Berlin History School Trip

Berlin covers the full span of the twentieth century syllabus. The Weimar Republic and the inter-war years, the rise of the Third Reich, the Second World War, the Holocaust, the Cold War and reunification are all represented in the city itself. The Topography of Terror sits in the cellars of the former Gestapo headquarters, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe stands near the Brandenburg Gate, and the DDR Museum covers everyday life under socialist rule. Checkpoint Charlie and the Berlin Wall Memorial deal with the divided city, and a guided visit to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp can be included where it suits your group.

Few cities keep their history so visible. Students can walk between the sites rather than travel between them, and the physical evidence is still there: the Gestapo cellars, surviving stretches of the Wall, the memorials and the rebuilt centre. Because Berlin covers the Weimar years through to reunification, a single trip can serve a department teaching several periods, or be weighted towards one. It is also a straightforward and affordable city for a group, well served by public transport.

Every trip is built around your group rather than sold as a fixed package. A typical Berlin trip covers return flights, accommodation, public transport passes for the length of your stay, coach transfers to and from the airport, entrance to the visits you choose, and guides where they are needed. Trips are half board, with breakfast at your accommodation and evening meals at your accommodation or a pre-booked restaurant. The Reichstag dome is free but booked directly by your school. The itinerary shown on this page is a suggestion, so you can add visits, drop them or extend the trip. Travel insurance is available as an optional supplement rather than being built into the price.

The autumn and spring terms usually work best. Berlin is quieter and more affordable outside the summer, and the memorial sites are considerably better for a group without peak season crowds. Guided tours at Sachsenhausen and the Topography of Terror book up well ahead, so groups travelling between September and March generally have more choice of date and guide. Winter days are short and cold, which matters at Sachsenhausen where much of the visit is outdoors, so early autumn or the second half of the spring term often works best of all.

Senior leadership will usually want the curriculum rationale, the safety arrangements and the financial protection. Every supplier is audited through TourTrust, our own safety management system, and you receive a risk assessment handbook and supplier safety information in one pack, so most of what gets asked is already documented. Adaptable Travel is an ABTA member, membership number Y1241, flight-inclusive trips are ATOL protected, and we have been arranging educational trips since 1994. There is also a 24 hour support line while your group is away. Where a trip includes a memorial site such as Sachsenhausen, we can talk you through how the visit is run and how to prepare students beforehand.

Yes, we will gladly tailor make your quotation to focus on a specific period of history. There are many Cold War visits to recommend in Berlin. The suggested itinerary detailed on our Berlin history webpage is just a suggestion and is more generalised to cover the various topics of 20^th Century Berlin history including the Weimar Republic, WWII, the Holocaust and the Cold War. We can of course tailor make your itinerary depending on the student’s study focus. It would be great if you could detail this information on the initial enquiry and we can adapt your quotation straight away.

We provide 24-hour BVG small group tickets for the number of days you are travelling. This is the most cost-efficient ticket for a school group. Each ticket is valid for up to 5 people for 24 hours from time of validation and for any number of shared rides in tariff zone A, B and C. Berlin C zone. Zone A is the most central and Zone C is the greater Berlin area, including the city of Potsdam, Sachsenhausen Memorial and the airport. Tickets can be validated on the platform before your first ride.

The BVG (Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe) network includes S-Bahn (urban rail), U-Bahn (underground), buses, trams and even BVG ferry services across the Spree. BVG tickets are valid on these modes of public transport, as well as other regional transport options, although not on long-distance intercity trains (IC, EC or ICE).

Yes, school trips are exempt from city tax in Berlin, provided the group leader completes the city tax exemption form before arrival. Our operations team will email this form in advance of the trip and can forward the completed version to the accommodation ahead of arrival.

As standard, we include coach transfers from the airport to the accommodation on arrival and departure. The public transport network is considered extensive and reliable and so you should then be fine to use the many rail, bus and tram options for the remainder of the trip. However, you may wish to add further coaching at a supplement, depending on your itinerary or personal preference. Some groups like to a add a day of coach hire to visit excursions which are located further out of the centre such as the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, Wannsee and Potsdam. These visits are all accessible by public transport, but it can be time consuming to travel to the end of the S/U Bahn line. We can provide the supplementary coach price if required.

Our minium group size for all educational tours is a least 20 paying passengers.