Minibus Hire Across Germany

Berlin Coach Hire for Groups and Clubs

Berlin is an easy city for a coach, with one condition: the green sticker. Almost everything a group comes to see lies inside the low-emission zone, and the sticker is needed to enter it at any hour.

Order the sticker before anything else

The Umweltzone covers the centre inside the S-Bahn ring, about 88 km². Only vehicles with a green sticker may drive or park there, day or night, and coaches registered abroad are no exception. The sticker can be ordered online from the Berlin registration office. Allow about three weeks.

The street diesel bans were all lifted in 2022, so the sticker is the only entry condition. Rules can change, so check them again shortly before travel.

MAN Lion's Coach 49-seat touring coach, front three-quarter view
MAN Lion's Coach 49-seat touring coach, front three-quarter view

Stopping and parking in the centre

Berlin has no booking system for coach parking. Official places are signposted and appear in visitBerlin's coach map, which is several years old, so the driver confirms each listed place on the day. Most are free, and coaches may use the marked bus lanes.

To let people off, look for the extra sign "Ein- und Aussteigen frei" below a no-stopping sign. It appears on Scheidemannstraße for the Reichstag, on Ella-Trebe-Straße at the Hauptbahnhof, on Unter den Linden and on the Kurfürstendamm. Set down, then drive on: waiting there is not allowed.

Airports for a group flying into Berlin

  • Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) — about 27 km by road to the Brandenburger Tor, in the centre of Berlin, about 35-40 min in light traffic; longer at peak times

Stadiums and arenas with coach access

  • Olympiastadion Berlin — Hertha BSC home matches, concerts and events; Charlottenburg-Westend (Olympischer Platz)
  • Stadion An der Alten Försterei — 1. FC Union Berlin home ground in Köpenick; 22,012 places, almost all standing; an expansion to 37,500 places is planned
  • Uber Arena — Indoor arena for Eisbären Berlin (ice hockey), ALBA BERLIN (basketball) and concerts, at Mühlenstraße in Friedrichshain beside the East Side Gallery; formerly Mercedes-Benz Arena and, before that, O2 World
  • Velodrom — Indoor arena for sport, concerts and events at Landsberger Allee
  • Max-Schmeling-Halle — Indoor arena for sport and concerts at Falkplatz 1, Prenzlauer Berg, beside the Jahn-Sportpark

Day trips by coach from Berlin

  • Potsdam (Schloss und Park Sanssouci) — about 36 km, about 55 min
  • Gedenkstätte und Museum Sachsenhausen (Oranienburg) — about 39 km, about 55 min
  • Tropical Islands (Krausnick) — about 72 km, about 1.25 h
  • Schiffshebewerk Niederfinow — about 79 km, about 1.5 h
  • Kloster Chorin — about 83 km, about 1.5 h
  • Lübbenau (Spreewald) — about 96 km, about 1.5 h
  • Lutherstadt Wittenberg — about 110 km, about 1.75 h
  • Leipzig — about 188 km, about 2.5 h
  • Dresden — about 192 km, about 2.75 h
  • Schwerin (Schweriner Schloss) — about 214 km, about 2.75 h
  • Rostock-Warnemünde — about 243 km, about 3 h

Coach rules in Berlin that change the plan

  • Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg (BER) is about 27 km by road from the Brandenburger Tor, about 35-40 min in light traffic. Journeys take longer at peak times.
  • At Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER), coaches use Bushaltestelle B, the stop for long-distance, tour and shuttle buses opposite Terminal 1 (about 400 m or 3 minutes' walk to Terminal 1 and 600 m or 7 minutes to Terminal 2). It has 30 bays, of which bays 1 to 14 are reserved for licensed scheduled services; there is no height or weight limit, parking is paid at machines at the entry and exit, and drivers may not take their driving breaks there. Passengers follow the signs to "Bushaltestelle B" and cross the Hugo-Junkers-Ring at the traffic lights.
  • Berlin has an Umweltzone (low-emission zone) covering the city centre inside the S-Bahn ring (the "Großer Hundekopf"), about 88 km². Since 1 January 2010 only vehicles with a green sticker may drive or park in it, at all times. Vehicles registered abroad, including coaches, also need the green sticker; it can be ordered online from the Berlin vehicle registration office, ideally about three weeks before travel. Berlin grants individual exemptions only in a few special cases (certain disabled drivers and special vehicles). The street-level diesel bans introduced in 2019 (for example on Leipziger Straße) were all lifted in 2022. These rules are current in October 2026; check them before travel.
  • Berlin has no booking or permit system for coach parking. Official coach parks are signposted and listed in visitBerlin's BusStop map for coach drivers (latest edition 2016/2017, more than 80 coach parking areas with over 650 spaces); spaces are reserved for coaches only at the times shown on the signs, and most are free of charge. Coaches may use the marked bus lanes.
  • The main coach station is the Zentraler Omnibusbahnhof (ZOB) at Masurenallee 4-6, beside the Funkturm and Messe Berlin (access from Messedamm; 35 stops, waiting hall and left luggage). Ostbahnhof in Friedrichshain is the second-largest bus station.
  • Central coach parking listed in the BusStop map: Straße des 17. Juni between the Brandenburger Tor and the Soviet Memorial (26 to 30 spaces, both sides), Hannah-Arendt-Straße (Holocaust Memorial, 4), Am Lustgarten (Berliner Dom, 4), Am Kupfergraben 6 (Pergamonmuseum, 5 to 6), Reichstagsufer at Bahnhof Friedrichstraße (5), Otto-Braun-Straße (Alexanderplatz, 8), Zimmerstraße 82 (Checkpoint Charlie, 5 to 6), Linkstraße (Potsdamer Platz, 3), Ackerstraße at Bernauer Straße (Berlin Wall Memorial, 4 to 5), Straße Am Ostbahnhof (8), Hardenbergplatz at Zoologischer Garten (11) and Spandauer Damm 20 at the Orangerie of Schloss Charlottenburg (7, with parking disc, 2 hours).
  • Set-down and pick-up: coaches may stop to let passengers on and off wherever a no-stopping sign carries the extra sign "Ein- und Aussteigen frei", for example on Scheidemannstraße (Reichstag), Ella-Trebe-Straße (Hauptbahnhof), Hannah-Arendt-Straße, Unter den Linden, Friedrichstraße, Kurfürstendamm and Tauentzienstraße. Longer parking there is not allowed.
  • At the Olympiastadion, coaches can park on Flatowallee and Hanns-Braun-Straße (30 to 80 spaces) only when there is no event or trade-fair shuttle; at the Max-Schmeling-Halle and the Velodrom about 30 extra coach spaces are opened during events. Extra coach spaces for other major events are arranged with the organiser.
  • Gedenkstätte Sachsenhausen (Oranienburg): since 21 September 2026 coaches may no longer park at the Schäferweg car park. They set passengers down at two signed bays on Schäferweg, at the memorial entrance, and then drive to the new coach park on Carl-Gustav-Hempel-Straße (30 spaces). Passengers re-board at the new coach park, not on Schäferweg; setting passengers down at the new coach park is not allowed.
  • Potsdam, Park Sanssouci (day trip): paid parking for cars and coaches at car park P1 "An der Historischen Mühle". Schloss Sanssouci is closed on Mondays.
  • Berlin Hauptbahnhof (Europaplatz 1): the main station, on two levels, with ICE and other long-distance trains from Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich, Frankfurt and Cologne; coach set-down on Ella-Trebe-Straße.
  • Berlin Ostbahnhof (Koppenstraße 3, Friedrichshain): one of Berlin's main long-distance stations and its second bus station, about 10 minutes from Hauptbahnhof by S-Bahn S5, S7 or S75; coach spaces on Straße Am Ostbahnhof.
  • Berlin Südkreuz (General-Pape-Straße 1, Schöneberg): long-distance station on the north-south line and the Ringbahn, with ICE trains to and from Leipzig, Munich and Dresden.
  • Berlin Gesundbrunnen (Wedding) and Berlin-Spandau: further long-distance stations on the north side and the west side of the city.
  • Mühlendammbrücke (B1 between Molkenmarkt and Fischerinsel, next to the Nikolaiviertel): the bridge is being replaced while traffic keeps running, with works planned from 2024 to 2029; heavy traffic on the old bridge has been restricted since 2019.
  • Elsenbrücke (over the Spree between Friedrichshain and Treptow): replacement works run until about 2028, with changing lane layouts. Nordhafenbrücke (Sellerstraße / Heidestraße, Mitte): repairs from March 2026 to 2027 with one side closed, one lane towards Heidestraße and a load limit.
  • Buses and coaches (Kraftomnibusse) are exempt from the German toll on motorways and federal roads, which applies only to goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes; the A100 city motorway, the A10 Berliner Ring and the A113 towards the airport are therefore toll-free for coaches, minibuses and cars carrying passengers.
  • On German motorways a coach may drive at up to 100 km/h only if it is registered for that speed (entered in the registration certificate), has seat belts on all seats and a speed limiter set to 100 km/h; otherwise the limit is 80 km/h. The Sunday and public-holiday driving ban (StVO § 30) applies to lorries over 7.5 tonnes, not to coaches.
  • EU drivers' hours rules (Regulation (EC) No 561/2006) apply to coach drivers: at most 9 hours of driving a day (10 hours twice a week), a 45-minute break after 4.5 hours of driving and at least 11 hours of daily rest.

Sights with their own paperwork

The Reichstag dome needs registration in advance, with every visitor's full name and date of birth. Everyone aged 16 or over brings a passport or identity card. The dome also closes on set dates for cleaning, so confirm the day first.

Schloss Charlottenburg takes most programmes in groups of up to 25, so a full coach splits into time slots. The Berlin Wall Memorial on Bernauer Straße wants tours booked; the coach parks on Ackerstraße, never on Gartenstraße. On Museum Island the Pergamonmuseum is still closed for rebuilding, with part of it due back in June 2027.

Potsdam, Sachsenhausen and the long days

Potsdam is about 55 minutes away; coaches park at P1 by the historic mill, and Sanssouci is shut on Mondays. Sachsenhausen takes about as long. Since September 2026 coaches set down at two bays on Schäferweg, then park on Carl-Gustav-Hempel-Straße, and the group boards again there. Book guided tours at least four months ahead.

Dresden and Warnemünde are each close to three hours one way. EU rules allow a driver 9 hours at the wheel a day, with a 45-minute break after 4.5 hours. A long return day may need a second driver, so ask for that on the quote.

Questions organisers ask

Where does a coach collect a group at BER?

At Bushaltestelle B, opposite Terminal 1. It is about three minutes on foot from Terminal 1 and seven from Terminal 2. Passengers follow the signs and cross Hugo-Junkers-Ring at the lights.

Can the coach wait near the Brandenburger Tor?

Yes, on Straße des 17. Juni towards the Soviet Memorial, the largest coach area in the centre. That road closes often for big events, so the driver keeps a second option ready.

Do coaches pay motorway toll in Germany?

No. The German toll is for goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes. Coaches, minibuses and cars carrying passengers use the A100, the A10 ring and the A113 without it.

Other group trips we arrange

Vehicles with a driver