Hadag Fähre 62 Landungsbrücken - Finkenwerder

The best worst-kept secret in Hamburg. Great inexpensive way to get a lovely ride down the Elbe, sights, fresh air, and views of those big beautiful container ships that I love looking at.

Even though I mainly froze, I imagine it must be super gorgeous and packed during the summer. Would love to come back and see it all then.

"Hadag" means "The Fish" in Hebrew, but I don't think they had this in mind for these ferries, as suitable as it might seem.


The Hadag ferries take you from place to place along the Hamburg area of the Elbe river, from Landungsbrücken to Ottensen and a little further than that. These ferries are a wonderful way to see some of the harbor for on-a-budget tourists, as they essentially are bus-ships - they cost nothing more than a standard bus ride and make stops up and down the river at stations which are identical to bus stations.


Great for sightseeing, but also a wonderfully efficient way to get from place to place along the elbe.

Excellent way to explore the Elbe and Hamburg via public transportation. You dont need to get a special ticket for the ferry if you already have a HVV day pass. If you dont have a day pass the fare is the same as taking public tranportation which is pretty great! You can take 62 ferry and get some nice views of the city. The ferries run pretty frequently. I would reccomend taking the ferry to blankenesa only if you have a bike. To get to blankanesa you need to switch to ferry number 64 and then blankenesa is about 1.5 miles away. The road there is really gorgeous and lovely especially on a sunny day.

Try to avoid rush hour times, it could get REALLY crowded. We stopped by here during easter break and the since the weather was great everyone in Hamburg seemed to want to get on that boat ride. I would adivse try going as early as you can on weekends or holidays.

Coming to Hamburg as a tourist you simply HAVE to check out the harbour and take a boat trip. There are two ways of achieving this,
1) get a harbour boat trip from Landungsbrücken. It'll take an hour and cost EUR10+
2) get the ferry for EUR1.65. It'll take about 15 minutes to get down to the elbstrand beach/blankenesee (a good place to get off and have a look around)

A good way to see the port of Hamburg if you're looking to save money (the cost of a public bus or use a day ticket which for my wife and I was only 11.60 total euro) or if you visit off season weekday and don't speak German. Tour boats of the harbor are only given in German during such times and so it makes sense to take ferry boat 62 instead.

For commuters:


The HADAG ferries are effectively a sub company of HVV for Hamburg. They have a wide range of offerings and not only the number 62. Of course this line is the most used as it goes between Sandtorhöft and Finkenwerder.


During the week it travels every 15 minutes and therefore is a very well supported service. In the mornings it is busy but you will always find a seat.


For tourists:


This is a great way to take in the harbour without having to listen to someone explaining everything. And also you can use your HVV tickets so nice'n'cheap.


The stops along the way are:


Sandtorhöft
Landungsbrücken Brücke 3
Altona (Fischmarkt)
Dockland(Fischereihafen)
Neumühlen
Bubendey-Ufer
Finkenwerder
Neumühlen is good to get to the beach, Altona (Fischmarkt) for grabbing something to eat, Docklands for the beach club there and also food and drink.


General:


This ferry line is very well used. If the sun is only remotely shining in Hamburg then expect a very full ferry!!


Conclusion:


I love the ferry system in the harbour. And I use it daily (even if it is only for one stop). The service offering is great and it's cheap.


INSIDER TIP #1: It's horrible but true. I see all too often people having trouble opening the doors. On each ferry there are usually big black buttons with Tür Offnen written in big letters. Press them and the doors do actually open :)


INSIDER TIP #2: When it is not busy or the captain see's that no-one is waiting at a stop then he will carry on. To ensure the boat stops for you then go to one of the exit doors (inside). There are buttons that light up that you can press. Or on some is a huge red button. Make sure you press it just after leaving the stop before yours. I have had some annoying experiences there :)

This is the 2EUR way to explore Hamburg! Fantastic, and gluhwien on board!

A great way to get a tour of the harbour for a fraction of the cost. No commentry obviously but everything's in your guide book anyway.

A wonderful way to visit the harbor ( a 1h30 tour ), and it is free if you are the proud owner of an Hamburg Card ( which is very convenient when planing to visit the city with public transports). For more information about the card http://www.hamburg-tourism.de/en/search-booking/hamburg-card/