THE (semi) DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO GETTING TO WACKEN

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Zombi

W:O:A Metalmaster
10 Jan. 2002
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Edinburgh, Scotland
THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO GETTING TO WACKEN

Note: Special thanks to Quark for updating this.

Important Links are below.

From the airport Lübeck - Hamburg City:
Thanks to Carpathian Wolf for extra info!

For passengers of Ryanair an airport bus will take you from Lübeck Airport to Hamburg ZOB (large busstation located right next to the Main Trainstation, you can't miss it) This bus will be there specifically timed to your arrival. Try not to miss it. The journey lasts 1:15h and costs (more than) 8.00 euros².

IMPORTANT: As Carpathian Wolf can tell you, on both arrival and departure it is important to get to the RyanAir buses EARLY. You DO NOT want to miss them as they do not run often.

If you are not going to take the Ryanair bus to Hamburg, then you will need to get a bus (the no.6) to the railway station. It costs €3.00. It lasts about 30min. Then the train station is about two minutes away (there should be signs pointing to where it is). Then take a train from Lübeck to Hamburg Hauptbahnhof which is the main station in Hamburg. Costs about €14.50. (to Hamburg)**
If you decide to buy a ticket to Itzehoe, it'll be €28.10 for the first person. (Regional trains, €29.00¹ if an IC between Hamburg and Itzehoe is taken, €30.00¹ if ICE between Lübeck and Hamburg)
If you book in advance (IC or ICE, you can get a ticket as from €19.00 (single trip)
If you're with 2-5 people, you can buy a Schleswig-Holstein minigroup ticket. This allows you to take REGIONAL TRAINS only within the state of Schleswig-Holstein (and Hamburg). It costs €40.10 for 2 to max. 5 persons! (be so kind to ask around. Regarless of the number of people, it still is €40.10!)
There is also a railway station in Lübeck airport. (Lübeck Flughafen), where you can take the Erixx RE83 every hour (40) to Lübeck Hbf and from there to Hamburg/Itzehoe. Price: €3.00 (Lübeck Flugh.-Hbf), €28.10 (Lübeck Flugh. - Itzehoe, €30 with IC/ICE)

From Hamburg Airport to Hamburg City
SIMPLE BUT EXPENSIVE ROUTE:
Take the Airport Express bus from outside the Terminals (it stops at all of them) to the Hamburg Main Station (Hauptbahnhof). Costs roughly 5-6 Euros² and takes half an hour.

UPDATE (2009):
There is an S-Bahn going from the airport to the Hamburg Hauptbahnhof (Hbf/main station) and Hamburg Altona! (there is a list of stops on the platform). Get off at the Hauptbahnhof too* The whole trip costs* €3.20. You need to get a ticket before you go. There is a ticket machine at the station. Choose the number 3 (großbereich) and pay the €3.20.

There will be an INFOPOINT dedicated to people who want to go to Wacken in Hamburg Airport! Find it, to get all information you need!
It can be found in Terminal Tango, or at Remedy Records (see below) (Thanks @StrungOut84)


From Hamburg Hbf to Itzehoe*
Get a ticket and then a train to Itzehoe. Unfortunately, these do not seem to run all day, so....you go to Altona. Read on..

UPDATE: it is possible to go from the Hauptbahnhof to Itzehoe once in a while, as stated, but you can also take the Regionalexpress (regional train) to Kiel Hbf, and change in ELMSHORN. (Same platform/track in Elmshorn!!!) The train after that train is the RE 6 to Itzehoe! (DB Regio to Westerland (Sylt) )

Update 2015: There is a train EVERY HOUR going from Hamburg Hbf to Itzehoe. It leaves at Hbf 6 min past every hour, except when the IC is running! It is the Nord-Bahn-Eisenbahn which serves this connection. More info on either www.bahn.com or www.nah.sh.

But you can also go to Altona. Read on.
First you need to get to the trainstation ALTONA. You can take either the S1, S31 or the S2, remember, the stops are listed on the platform, so it's easy to get the one going in the right direction. The whereabouts of these trains are listed around the station. (in colour, too**) If you haven't already gotten a HVV ticket from the trip to Hamburg station, then you need one. It costs €2.20 *(number 2 on the machines) (the 5 euro² Airport Express ticket will not take you to Altona)
When in ALTONA, you must find where the Regional trains go (not hard, there are symbols I believe leading the way). Get a ticket from the machines (they have options in english) or go to the booths (called Reisezentrum). (They should speak english).
Then get on the train and BAM! you're there. The trip takes about an 45 mins.
Price from Hamburg (Hbf/Altona) to Itzehoe is €14.70. (€18.00¹ with the IC)
If you buy your ticket from Hamburg Airport, this trip is €14.70, €20.80¹ with IC Hamburg Hbf-Itzehoe) inclusing the S-Bahn! If you're with 2 or more (max 5) you can again use the SH-minigroup ticket. (See above)

From Itzehoe to Wacken
This parts easy. You just take the bus. There is a special shuttle bus. Remember it costs (roughly) 15 euros², and you need to keep your ticket for the return!!! Single trips are also ~15 euros². (only on Mon through Fri etc, not on Sun)
Update 2022. As from 2022, this rate is a FLATRATE! This means, if your "commuting" to Wacken from Itzehoe, it's just €15 ONE TIME ONLY, and you've got a week pass in your hand! (or on your wrist for that mattter). You do NOT need to pay €15 every day! (this is of course NOT valid for the 6170 regular bus line, that uses the SH rate!)

Timetable can be found here: https://www.wacken.com/fileadmin/images/seiten/anreise/WOA23_Shuttelbusplan_A4_230718-01.pdf
if you arrive at Itzehoe earlier than the shuttlebus (eg monday blabla) there is a normal bus route as well. As from 2022, it's line 6170.* Price: 3.20€ for a trip. More info on the line 6170 via www.nah.sh. Note that bus 6170 leaves from the stop Viktoriastraße/Bahnhof, NOT the bus station in front of the station!!!

but there will be people walking around and most of them are happy to help. Some even offered me a lift.

PLEASE NOTE FOR RETURN TRIP: The last shuttle bus on Sunday is at 15:00/3:00pm. If you miss it I am not quite sure how you make it back to Itzehoe. Hitch a ride, I guess. (Thanks Quark)

From Wacken to Campsite*
Follow the smell.
(just kidding, the busstops right at the campsite entrance)

Getting to Wacken Via Remedy Records/Mondial Events
(thanks to Lucretia/StrungOut84)
Mondial Events is organizing shuttle busses. They are going from either the Airport in Hamburg (terminal Tango, 2019) or from Remedy Records, Subway Holstenstraße (one station before Altona - again, check *www.hvv.de* for schedules) directly to Wacken festival area. Those shuttle busses make sense if you are staying in Hamburg for some days before Wacken. It's better to book the ticket in advance, and you might want to stop by at Remedy anyway and buy CDs and stuff. Booking the ticket one or two days before the festival should be OK. For details and reservation, check out *www.mondialevents.de".

Getting to Wacken by the Metal Train
It is also possible to take a charter train, called Metal-Train. The train starts in Stuttgart Hbf and it will stop some big stations such as e.g. Cologne (Köln hbf). This train is directly going to Itzehoe!
For those who depart from Zürich HB, a bus transfer is provided to the first German station of departure of the Metal Train.
Tickets are only sold online through www.metal-train.de, either in combination with the Wacken ticket, or just the train ticket. If you have to pay outside the EU, this might be a bit troublesome, as Koldawne can explain.
There are only return tickets for sale! But as from 2017 also single trips!
Remember the return is rather early, at 4am (from the camping).
For the train ride, tickets are available on their website, even in combination with a Wacken ticket! To note as well, the Metal Train provides its own shuttle bus from Itzehoe station to Wacken and back. You do not need to pay extra for the shuttle bus in Wacken!


By bus
Several possibilities are offered to go by bus! There are several operators offering services from different EU countries to get to Wacken. In Germany they are Wackenbus and Metal-Travel. More information about those rides on their website.
All can be found here

Some Important Links*(all are available in english)
http://www.bahn.com *(German Trains)*
http://www.hvv.de *(The Hamburg Public Transport)
http://www.nah.sh (all public transport in Schleswig-Holstein)
http://www.flughafen-luebeck.de*(lübeck airport)
http://www.flex.ag*(the times of the Ryanair busses for getting back to lübeck airport)
http://www.jasper-hamburg.de (airport express busses)
http://www.metal-train.de Metal train. (Don't know if available in English)
http://www.wackenbus.de Bus to Wacken from Germany
http://www.metal-travel.de Other possibilities to Wacken, incl. places to stay
https://www.wacken.com/en/all-information/official-travel-partners/
https://www.mondialevents.de/

PS. I am in no way responsible if you lose your way to wacken, miss a connection or get beaten up on the way. I am in no way responsible if this information is suddenly out of date when you arrive, the companies involved have an annoying way of changing things slightly every few months.

¹) Prices of IC/E connections are not updated, as they depend on the time of booking, etc. Just look at the website of DB
²) External services. Prices are most likely, but not necessairilly higher than indicated here.
 
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