BlaakLane.com books Hamburg Hauptbahnhof chauffeurs at a fixed fare shown before you confirm. Give us your train number, a destination such as Hamburg Airport, a cruise terminal or a HafenCity office, and a vehicle class. We follow the train, the chauffeur is timed to its actual arrival, and you are met curbside at the designated pick-up area, usually on the Kirchenallee side.
Booking your Hamburg Hbf pickup
Select Hamburg Hauptbahnhof as the pickup in the reservation engine, add the ICE, IC or regional train number, then your drop-off and a class. The fare shown is the fare charged. Behind the booking is our 24/7 dispatch desk in Toronto, which assigns the job to a vetted Hamburg affiliate of the LimousineWorldwide.Directory network, contracted to the BlaakLane.com written standard. Your confirmation lists the operator, the chauffeur and the vehicle.
Germany's busiest station
Hamburg Hauptbahnhof handles more passengers per day than any other station in Germany, more than half a million on a busy weekday. The steel-and-glass hall opened in 1906, and its through platforms are fed from both ends, so trains arrive and depart constantly. ICE services link Hamburg with Berlin in about 1 hour 45 minutes, Hanover in about 1 hour 15 minutes, Frankfurt in about 3 hours 40 minutes and Munich in about 6 hours. Trains also run north to Kiel, Flensburg, Sylt and, with international services, Copenhagen and Aarhus, and regional trains to Lübeck and Bremen.
The S-Bahn (including the S1 to the airport) and U-Bahn lines U1, U2, U3 and U4 meet at the station.
Sides, halls and exits
- Kirchenallee (east): the St. Georg side, with the main taxi rank, hotels along the Kirchenallee and the most practical car pick-up areas.
- Glockengießerwall and Steintorwall (west): facing the Kunsthalle, the Mönckebergstraße shopping street and the Binnenalster.
- Wandelhalle: the gallery of shops and cafés that runs across the north end of the platforms.
- Südsteg and the south footbridge: towards the Deichtorhallen and the ZOB bus station.
The station is crowded at peak hours, and the city is planning to expand it; expect temporary routing around works.
Where to meet the car
Curbside is standard. Pre-booked cars stop in the designated pick-up and drop-off areas, generally on the Kirchenallee side, or in nearby car parks, never on the taxi rank or in the bus lanes. Once you are off the train, the chauffeur sends you the exact spot by text or call.
To be met on the platform or concourse with a name board, add meet and greet. Add-ons are only available in selected locations.
Tracking and waiting
We track the train number. If your ICE from Munich is late, the chauffeur's timing follows the real arrival, free of charge. Fifteen minutes of waiting are included after arrival; after that, waiting is charged in 15-minute blocks.
Luggage for the port and the coast
Many Hauptbahnhof passengers are boarding a ship. A cruise couple with two large suitcases fits a Standard Sedan; a family with four or more cases needs a Standard Black SUV. Groups of up to 12 with smaller bags take the Sprinter Van. Child seats are free on request.
Drive times
| Destination | Typical drive |
|---|---|
| Hamburg Airport (HAM) | 20-35 minutes |
| HafenCity and the Elbphilharmonie | 10-15 minutes |
| Cruise Center HafenCity | 10-15 minutes |
| Cruise Center Altona | 15-25 minutes |
| Cruise Center Steinwerder | 20-30 minutes |
| Messe Hamburg and CCH at Dammtor | 5-10 minutes |
| Blankenese | 30-40 minutes |
For flights, see the Hamburg Airport page, and for ships, the Hamburg Cruise Center page. Always check which of the three cruise terminals your ship uses; the ship line's documents name it.
Offices, hotels and HafenCity
Hamburg's shipping lines, traders and media houses cluster around the Binnenalster, the Speicherstadt and HafenCity, all within 15 minutes of the station. The hotels on the Alster and at the Jungfernstieg are 5-10 minutes away. For a series of meetings in a day, an hourly chauffeur (three-hour minimum) is more efficient than several short transfers.
Shipping companies moving crews between Hamburg, Bremerhaven and Kiel can plan crew changes with a coordinator, confirmed in writing; see shipping crew change.
Northern Germany by car
When the train is slow or cancelled, an intercity transfer fills the gap:
- Lübeck, about 70 km, 50-60 minutes
- Kiel and the cruise quays, about 95 km, 1 hour 15 minutes
- Bremen, about 125 km, 1 hour 30 minutes
- Hanover, about 155 km, 1 hour 45 minutes
- Travemünde, about 85 km, 1 hour
- Berlin, about 290 km, 3 hours
- Copenhagen, about 350 km with the Puttgarden-Rødby ferry, around 4 hours 30 minutes to 5 hours
The Port of Kiel page covers cruise pickups there.
Dammtor, Altona and Harburg
Not every long-distance train ends at the Hauptbahnhof. Many ICE and IC services also stop at Dammtor, next to the Congress Center and the Messe, which is the better stop for fair visitors and for hotels around the Alster's west bank. Trains from Kiel, Sylt and Denmark often continue to Altona, in the west of the city, where a new station at Diebsteich is planned to take over the long-distance platforms. Harburg, south of the Elbe, is the first stop for trains from Bremen and Hanover. Put the station you will actually leave from in the booking, and the chauffeur meets you there.
Events that change the traffic
The Hafengeburtstag, the port's anniversary festival usually held in May, fills the Landungsbrücken and the harbour roads. The Hamburger DOM funfair on the Heiligengeistfeld runs three times a year, usually in spring, summer and late autumn, and big concerts at the Volksparkstadion and the Barclays Arena slow the west of the city. Cruise season, roughly April to October, brings heavy traffic to the terminals on turnaround days. On such days, your fixed fare stays the same, but allow extra time for flights and sailings.
Which vehicle?
| Situation | Class |
|---|---|
| One or two people, light bags | Standard Sedan |
| Executive visiting a HafenCity office | Luxury Executive Sedan |
| VIP arrival for a concert or gala | Executive First Class Sedan (Maybach) |
| Cruise family with big cases | Standard Black SUV or Executive Black SUV |
| Crew of ten to a ship | Sprinter Van |
| Board of seven, hand luggage | Sprinter Luxury Jet Van |
| Party on the Reeperbahn | Luxury Stretch Limo or Party Bus |
See the fleet page and the rates page for inclusions.
Company travel in Hamburg
Travel managers can centralise bookings through corporate accounts. For the whole city, see the Hamburg chauffeur service page. Timetables are on bahn.de, regional transport on HVV and airport information on Hamburg Airport's site.
