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HAM → Hamburg · head to head

S-Bahn S1orS-Bahn S1 and U-Bahn U4 to the HafenCity cruise terminal?

The short answer

These do not go to the same place, so price is not the comparison. The S-Bahn S1 reaches Hamburg Hauptbahnhof and Jungfernstieg, both stops on the S1; the S-Bahn S1 and U-Bahn U4 to the HafenCity cruise terminal does not. This goes to the HafenCity cruise terminal, not to the Hauptbahnhof: change from the S1 to the U4 at Jungfernstieg.

The S-Bahn S1 is quicker: 25 min against 32 min.

S-Bahn S1: 04:32–00:12. S-Bahn S1 and U-Bahn U4 to the HafenCity cruise terminal: 04:32–23:52.

Priced against each other

Whole-party totals · adult fares
What each costs for the whole party, in EUR. The cheaper of the two is marked on every row.
TravelersS-Bahn S1S-Bahn S1 and U-Bahn U4 to the HafenCity cruise terminalDifference
1€4.10€4.10same
2€8.20€8.20same
3€12.30€12.30same
4€16.40€16.40same
5€16.40€16.40same
6€20.50€20.50same
7€24.60€24.60same
8€28.70€28.70same

Side by side

Where each one leaves you
S1 · S-Bahn Hamburg, hvv tariffS-Bahn S1
From
Station "Hamburg Airport (Flughafen)" directly beneath the terminals, reached from the arrivals level of Terminals 1 and 2 by lift, escalator or stairs
To
Hamburg Hauptbahnhof in 25 minutes, Jungfernstieg in 29, Altona in 38
Luggage
A commuter train with standing room by the doors; busy at rush hour.
Runs
04:32–00:12
Journey
25 min

Buy the Tagesticket Gruppe if there are five or more of you, or four of you who will ride again today: EUR 16.40 whether you are four or five, against EUR 4.10 each in singles.

Buy before you step onto the platform. The machines are by the baggage belts and between the arrivals level and the platform; an app ticket bought after entering the paid area counts as no ticket, and the penalty is EUR 60.

The 7 % app discount is real and applies to every ticket here: EUR 3.81 a single, EUR 15.25 the group ticket.

Leaving the airport, any car will do. Going back, board one of the FRONT three cars from the city: the train splits at Ohlsdorf and only the front part reaches the airport.

Do not count on the weekend night trains: on Friday and Saturday nights the S1 runs all night from Poppenbüttel and not from the airport. From the airport the last train is 00:32 those nights and 00:12 otherwise, and the first is 04:32.

Do not buy the EUR 2.10 Kurzstrecke or the EUR 3.50 Nahbereich single: from the airport they reach Ohlsdorf and Rübenkamp, not the center.

No engineering closures touch the airport-to-Hauptbahnhof leg through October 2026; the S1 works listed are Altona–Bahrenfeld on 26–27 September and Ohlsdorf–Poppenbüttel on the evenings of 12–13 October.

S-Bahn S1: price for every party size

Check fares with hvv
S1U4 · S-Bahn Hamburg, HOCHBAHN, hvv tariffS-Bahn S1 and U-Bahn U4 to the HafenCity cruise terminal
From
Station "Hamburg Airport (Flughafen)" beneath the terminals, on the S1 towards the Hauptbahnhof
To
U Überseequartier, inside the quarter that holds the cruise terminal, changing at Jungfernstieg
Luggage
A commuter train with standing room by the doors, then a metro train; busy at rush hour.
Runs
04:32–23:52
Journey
32 min

Buy the ticket before you step onto the S1 platform: an app ticket bought after entering the paid area counts as no ticket, and the penalty is EUR 60.

After the 23:52 from the airport the U4 connections thin out; check the last one before you rely on it.

S-Bahn S1 and U-Bahn U4 to the HafenCity cruise terminal: price for every party size

Check fares with hvv

This compares two of 11 options. See all of them ranked for your party size

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