How to Get From Hamburg Airport to Hamburg City Centre

Hamburg Airport is located 11.3km north of Hamburg City Center. As a result, there are four ways you can travel between the two locations:

1. Train
2. Bus
3. Taxi
4. Hire Car

The best way to travel between Hamburg Airport and Hamburg City Center is by train. The journey takes just 25 minutes and costs €3.90 for a one-way ticket.

However, you’ll still need to walk from the train station in Hamburg to your hotel. As such, if it’s late or you have a lot of luggage, taking a taxi from the airport directly to your hotel may be easier.

Hamburg Airport train station is known as Hamburg Flughafen in German. This station is located underground below terminals one and two. This station is well-signposted and can be accessed using stairs, escalators or a lift.

When you get to the train station’s entrance, you’ll see several ticket machines. Here you can buy your train ticket. However, this train is also included with the Hamburg Card.

The ticket machines are easy to use and available in several languages, including:

• English
• Spanish
• French
• German
• Italian

Once you have your ticket, you can head down to the platform. Here, you’ll want to take a train on the S1 line.

Trains on the S1 line operate every 4 – 20 minutes between 3:03 am and 11:03 pm on weekends and 3:51 am and 11:03 pm on weekdays.

Most trains on the S1 line going to Hamburg Central Station (Hauptbahnhof) have Blacknese as their destination. The S1 line from Hamburg Flughafen (Hamburg Airport) to Blacknese stops at:

• Ohlsdorf
• Landwehr
• Rübenkamp
• Barmbek
• Wandsbek-Gartenstadt
• Wandsbek-Markt
• Friedrichsberg
• Hasselbrook
• Landwehr
• Berliner Tor (Near the city centre)
• Hauptbahnhof (Main train station)
• Jungfernstieg
• Stadthausbrücke
• Reeperbahn
• Königstraße
• Altona
• Holstenstraße
• Klein Flottbek
• Blankenese

Hauptbahnhof is the central station in Hamburg’s city centre. However, depending on where you’re staying in the city, it may or may not be the closest to your accommodation.

Another way you can travel from Hamburg Airport to Hamburg Hbf is by bus. However, the bus takes 10 minutes more than the train and costs an extra €0.60. As such, I’d always recommend the train for public transport from Hamburg Airport.

If you decide to take the bus, you’ll find the bus station just outside the terminals at Hamburg Airport. Several bus stops and buses here go to different places across the city.

Once again, there is a bus station at the airport, and outside the terminal, there are lots of bus stops.

⏱️ Time: 25 minutes
💵 Cost: €30 – €50
💻 Reserve Taxi: Hoppa

A taxi is a convenient way of travelling from Hamburg Airport to your hotel in Hamburg City Center. However, it’s also the most expensive. Taxis from Hamburg Airport to Hamburg City Center typically cost €30 to €50.

Four taxi companies have taxi stands outside Hamburg Airport:

• Taxi Stambula
• Hansa-Taxi
• Taxi Hamburg
• Taxiruf-Hamburg

However, I prefer to take an Uber instead. Uber operates in Hamburg and serves Hamburg Airport like traditional taxis do.

Complimentary Wi-Fi is available inside Hamburg Airport. This way, even if you don’t have an e-sim, you can still reserve an Uber to take you into Hamburg City Center. However, do not order your Uber before passing immigration and collecting your luggage.

If you’re looking to explore outside of Hamburg during your trip to the city, then you may want to hire a car.

You can collect a rental car from the airport or from specific pick-up points in Hamburg City Center. However, you’ll typically find the best availability and, subsequently, the lowest prices at the airport.

There are several rental car companies serving Hamburg Airport. These include:

• Alamo
• Avis
• Budget
• Enterprise
• Hertz
• National
• Sixt
• Thrifty

All car hire companies are inside the arrivals hall of terminal 2 at Hamburg Airport.

When calculating the cost of renting a car in Hamburg, the rental car is only one part. Instead, you’ll also need to think about:

• Parking
• Gas
• Extras (car seats, sat navs etc.)

These additional costs can often add up very quickly. As such, I only recommend hiring a car in Hamburg if you plan to explore outside the city.