Berlin Welcome Card types explained
If you are planning a trip to Berlin, perhaps you are considering purchasing the Berlin Welcome Card and unlocking its extensive offering of discounts to Berlin attractions and activities.
But you aren’t sure if it’s the right thing for you? Is it worth the money?
Well, in this post, I’m going to explain the types of Welcome Cards available to you.
As well as the pros and cons of each.
A Welcome Card is usually a good investment for most visitors to Berlin.
But you need to be aware of a few things and set your expectations correctly, because things can get unnecessarily confusing.
Welcome Card Classic
The Berlin Welcome Card comes in 3 options.
Since the last 2 are essentially add-ons to the first option, I’ll start by explaining the original Welcome Card option, the Classic.
At its core, the Welcome Card Classic is a travel pass that gives you unlimited use of Berlin’s mass transit system for the same number of days as your Welcome Card.
And for a few additional euros, you get access to an extensive collection of local discounts.
More on the discounts in just a bit.
The Classic Card can be purchased for 48 or 72 hours, or 4, 5, or 6 days of use.
Transportation
You can choose the AB Zone Pass or pay a bit more for the ABC Zone Pass.
Berlin’s public transit system is divided into 3 zones, A, B, and C.
Zones A and B are where the overwhelming majority of Berlin’s top sights are located.
Zone C is needed if you are traveling to or from Berlin-Brandenburg Airport, Potsdam, or Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp.
As a general rule, I recommend visitors get the ABC zone option.
Firstly, it’s just a few euros more than the AB ticket.
This means you only need to validate your Welcome Card’s transit pass one time and never have to think about it again.
With single-ride tickets, you’ll need to remember to validate each ticket when you need it.
And your Welcome Card allows you to travel with up to 3 children aged 6–14 per paying adult.
Single tickets do not give you the benefit.
Each child aged 6-14 will need their own reduced-fee ticket.
Kids 5 and younger always travel for free.
And at the time of filming, failure to validate or have the correct zones on your ticket will cost you €60 if you are caught.
I have a video and blog post that explain Berlin’s public transit system, including the zones and ticket types.
Discounts
And for an extra few euros, you get access to over 170 discounts, including discounts for museums, attractions, bus and walking tours, boat cruises, restaurants, theater performances, and souvenir shops.
Usually the discount is 25%, but several locations offer up to 50% off the retail entry ticket price.
And there are some big-name attractions here, including the Fernsehturm, Berlin’s TV Tower, the Museum at Checkpoint Charlie, the DDR Museum, the Berlin Cathedral, Madame Tussauds, and Sanssouci in Potsdam, just to name a few.
The Welcome Card can be purchased online on its designated website.
But you could also purchase it at Berlin Brandenburg Airport, Berlin Hauptbahnhof, at tourist offices in Berlin, at most hotels, and at automated ticket machines servicing the Berlin public transport system.
You can also purchase the Welcome Card in one of the transport apps that are available for Berlin.
Museum Island Welcome Card
Next, we have the Welcome Card plus Museum Island.
As mentioned previously, this is an add-on to the Classic version.
Unfortunately, the classic version of the Welcome Card does not include any of the 5 museums that make up Museum Island.
These five popular museums are the Bode Museum, the Altes Museum, the Neues Museum, the Alte Nationalgalerie, and the Pergamon Museum.
However, it costs only €20-22 per adult ticket, more than the classic Welcome Card, depending on which travel pass you choose.
If the museums of Museum Island are high up on your must-see list for Berlin, then this option is a no-brainer.
A separate, single-day ticket to Museum Island costs €24, and this option doesn’t come with free transport.
However, do note that there is a separate 3-day ticket called the Museum Pass, which includes the Museum Island museums and many other Berlin museums.
It costs €32 at the time of recording and could be a better value if museums are your thing.
WELCOME CARD ALL-INCLUSIVE
And lastly, we have the all-inclusive version of the Welcome Card.
This too is an add-on to the Classic version.
At the time of recording, the main feature of this option is the free entry into 25 attractions, all for one larger upfront price.
The concept is similar to an all-you-can-eat buffet.
You will get free entry to as many eligible locations as time permits.
Like the Classic Welcome Card, you can choose from 2 through 6 days.
And the transportation ticket is an ABC zone ticket; no optional upgrade to include the C zone is needed.
Of the 25 options, you get a hop-on-hop-off bus ticket.
Also included are 3 of the 5 Museum Island museums: the Pergamon, the Neues Museum, and the Alte Nationalgalerie.
It’s a poorly named option, in my opinion, as the name implies that all of the 170+ attractions of the Classic version are included here for free.
However, the remaining discounts are exactly the same as the Classic card, 25-50% off.
Determining whether or not the all-inclusive pass is a good deal is a simple calculation.
If you remove the daily cost of the ABC travel pass, you will arrive at a per-day cost for the free attractions.
The more days your all-inclusive pass is valid for, the less that you pay on average per day.
At the time of filming, a 2-day pass costs you just over €35 per day, while a 6-day will run you just over €17/day.
And remember, you still receive the other 150+ discounts that the Classic Welcome Card features.
With a 2-day all-inclusive Welcome Card, you will likely need to visit at least 3 attractions per day to reach the break-even point.
So, you’ll have to decide for yourself if you are interested enough in the items listed for free entry.
If yes, then you will almost certainly save money.
My advice is to figure out what you want to do before considering the Welcome Card or any other tourist pass in Berlin.
As I mentioned previously, I recommend using the Classic Welcome Card as your baseline.
Calculate what the total cost would be with the basic discounts and then compare this to what you would need to pay with the all-inclusive option.
COMPLAINTS AND CAVEATS
These are the caveats that most previous purchasers of any of these Welcome Card holders only learned about after purchasing.
And I will use some examples to illustrate what I mean.
INCONSISTENT BOOKING PROCEDURES
Arguably the most frequently complained about issue has to do with how to book tickets for individual attractions.
It isn’t always clear how you need to obtain your discounts.
There is no central app that allows you to book everything in one convenient place.
Some attractions allow you to book your tickets through the Berlin Welcome Card website.
Others, such as the Berlin Cathedral, allow you to book your Welcome Card discount directly on their websites.
Still others don’t allow prebooking for Welcome Card Holders at all, such is the case with the Fernsehturm.
You’ll need to show up at the ticket line and present your discount card.
Though some locations, such as the Berlin Dungeon, will allow you to call or email in advance to reserve a timeslot and then show your card when you arrive.
Particularly in the busy season, you will want to have confirmed timeslots for some locations.
NO SKIP-THE-LINE ACCESS
Although this isn’t something that’s necessary for most locations, skip-the-line tickets are not a part of any version of the Welcome Card.
But for some locations, particularly during the high travel seasons, this could become an inconvenience.
Let’s take a look at the Fernsehturm example once more.
Upon arrival, you will first need to queue up for tickets, where you can show your Welcome Card and get your discounted or free ticket.
You will be given the next available timeslot.
However, if you look at online reviews, you will see that the majority of complaints have to do with wait times, both at the ticket stand and for security.
People frequently mention waiting over an hour to get through the queues.
Tip: for places such as the Fernsehturm, where you can’t book advanced tickets, visit first thing in the morning when they open. You’ll find significantly fewer people then.
BE CAREFUL WITH TOURS
Be sure to read the fine print.
Some tours, such as the tours for Templehof Airport, are all described in English.
However, 2 of the 3 tours offered through the Welcome Card are only offered in German.
Another issue some have is finding out the item they discover on the operator’s website isn’t included in the Welcome Card deal.
Or, it’s included at a discount in the Classic Welcome Card but is not in the All Inclusive.
This is the case with Berlin Walks.
At the time of filming, 6 of their walks are included in the classic version.
But only 3 are available with the all-inclusive version.
It’s confusing, I know.
NOT FULL DISCOUNT
We now come to another caveat. The discounts that you get sometimes don’t amount to what you are promised.
I’ll use the Fernsehturm again for this example.
The retail price of an adult entry ticket is listed as €28.50, as of March 2025.
This is the price that you are given when you use any version of the Welcome Card.
If you have the classic version, your 25% discount would have you paying €21.38.
If you purchase a ticket with a timeslot online and in advance, the ticket price is reduced to €23.50.
In reality, you are only getting a 9% discount.