One Hour Spree Cruise with BWSG
17 EUR (regular)
Flyctory.com Pros
- Very nice staff and crew
- Nice cruise along the Spree
- Very good boat with fully retractable roof
Doing a cruise on Berlin’s key river Spree is one of the classic touristic options when you visit the German capital. During my stay in July 2021, I opted for a one hour tour with the local operator BSWG. The abbreviations means something like Berlin Water Sports and Service. They are likely one of the rather smaller operators, but a nice discount finally persuaded me – and gave me a good time. Here are my thoughts about the cruise.


BWSG – Pier / Starting Location
The BWSG Pier is located at the Alte Börse (meaning “Old Stock Exchange”). The location is really central. Some key Berlin attractions (good or bad) are in short walking distance, like SeaLife, the GDR Museum or the Museum Island. The next public transport connection (trams and commuter trains is Hackescher Markt, from where it is a five to ten minutes walk).
Even if you have pre-purchased online tickets, you need to exchange them at the small ticket booth. There were some issues with my ticket, but the staff was really friendly so that the exchange overall went very smoothly.


BWSG – Cruises and Pricing
As said, there are numerous Berlin Spree cruise operators. Especially the one hour cruise is very standardized and majorly differs by the location at which you board. You take a loop along the Spree roughly between Governmental District (Pictured Story about it) / Main Station and Nikolaiviertel. This trip (which is called Tour A at BWSG) is normally priced with 17 Euro. If you happen to have the Berlin WelcomeCard, which is including museum discounts and free public transport, you just pay 12.75 EUR. The 2.5 hour East Side Tour (or Tour B) is 25 EUR normal price (18.75 EUR with the WelcomeCard). It still goes to Main Station on the West side, but is heading significantly further East, including the East Side Gallery.
BWSG – The Boat
Overall, BWSG drives four ships. However, two ones are used for the Spree cruises majorly. The major one is the MS Belvedere, which has a covered deck and an open air roof. My trip was with the AC BärLiner, which came with a retractable roof. Due to the good weather, it was fully pulled towards the rear of the boat. There is an increase of risk of sunburn, indeed – but therefor, you have much better photography conditions – which I highly appreciated. The chair and table seating might not look super-welcoming at first sight, but it was indeed quite cozy and comfortable.




BWSG – The Tour
The tour first headed Southeast, and then turned around towards the governmental district. Thus, the first sight we passed (which is more or less across the pier) was the Berlin Cathedral, followed by the former Berlin Castle (now Humboldt-Forum). I really enjoyed watching the vibrant life in the Nicolaiviertel, which nowadays even hosts a Cologne-style food place. The ship turned around close to the Mühlendammschleuse, a ship lock.









Passing the starting point of the trip, you first pass the amazing buildings in the Museumsinsel (Museum Island), including the Pergamon Museum and the Bode Museum. After passing the Friedrichstrasse Station, the former border train station between West and East Berlin, more and more media companies tell you that Chancellor Merkel (at that time) and the German Parliament are not too far away. The commentary on boat was automated and in German and English.






Reichstag and more
You then see the dome of the Reichstag, the home of the German parliament Bundestag. More and more governmental buildings can be seen from the river, e.g. the Paul-Löbe-Haus with the offices of the representatives. But there are also non-political sights liek the Capital Beach beach club or the historic bridges like the Moltkebrücke. Roughly at the Berlin Kongresshalle (Congress Center), the ship turned around and headed back to the original starting point. The cruise time was a few minutes more than one hour.

















BWSG – Service / Food
Service at the pier (as mentioned) as well as on board was really good to excellent. There were even some decent snacks for an absolutely reasonable price available. Of course, there was also the opportunity to have drinks and ice cream (ready-made) – very much needed and appreciated on a sunny day.

The AC BärLiner comes with male / female bathrooms. I was amazed about the cleanliness here. Very good service.

BWSG – My View
Initially, I was uncertain whether I should go for a Spree cruise or not during my visit in Berlin. Finally, I am really glad that I did it – BWSG was a great company, the price was right, I liked the staff and the boat. Having a river cruise just gives you a different view of Berlin. Thus, I would recommend to have a trip with these guys.
Flyctory.com in Berlin
Here are all postings related to the German capital:
Whenever I start working for my Songs of the Week, I typically scan the candidates I archived for that reason and ...
Read More
The press kit to Brain Freeze, the second EP by Leepa, states that the German is maybe the most promising talent ...
Read More
A museum full of computer games and gaming history? The German capital can offer that one! Right in the city ...
Read More
Due to illness, I unfortunately cannot provide you the full coverage on the music side of Flyctory.com - and it ...
Read More
While I had to process quite a lot of country music new releases this week, the list of non-country songs ...
Read More
Debut EP release: German-Iranian artist Mina Richman releases her first five song set on 6th May 2022. The EP is ...
Read More
Oh, I feel that the Songs Of The Week are really a tradition on Flyctory.com now. More than three months since I ...
Read More
After the end of World War II, the blocking of access to West Berlin by the Soviet Union (the so-called Berlin ...
Read More
The name of the German band Der Sonne zu Nah roughly translates to "Too close to the sun". In fact, ...
Read More
As I have been in Berlin but could not and did not really want to do a full coverage of ...
Read More
Britpop / Britrock made in Germany - that's a likely the best short description you can do about the Berlin ...
Read More
Hauptstadt der Spione - "Capital of the Spies". This is a book, which you can buy at the souvenir store of ...
Read More
Yes, I do like flying - but I am also a fan of rail travels. Just to find out how ...
Read More
It is time for the final posting of the years, simply named The Best Ones 2021. After looking into my ...
Read More
The Tränenpalast ("Palace of Tears") in Berlin is the former border crossing point between East and West Berlin. It is located at ...
Read More
In early November 2021, I received a promo EP from a folk music duo from Berlin, Flora Falls. A bit ...
Read More
In July 2021, I wanted to explore some of the rather centrally located attractions of Berlin. Due to its good ...
Read More
Madame Tussauds is a global franchise - not too surprisingly, they also have an outlet in the German capital, Berlin ...
Read More
He does it again: after he successful of three 1990's pop tracks, transformed into orchestral arrangements, Alex Christensen is back ...
Read More
What is happening if you are running and airport and you just don't fine an airline which is motivated to ...
Read More
Driving a model landscape or a large model train landscape in Germany is a difficult business: Even if you do ...
Read More
Andreas Dorau everywhere: just two weeks after I reviewed GschichterIn aus dem Park Cafe, the new album by Die Liga der ...
Read More
It is almost needless to say that Adolf Hitler was obsessed with megalomanic ideas. Apart from ruling the world and ...
Read More
I started to enjoy the pop-Northern Soul style of the German band Die Liga der gewöhnlichen Gentlemen, when the recorded ...
Read More
Have you ever heard of Surströmming, Hakarl or Spam? Do you mind eating eyes or drinking cow blood? All these ...
Read More
If you know the name Carlo Pedersoli by heart, then you are likely ready to head to Berlin since 27th ...
Read More
I ran into Orian and his music by scanning new releases on a promotion platform. I just loved the special ...
Read More
During my recent daytrip to Berlin, I took the opportunity to have a walk through sunny - and empty - ...
Read More
Historic panoramic painting fascinated me massively the last months. I already introduced you to the Panorama Mesdag in The Hague ...
Read More
Indigo by Noah Levi is another publication with talent show background: in young teenage years, Noah Levi became famous by ...
Read More
From a school band to a flat share and finally their debut album - this is a very short wrap-up ...
Read More
The promotion kit of People Club calls the act an indie-lo-fi-slacker band. Ooops, I have to admit that I would ...
Read More
The fourth album by the multi-national project Mighty Oaks on 7th May 2021: boosted by lead singer Ian Hopper in ...
Read More
I originally planned a flight to the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport in late October 2020. Due to all the pandemic ...
Read More
When I listened to Robert John Hope's solo album debut Plasticine Heart, I felt that I should definitely share these ...
Read More
More than thirty years ago, Diane Weigmann was part of the founding of a legendary German band, the Lemonbabies. She ...
Read More
In April 2021, I finally had my first flight connections to/from the new Berlin airport, BER - Berlin / Brandenburg ...
Read More
The band which is featured in this review is called Löwen am Nordpol - "Lions at the North Pole". Apart ...
Read More
Indeed, Hanna Batka is Mitten in Berlin - "In The Middle of Berlin". She is not only indeed living in the ...
Read More
Alphaville, Ultravox and Mike & The Mechanics on one album? Okay, I have to give in that neither of the ...
Read More
Fourteen years after their latest album, the German project X-Perience is releasing a new album. The fifth long-play release of ...
Read More
During my Covid-19 day trip to Berlin, I spent some time in the Berlin Zoo. Berlin is quite famous for ...
Read More
Coming back from London from the (finally cancelled) Country To Country Festival 2020 was the last trip I took before ...
Read More
Due to the late cancellation of the C2C festivals in London, Dublin and Glasgow and all the organizational trouble caused ...
Read More
The last four big acts of the C2C Country To Country in Berlin 2020 - the three days have been ...
Read More
My third and final issue of stories around the C2C in Berlin - time to finish the days of country ...
Read More
Sunday, 8th March 2020, the third day in Berlin. Already that typical mixture of feelings: looking forward to the last ...
Read More
After a good start on Main Stage on Day 1 with Luke Combs, Jimmie Allen and Darius Rucker headlined the ...
Read More
After the the first side stage acts on Day 1 of the C2C Country To Country 2020 in Berlin, Day ...
Read More
Saturday in Berlin is over. A lot of good music has been played on several stages - but some stories ...
Read More
Time for the big party - after the side stage artists of Day 1 have cheered up the audience, it ...
Read More
C2C Country To Country in Berlin 2020 - time to start the second edition of the festival on 6th March ...
Read More
The German Country Music Scene is having their highest holidays - The C2C in Berlin started on 6th March 2020 ...
Read More
A lot has happened since the Country 2 Country 2020 headliners for all five venues have been published in October 2019 ...
Read More
Bad times of terror, being pried and controlled in a country without the freedom to move - or good times ...
Read More
During our visit of the Country 2 Country 2019 in Berlin, we chose the Hampton by Hilton Berlin East Side ...
Read More
I visited Europe's biggest country music festival, Country 2 Country (C2C), for the first time in 2018 in London. I immediately ...
Read More
Kiddo Kat already a viral hit on Youtube in 2016. Now, Anna Guder produced her first album "Piece of Cake" ...
Read More
More than 1,100 rooms in the German capital - the Estrel Hotel in Germany's capital Berlin is just a massive ...
Read More
Ships & Water Travel
Here are more Flyctory.com postings about Ships & Water Travel:
The Vestmannaeyjar islands and especially Heimaey, the main island of the "West Men Islands", are a key tourist attraction of ...
Read More
Apart from the legendary Blue Lagoon, the Viking World / Vikingheimar in Nardvik on Reykjanes is likely one of the most ...
Read More
Especially for tourists, Dubai rather means entertainment, luxury and posh shopping. Thus, having a boat ride in a swan-shaped pedal ...
Read More
If you are in Hamburg, a Hafenrundfahrt (or: harbor cruise) is one of these must-dos in the largest city in the ...
Read More
Ship lifts are one of the most fascinating technical constructions to me. Being able to move ships like in an ...
Read More
As I said in other posting, I really enjoy being in Sharjah and feel the vibe of the city and ...
Read More
Helgoland (in English also called Heligoland) is very often referred to as Germany's only deep-sea island. Even though this nice ...
Read More
I haven't been too future-looking when I recently introduced the Car Rental category. I felt that even if I rent ...
Read More
The Cap San Diego is a general cargo vessel, which has been in duty between 1962 and 1986. Since then, it ...
Read More
How could a visit of Rotterdam be complete without having a look into the harbor? The Port of Rotterdam is ...
Read More
When you think about Dubai local transport, you typically refer to the efficient and cheap metro, the buses and taxis ...
Read More
When Germans think about vacation in the USA, they typically think about destinations in the Northeast like New York City ...
Read More
The Eastern Mangroves are a lovely natural habitat right in the heart of Abu Dhabi. Not too surprising, you can ...
Read More
Even though I could likely never have a maritime life (I would feel too locked away on a ship), I ...
Read More
I already presented you my review of Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh. As its key attraction is that special, I ...
Read More
The Meyer Werft in Papenburg is one of the most iconic plants of German engineering, indeed. The site is manufacturing ...
Read More
As we used to have a holiday home at Lake Garda, I have been to Venice so many times. Also ...
Read More
Going to Rijksmuseum, having the Heineken Experience, daring a look into the Red Light district... For most first-timers in Amsterdam, ...
Read More
The Königssee (literally: "King's Lake") is a beautiful lake in Southeastern Bavaria, not too far away from the Austrian border ...
Read More
If you travel in the Western Lake Constance (Bodensee) area, you have a choice of transport: you can either shortcut ...
Read More
During our December 2019 / January 2020 stay in Abu Dhabi, we discussed a lot of options for New Year's ...
Read More
As the RMS Titanic and her sister vessel, the RMS Olympic, were too large to call directly at the harbor of Cherbourg, ...
Read More
I am sure you know all the details (non-fictional and dramatic ones) about the tragic end of the RMS Titanic ...
Read More
Being a UNESCO World Heritage for its famous colorful city center and harbor area, it is not that surprising that ...
Read More
Post Views:
552