German fare systems in public transport are complex. With this article I try to give some orientation for Berlin. You could easily write a book about the fare system, here I will concentrate on the essential points for tourists. Nevertheless, the text has become long, so the most important points in advance:
Are you from Germany and have the Deutschland-Ticket?
This includes all local transport in Berlin, you don’t need an additional ticket. Under certain conditions, the tourist offers WelcomeCard and the CityTourCard are still interesting, see below.
You don’t go “outside” the actual city, for example to BER Airport, Potsdam, Sachsenhausen?
A ticket from the AB fare area is sufficient, otherwise buy tickets for ABC, with 24-hour tickets of course only if you plan this trip in the next 24 hours.
Are you traveling with one to 3 adults?
Buy a 24-hour ticket AB for €10.60 or ABC for €12.30 for every adult every 24 hours! For children over 14 years of age, you buy the discounted ticket, up to 3 children between 6 and 14 years of age and all children under 6 years of age travel free of charge with the adults.
You are more than 3 adults, but in total no more than 5 people aged 6 and over?
Buy a 24-hour ticket Kleingruppe (for small groups up to 5) AB for €33.30 or ABC for €35.50. All children under 6 years of age travel free of charge, children over 6 years of age belong to the group, which may have a maximum of 5 people.
Are you staying in Berlin for more than 4 days?
Consider whether the 7-day ticket (VBB environmental card) AB for €44.60 or ABC for €52.70 is an option. Especially if there are no children, this card is usually worthwhile from the 5th day.
You want to visit a lot of paid attractions in Berlin?
Then the tourist offers WelcomeCard and the CityTourCard are worthwhile if you use the discount offers at least 1-2 times a day. If you also want to visit the museums of the Museum Island or the Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus for a city tour or really want to visit a lot of attractions, then the WelcomeCard Museum Island or All Inclusive could also be interesting. But if you come to Berlin just to enjoy the flair of the city or to do Christmas market hopping or only want to visit very few attractions, then you are cheaper with the regular time tickets.
And now the long version…
The tickets of the transport association in Berlin are valid for buses, trams, S-Bahn and U-Bahn, and in some cases also for regular trains. So you don’t have to worry about switching between modes of transport.
There are two tariff areas in Berlin: The AB tariff zone covers the city of Berlin. In addition to the city of Berlin, the ABC tariff zone also covers Potsdam, Sachsenhausen and Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER).
If you need at least a return trip to the airport, Potsdam or Sachsenhausen and buy a time ticket, it is best to buy a ticket for tariff zone ABC. This is usually the cheapest and saves you from thinking. OK, if you calculate a lot and plan exactly, then it can be minimally cheaper, but make it easy for yourself.
There are single tickets, short-distance tickets (Kurzstrecke) and the 4-trip ticket (4-Fahrten-Karte), which you validate per trip. Again for AB or ABC. Children under 6 always travel free of charge, children from 6 years and dogs need their own discounted ticket. The use can be cheaper if you really only want to make very few trips and sometimes only short trips. These tickets are limited in time or in terms of the number of stops. The time tickets are much easier and more relaxed as a tourist.
When it comes to time tickets, the 24-hour ticket is the simplest option. It is valid for exactly 24 hours from the date of validation. It is valid for one adult plus 3 children between 6 and 14 years of age and any number of children under 6 years of age and a dog. It costs €10.60 in tariff area AB. From the age of 14 you pay the regular price, i.e. you are considered an adult.
This 24-hour ticket is still available for small groups (Kleingruppe), then 5 people older than 6 years, any number of children under 6 years and a dog travel together 24 hours from validation. It costs €33.30 in tariff area AB. This card is eligible if you are 3 or more adults and in total but no more than 5 people over 6 years of age. For 2 adults with children under 14 years of age, the small group ticket is usually not worthwhile, because with the normal 24-hour tickets you can also take 3 children between 6 and 14 years of age and any number of children under 6 years of age.
Then there is another option that is not actively advertised for tourists, but which you can of course also use: the 7-day card (VBB environmental card). It is valid for 7 days from validation, children under 6 years and a dog travel free of charge. However, no children between 6 and 14 years of age can travel here, they need their own card and there is no discount for that either, so the card costs from €44.60 for everyone aged 6 and over in the tariff area. There is still a special regulation for the evening and the weekend that is very difficult to understand, which I do not want to explain here. The fact is: For adults, this is a cheap alternative to the 24-hour ticket if you are in Berlin for 4 full days or more and do not have children between the ages of 6 and 14 with you.
Now let’s get to the tourist cards. There are 2 providers: The Berlin WelcomeCard and the CityTourCard. The concept is very similar with the providers: You buy a season ticket, different periods of validity are available, from 2 days to 6 days. Here, too, you can choose between tariff area AB and ABC. 3 children between 6 and 14 years old and all children under 6 years old and a dog accompany the adult free of charge. If you are over 14 years old, you need a ticket at full price. And now to the real advantage: Both cards offer discounts for various attractions, tours, sights or restaurants. This is also the difference between the two cards: The Berlin WelcomeCard offers up to 50% discount at many partners, the CityTourCard offers up to 30% discount at slightly fewer partners. Let’s make a price comparison for 48 hours in the tariff area AB for one card:
Berlin WelcomeCard: 26,90€
CityTourCard: 22,90€
2x 24-hour ticket: 21,20€
So these tourist offers are only worthwhile if you really take advantage of the discounts. Let’s take the German Spy Museum with 13.50€ admission. With the Berlin WelcomeCard you get a 25% discount, i.e. a saving of €3.38, with the CityTourCard you get a 15% discount, i.e. a saving of €2.03. Some of these cards are worthwhile with the first use of a discount, but in almost all cases it is worthwhile if you use the discount at least 2x. If you use the discounts twice in one day, then the card is definitely worth it.
There are other variants of the Berlin WelcomeCard, for example a 72-hour ticket with free admission to the museums of the Museum Island for €59.50. Again, this is only worth it if you use at least 2x the discount. Then there is the Welcome Card All Inclusive, for example as a 48-hour ticket for €95.00. There is a day hop-on-hop-off bus city tour as well as free admission to 25 highlights. This can also be worthwhile if you do the city tour and at least 2 free attractions.
So, these tourist cards are good, but always remember: at least once a day you have to use them for discounts. To really be sure that they are cheaper, you have to use them twice.