Tips for solo travelers and couples

If you plan more than three rides on public transit in the AB zone per day, you’ll start saving money on your fourth trip with a day ticket purchase. Three rides or under, and you’ll want to purchase the 4-single trips ticket for 9€, which saves you 1.80€ over the price of buying four separate single trips.

If you plan a trip out to Potsdam and back, the ABC day ticket will save you money on your third trip of the day.

If you are staying anywhere between four and seven days, the 7-day AB ticket is your best option. Even if you are flying in and out of Schönefeld and planning a day trip to Potsdam, it is cheaper to buy four zone extension tickets for your 7-day AB ticket than a 7-day ABC ticket.

A 48h CityTourCard is 3.50€ more expensive than two AB day tickets and 4.20€ more than two ABC day tickets; the same WelcomeCard is 5.50€ more expensive for AB, 6.30€ more for ABC!

Best tickets for small groups and families

If you and two to four of your friends or family members are attached at the hip while visiting Berlin, the small group day ticket provides an even cheaper alternative to individual day tickets. Savings begin after adding the third person; a group of five will save 17.70€ over the price of five AB day tickets!

Three friends will save 17.90€ purchasing two small group tickets vs. three 48h CityTourCards, or 23.90€ vs. three WelcomeCards; bump that up to five, and the savings go to 52.90€ and 62.90€, respectively!

Will the CityTourCard or WelcomeCard ever be worth the extra charge?

In order to understand whether these cards may save you money in the end, you need to know which sites you’re planning to visit, then subtract the 15-50% rebate at any partners (while also remembering to calculate in the deficit from the higher price of these cards) for each entry price before you’ll know the answer. I believe that most such “discount cards” offered by tourist information services  are sometimes meant to squeeze more money out of you rather than truly save you money, and for this reason, they are purposefully obtuse.

The only clear exception to this supposition would be for visitors planning to visit at least two museums on Berlin’s Museum Island. The WelcomeCard Museumsinsel costs 42€ euros for 72h AB, 44€ for ABC.

Your a la carte alternative is to purchase three-day tickets (21€/22.80€) and three-day entry to the museums with a Museumspass (valid in nearly 60 museums for three days) for 24€, or a one-day Bereichskarte for Museumsinsel for 18€.

Depending upon your interest and the length of your stay, this may be one instance where a WelcomeCard saves you money; however, if you plan to visit any other museums in the same period of time, you are likely better off spending just 10€ more (i.e., the equivalent of one museum entry) for a Museumspass, considering all the other institutions you will also be able to visit at no extra charge. Alternatively, you can buy a year-long basic membership to the SMB museums (including all of Museum Island) for just 1 additional euro; museum lovers should check out this EuroCheapo post for more information.

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Cheapos traveling from the German capital (or beyond) when snowy conditions prevail should take a few steps to prepare for the absolute worst: cancelled flights and missed connections. The following precautionary measures will make an unplanned night or two in Berlin or your layover city more cost (and time) efficient.

1. Carry on your essentials

It is all too often the case that travelers aren’t allowed to re-claim their bags once they’ve checked them, even if their flight is cancelled or they’re stranded in a layover airport. As a result, a well-packed carry-on is key to avoiding the cancellation blues.

Pack a change of underwear and a clean T-shirt, as well as three-ounce-or-less containers of soap, toothpaste, deodorant, and/or whatever you can’t live without for a night (or two). If you have a cell phone or a laptop, bring along the energy cord and converter plug. If you’re easily bored, pack reading material or a deck of cards.

2. Check your flight

If it’s snowing or the weather forecast calls for snow on your departure date, check the status of your flight online before heading to the airport. If flights out of your airport and/or your layover airport are canceled, call the airline to find out if your flight will make it.

3. Consider Re-booking

If airline officials suspect that your flight (or flights) will be canceled, they may encourage you to book a seat on a flight the leaves in a day or two, or after weather conditions have improved. If you have a flexible schedule and enough euros to tide you over for an extra day or two, you shouldn’t hesitate to extend your trip. Waiting around in a crowded airport is a lot less fun than roaming Berlin’s warm and cozy museums.

4. Avoid the airport

If you find out that your flight is cancelled before getting to the airport, don’t waste time or money on transportation to the airport. Since both Tegel and Schönefeld are too small to handle a crowd, you’d probably be turned away or stuck waiting in a confusing, slow-moving re-booking line. Your best bet is to find the nearest phone or computer and work the airline’s customer service line.

5. Book a room with flexible terms

If it is likely that your flight will be canceled, reserve a room at a hostel or hotel that doesn’t require a credit card hold or advanced payment. If you end up making the flight, you can always cancel the room before boarding. Ensuring that you have a place to stay is especially important if you’re flying through Tegel; sleeping in the airport isn’t an ideal option. (Sometimes guards kick travelers out after the last flight of the evening has arrived; sometimes they herd everyone to Terminal D.)

6. Know your rights

Luckily, travelers passing through the European Union are entitled to reimbursements for food, transport, or accommodation if their flight is canceled (some restrictions apply). Treat yourself to a nice hotel and a big meal if the airline is footing the bill!

7. Bring along a snack

Before heading to the airport, where food is overpriced and not very good, stock up on granola bars, nuts, or other lightweight snacks at a Cheapo grocery store like Aldi. If you get stuck overnight, at least you’ll have something to nibble on.

The post 7 tips for surviving a flight cancellation (in Berlin and beyond) appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Two passes in particular, the Schaulust Museen Berlin pass and Berlin’s Tourism Board’s Welcomecard offer particularly good deals for quick trips.  Take a look.

SchauLUST-MuseenBERLIN ticket

With the 3-day Schaulust-Museen Berlin pass, travelers have access to about 70 Berlin museums and collections, for free! You must use the ticket for three consecutive days. The museums pass is not valid for some special exhibitions, so check with the tourism board, or via their web site, for more details. Cost: €19 (€9.50 for students with valid identification).

What museums can you visit?

Highlights of the pass include the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin,  the Preussischer Kulturbesitz (including the Bode Museum), the incredible Pergamon Museum, Egyptian Museum and Gemaldegalerie (painting gallery).

In addition, you can hit up Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin, the German Technology Museum, and the Brücke Museum. The 3-day “Museumspass” is available online and at the Berlin infostores.

Berlin’s Welcomecard

Another terrific option is the Berlin Welcomecard. It’s a great value offering free public transportation, a pocket map, and 50 percent off admission to more than 140 museums and city sights.

This year, to help mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Berlin Tourism Board launches a new 5-day Welcomecard (it’s previously only been available in 2-day and 3-day versions).

Cost:  The pass is €16.50 for a 48-hour period, and €22 for a 72-hour period. The new 5-day card costs €29.50. Also new this year, a special card that tacks on free shuttle service to and from Tegel or Schonefeld airport. Prices vary, so check the site for details.

What should you pick up?

If you plan to see museums and also see the city, the Welcomecard could be just the ticket. Since it gives you free transport for up to 5-days (depending on which type of pass you buy), you can jet around freely, stopping in at museums and other sights where you’ll also enjoy a hefty discount.

Our pick? Well, we’re art buffs and we love to ride bicycles and pound the pavenment, so no matter how cold or how far we plan to go, we’re always more likely to opt for the Schaulust-Museen Berlin pass.

Either way, neither card is a bitte pill to swallow. So, get packin’!

If you go, check out our budget hotel picks for Berlin here.

The post Berlin Money-saving Tip: Museum passes and Berlin’s Welcomecard appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.