See also: Transfer from Prague to Berlin · How to get from Prague to Dresden · How to get from Prague to Vienna · Transfer from Prague Airport to Berlin · Taxi and Private Transfer from Berlin to Prague Airport