Berlin to Hamburg by Boat and E-Bike: Havel Lakes, Elbe and Lüneburg Heath – 15 Days Guided

Distances below are the short variants of each stage.

Day 1 – Welcome aboard in Berlin (0 km)
Cabins open at 2:00 p.m. You meet the captain, the crew and your tour leader, your rental e-bike is set up to your height and you get the safety briefing. First evening on board.

Day 2 – Berlin at your own pace (optional loop, about 35 km, not counted in the total)
A full day in the capital. If you want to ride, there is a loop along the Havel and around Lake Tegel, with the Spandau Citadel on the way. If you would rather walk, the Brandenburg Gate, Museum Island and the government quarter are all within reach. Either way the ship stays put.

Day 3 – Spandau to Potsdam (23 km)
Your first stage runs through the water between Berlin and Potsdam. You follow the Havel to Kladow, cross the Großer Wannsee by ferry and pass the House of the Wannsee Conference. Then Peacock Island, part of a UNESCO site, and the Glienicke Bridge — the Bridge of Spies — into Potsdam. Entrance to Sanssouci Palace is included; your tour leader will say which moment suits it best.

Day 4 – Potsdam to Brandenburg an der Havel (40 km)
Along the Templiner See through a landscape of lakes and river arms. Werder, a small island town with fishermen's houses and cafés, is the natural place to stop. In the afternoon you reach Brandenburg an der Havel, the oldest town in the state, and walk the historic centre with a guide. Dinner is on your own tonight.

Day 5 – Brandenburg an der Havel to Genthin (38 km)
Breakfast while the ship cruises the Havel lakes, then on the bike. Past the Plauer See, through Kirchmöser with its water tower and industrial architecture, and the lock complex at Wusterwitz. Genthin is a quiet canal town built around inland shipping.

Day 6 – Genthin to Magdeburg (55 km)
A long, flat day across the Jerichower Land, mostly on canal towpaths. The Paltrock windmill at Parey and the medieval churches of Burg break up the ride. In Magdeburg a guided walk takes in the cathedral — Germany's first Gothic one — and Hundertwasser's Green Citadel.

Day 7 – Magdeburg to Wolfsburg (59 km)
The longest stage. Breakfast on board while the ship cruises, then a varied ride along one of Germany's main inland waterways, through small villages and open country. You rejoin the ship at Calvörde and cruise on toward Wolfsburg.

Day 8 – Wolfsburg and the Autostadt (0 km)
The bikes stay on board. Morning visit to the Autostadt, including the Volkswagen factory tour — entrance is included. The afternoon is free: Wolfsburg Castle, the art museum or the Allerpark. Dinner is on your own.

Day 9 – Wolfsburg to Alt Isenhagen (46 km)
North through meadows, woods and small heath villages, with the Weißes Moor nature reserve as the highlight. Alt Isenhagen is tiny but holds one of the best-preserved convent complexes in the region, more than 750 years old.

Day 10 – Alt Isenhagen to Bad Bevensen (46 km)
Into the Lüneburg Heath proper, via Uelzen and its Hundertwasser railway station. A short detour takes you to the castle grounds at Bodenteich. The ship is waiting in Bad Bevensen.

Day 11 – Bad Bevensen to Lüneburg (26 km)
The shortest stage, following the Ilmenau through woods and meadows. Medingen convent early on, then the sculpture trail at Bienenbüttel, about 8.5 km of art along the river. You arrive in Lüneburg, the old salt-trading town, in the afternoon.

Day 12 – Lüneburg to Geesthacht (43 km)
Morning in Lüneburg among the brick façades and narrow lanes; entrance to the German Salt Museum is included. Then heath and forest paths, with a lookout tower for the wide view. Back on board, the ship climbs the Scharnebeck ship lift — 38 metres in one go — and carries on to Geesthacht.

Day 13 – Geesthacht to Hamburg (40 km, long variant 52 km)
The last real stage, along the Elbe through the Vier- und Marschlande, the market gardens that feed the city. The Rieck Haus open-air museum shows how the farmhouses here were lived in. Depending on where the ship moors, the route may take you through the Old Elbe Tunnel.

Day 14 – Hamburg (0 km)
A guided city tour after breakfast: the Speicherstadt, the largest historic warehouse district in the world and a UNESCO site, and the Elbphilharmonie above the river. The afternoon is yours — the Alster, the neighbourhoods, or Miniatur Wunderland. Farewell dinner on board.

Day 15 – Farewell to Hamburg
Breakfast, then disembarkation by 9:30 a.m.