When the weather is nice, a great idea for a day trip from Berlin is a visit to the Spreewald.
And this is something that I do at least once each year, more if I have family visiting.
And the photos and videos in this post are from a recent trip that I made with my wife and two small children.
The Spreewald is a forested inland delta of the River Spree just 1 hour away from Berlin’s Ostkreuz Station by regional train.
At the time of writing, two regional express trains (RE2 and RE7) serve this route.
You can also board at Berlin Hauptbahnof, Friedrichstrasse, and Alexanderplatz, as well as a few others.
We boarded at Friedrichstrasse and were able to get 4 seats together, something you might not be able to do at Ostkreuz during the busy season.
The required ticket is outside of Berlin's ABC zones, so be sure to purchase a proper ticket through the VBB app or directly at one of the stations.
As of Jan 2025, an adult ticket from Ostkreuz costs €14.10 each way and children cost €10.60.
This ride is covered by the Deutschland ticket as well as several day tikets and group tickets.
The Brandenburg small group ticket (up to 5 adults) is just €33 for the whole day. Additionally, you can bring up to three children aged 6 to 14 years free of charge.
This is what I purchased for our daytrip.
The VBB (the Berlin-Brandenburg transit authority) website has more information.
A few stations serve the Spreewald area, with the most popular being Lübbenau. This is where we always go and I reccommend this for you as well.
It’s a 15-20 min walk from the station to the waters.
There are taxis right at the station and a bus stop just across the street.
Or you can simply walk.
There are some cool sculptures, a beautiful church, and some quaint streets to explore along the way.
And if you drive, there is plenty of public parking.
Just follow the signs for the Kahnfährhäfen and Bootsverleihe.
There you will find several companies offering punting tours through the water roads of the Spreewald.
These tours are often led by wise-cracking local guides, and the experience is very green, lush, and overall a pleasant way to explore.
There are short tours (great for our young kids) and longer trips that also include a stop for refreshments.
You will see cute houses, animals, bridges, and plenty of vacation homes for rent.
Along the way you can visit restaurants and bier gartens, plus you will find plenty of stands selling the famous Spreewalk Gurken.
You can also rent your own kayak or canoe to explore.
When you are finished, just head to the Bahnhof for your ride back to Berlin.
For more ideas for things to do near the city, read our post on the best daytrips from Berlin.
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Tschuess!
