Karlsruhe Transportation Tips by ATLC

Karlsruhe Welcome Card

For my 3-day stay I bought the Karlsruhe Welcome Card for € 9,50. There is a dense tram system in Karlsruhe and although the city isn't that large, it saves a lot of time to do stretches with the tram.

The Welcome Card gives free and unlimited transportation for local train, bus, and tram. The card is valid for 3 days. Additionally you get a voucher booklet. Now here's where it becomes interesting... The booklet contains 24 vouchers, which give discounts on museum entry and freebies like an espresso at Brasserie Weinbrenner, a free ride on the Standseilbahn in Durlach, free entrance to the Prinz-Max-Palais museum, and 1 free beer at both the Badisch Brauhaus and Hoepfner Burghof.

A day card for transportation (inner city) costs € 4,50 (without voucher booklet). The same card, but for up to 5 persons, costs € 6,80.
A one-ride ticket costs € 2 (2 zones). So you see, the Welcome Card is worth the expense.

Note: Remember to validate your ticket in the tram when you enter!

I bought it at the KVV Kundenzentrum, just outside the main station (Hauptbahnhof).
Each tram station (as far as I could see) also has a ticket machine that takes coins.

Mode: AROUND

Other Contact: tourismus@kmkg.de

Phone: 0721 37205388

Type: Bus

Main train station (Hauptbahnhof)

Karlsruhe has an excellent train station with a Service Point where you can ask any question. Everything is clearly signed and there are some nice shops and kiosks to browse, such as a bookstore, a restaurant, a bakery, flowers and fruits/vegs, etc.

The nice thing in Germany is that you can buy 1 ticket for 5 people at once, at a good price. For instance a 5-persons ticket to Speyer (30 mins ride) comes down to €3,90 per person for a return trip.

On Sunday morning as we walked into the station, we clearly heard an old train hooting its horn. Globetrott went to ask at the Service Point where the old engine was stationed. There isn't one, the curt answer was. So I suppose we hadn't washed out our ears properly because we both heard it...

Mode: TO

Type: Train

Website: http://www.bahn.de

Taxi

On our first night we hadn't yet worked out how the tram system worked, so we took a taxi back to our hotel. The 2 km ride from center to hotel (maiin station) cost us € 7,50. Sharing it with 3, it was hardly more than a tram ride. Besides, it wasn't just raining cats and dogs, it was hailing heavily!

The taxi bill (as seen in the photo) does not mention the kms, it says 'Stadtfahrt' (handwritten), meaning a city ride.

German taxis can be recognised by their cream colour.

Mode: AROUND

Phone: 0721 565050

Type: Car/Motor Home