How much spending money should I take to Berlin?

Germany is a beautiful and varied country, with lush green landscapes and cities full of character and history. The most popular destination in Germany is Berlin, the capital city and cultural and historical hub. Due to the amount Berlin has to offer, it is a great idea to have an idea of your spending before you go. This article will detail different important aspects of holidays in Berlin, to support you in creating a budget for your trip! 

Accommodation

Germany uses the euro, and although accommodations can be on the pricier side for hotels and Airbnbs, there are ways to secure a good deal! Hostels are a great option to save your euros and adhere to the standard of quality and cleanliness that is typical in German society, whilst giving you opportunities to meet other travellers. Also, eating and drinking in Germany is very affordable, especially if you try the local cuisine (which always enriches your travelling experience!). 

How to get around

Walking around German cities is a great option – just watch out for any bike lanes, and remember that Germans disapprove of jaywalking, so always wait for the green light to cross. In Berlin, you will see the Ampelmann on traffic lights – a  sign of unity between the former East and West sides of the city after the Cold War to show the same figure.  

German national rail is well organised and punctual. The DB Navigator app is very helpful for inter-city travel. Berlin has great public transport links within the city, so you can easily explore the different neighbourhoods to get that sense of Berlin’s bustling atmosphere.

The U-bahn is the underground line and the S-bahn is the overground. Both have ticket machines in stations, however there is typically an honesty system with these trains in that there are often not ticket barriers.  

Do ensure to purchase a ticket for your journey, as these are cheap and the fines for not having one are not! If you’d prefer to take a taxi somewhere, Uber and Bolt are available. However, walking around places in Berlin is one of the best ways to see more sites – even on your journey between locations! 

Food

As with travel in general, heading away from touristy food vendors and instead seeking smaller, local eateries is the best recipe for cheaper, yummier food!

You must try at least one typical German beer, accompanied by a bratwurst or pretzel – this is the classic meal for all tourists in Germany!

In Germany, beers are poured as 0.5L stein or a 1L mass. Those working Oktoberfest, or generally in beer halls and gardens carry up to 18 – a whopping 41.1KG! For those who don’t love beer, try a Radler – it’s half-beer, half-lemonade, originally created for thirsty cyclists who needed a pick-me-up! 

Tipping

When sampling the local food and drink, it is a win-win situation to tip your server. In beer halls or beer gardens, servers will typically wear a pouch on their belt where they collect their ‘trinkgeld’ or ‘drink money’. When ordering, pay with cash and round up by a euro or two so that your server can put the change into this pouch. This tip works to give you faster service and give the server cash to buy their own beer after their shift!  

Tipping remains a choice in Germany (typically 10-20%), and you will not find servers pushing for tips, however tips are always greatly appreciated and do lead to better, quicker service. Having cash is the easiest way to do this, so you can easily round your bill up.  

Sites to see

With its varied history – from the world wars to the cold wars – Berlin is the hub for cultural and history sightseeing in Germany. There are a multitude of different museums and galleries (which are either free or quite cheap!) to explore, including the open-air, free East Side Gallery, on the remaining parts of the Berlin Wall.  

The whole area along the gallery and the River Spree is full of people hanging out, busking, and taking in the sites. The Reichstag is the parliamentary building in Berlin for Germany which has an iconic glass dome that you can walk around and watch parliamentary sessions below you. Even if politics isn’t your thing, it’s a very cool and unique thing to do! It also exemplifies ‘Vergangenheitsbewältigung’, the German phrase that translates to the ‘work of overcoming the past’ and refers to their transparency on their historical buildings and social policy about their tumultuous past. Being able to look down at parliament shows how Germany keeps their history transparent – which, although comes from tragic and horrific history, allows a unique proximity to the past and the aspirations for the future.  

Due to this, there are also a multitude of beautiful memorial sites around Berlin, as well as existing architecture from the Cold War. The TV Tower for instance, was built by Soviet East Germany in 1969 and today serves as a great observation deck across the city. For a cheaper alternative, you can climb the stairs in the Victory Column in the Tiergarten (public park) to look over the park and towards the Brandenburg Gate and the rest of the city.  

Berlin’s different neighbourhoods are also worth checking out, to escape the hustle and bustle of the inner city. There are more hidden, underground bars are all around the city that you can find. Areas in the east of the city, especially Kreuzberg, have many dive bars for that authentic ‘Berliner’ experience. Head out further to Reuterkiez to the Klunkerkranich bar – a ‘hidden’ bar on a rooftop above a shopping centre with views over the city. If you’re wanting to out go clubbing in Berlin, make sure to do your research so you understand what the club is like for dress code, etiquette, and music. 

Shopping

A stein is a classic souvenir from Germany. For a more decorative, traditional stein, aim to find a local vendor to support small and not face those tourist-trap prices! You could head to the weekend market at Am Kupfergraben, on the museum island. Or, for a glass stein, you can see if you can buy the one you drink from at a bar or beer hall. For general shopping, Germany has typical grocery shops and high streets found across Europe. Also, for toiletries, head to a DM store for good deals. In Berlin you can also find HUMANA shops – a vintage/second-hand chain across Europe. For sneakerheads, go to Overkill for limited edition sneakers (across from a great burger joint -Burgermeister). 

Travel insurance

When purchasing insurance, ensure that it suits your requirements. If booking with Contiki, you can easily add on insurance, to save you the hassle of this comparison. If travelling solo, CoverMore and Allianz are reputable companies, and you can use comparison sites to size up different providers. 

Final budgeting and travel advice

Berlin has places that either prefer, or only accept, cash. I always recommend having an emergency 20 or 50 euros in your phone case, as well as your spending for the day in your wallet. However, it is never a good idea to travel with lots of cash on your person or in your luggage.  

When taking out cash, ensure to use an ATM attached to a bank (ideally inside) to avoid hidden fees or scams. It is also good to have a travel card with your euros loaded onto it, so you can withdraw euros, rather than withdrawing from your home country’s currency and taking the conversion rate every time. 

Travelling in Berlin with Contiki

What with the size of Berlin and the variety within the city, to see it all does provide a lot of logistical planning. To save you from this extra energy (energy that you can instead invest in taking all of the beautiful sites!), a Contiki trip shoulders this work for you.  

On a Contiki, we get you from place to place and provide expert knowledge and curated days for each place we visit (whilst also giving you your free time, of course). In Berlin, we also use fantastic guides who provide knowledge on the historical and more underground, alternative side of the city. Also, you stay in accommodations with your fellow travellers, so you have that sense of consistency that solo travel cannot provide. Many of our European trips visit Berlin and to maximise your time, money, and energy to visit Germany, check out some of our trips to see how you can start your European adventure!