Frequently Asked Questions

last restrictions ended 7.4.23

General english information:
General Covid Info for Berlin

Unfortunately we do not offer long term stay and it is not possible to do the “Anmeldung” at the Hostel unless you start a job at our hostel.

Maximum stay is 14 days – usually maximum bookable ahead is 10 days.

In general guests of all ages are welcome!

But because we are a Hostel and offer dorm rooms in general, there are some restrictions or recommendations to avoid problems and ensure, that all our guests feel comfortable.

1. All individual travellers should be 18 or older.

2. Guests from 16 but under 18 years of age would need a note from their parents.

3. Groups of more than 10 persons should be older than 16, but we can make exceptions on request.

4. Families and individual travellers with younger kids are ok in private rooms – not dorms – but only on request!

Arriving at Berlin Airport (BER) – Your way to Heart of Gold Hostel

Take the Airport Express train RE7 or RB14, which goes directly to stop Friedrichstrasse and runs every 30 minutes.
Exit onto Friedrichstrasse and walk north to cross the River Spree. After the bridge take the second street to your right into Johannisstrasse, walk 150 m down the street and you will find us on the left hand side at number 11.

Costs are 3,80 Euro (Ticket ABC), takes about 45 minutes. Tickets are available from ticket machines on the way to the Train. Sometimes there is a long queue so you can also try the App from BVG on bvg.de to get your ticket online.

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You can find all ticket prices here.

For detailed information and alternative directions head over to bvg.de

Here you can check the prices for a taxi taxi-calculator.com

Arriving at ZOB  – Your way to Heart of Gold Hostel

At the nearby subway station (U-Bahn) Kaiserdamm take the U2 and go to Potsdamer Platz. Change here to train (S-Bahn) S1 or S2 and get off at Oranienburger Strasse.
Exit the station and walk south on Tucholskystraße, take the first street right into Johannisstraße, you will find us on the right hand side at number 11.

Arriving at Südkreuz – Your way to Heart of Gold Hostel

Take the trains (S-Bahn) S2 or S25 and get off at Oranienburger Strasse.
Exit the station and walk south on Tucholskystrasse, take the first street right into Johannisstrasse, you will find us on the right hand side at number 11.

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For detailed times and instructions go to bvg.de

The price for a taxi you can find on taxi-calculator.com

Arriving at Hauptbahnhof – Your way to Heart of Gold Hostel

Arriving at Ostbahnhof – Your way to Heart of Gold Hostel

Take any train (S-Bahn) going to direction Friedrichstrasse and get off there. It is just one stop away from Hauptbahnhof and four stops from Ostbahnhof. Exit onto Friedrichstrasse and walk north to cross the River Spree. After the bridge take the second street to your right into Johannisstrasse, walk 150 m down the street and you will find us on the left hand side at number 11.

Arriving at Südkreuz – Your way to Heart of Gold Hostel

Take the trains (S-Bahn) S2 or S25 and get off at Oranienburger Strasse.
Exit the station and walk south on Tucholskystrasse, take the first street right into Johannisstrasse, you will find us on the right hand side at number 11.

Due to our central location, free parking is not available nearby. You can park in the streets in the immediate surrounding for 4 Euro/hour starting at 1 Euro/15 min, if you find a spot.

We offer secure parking in our basement for 15 Euro per day/night – alongside a confirmed booking – to be sure please book ahead – preferably for the whole stay. At the moment it’s not possible to book more than 3 weeks before arrival.

We imagine the duration to be from 2pm arrival to 11am departure as 11am is our check-out. But this is only a guideline and we are flexible depending on availability. Could be cheaper for bikes. You can park and lock your Bicycles for free in the yard incl. camera surveillance and 24h reception.

Maximum height is about 1,95-1,97 m – a lower bus like VW without rails on top just works.

There are also several commercial parking houses in the area – usually good for short term as it starts from 1,50 Euro/30 min. Please check park-one.com/standorte/berlin/

In general it is recommended to not use a car in the center of Berlin – use public transport instead.

prices public transport

Please remember you need a “Umweltplakette” for your car to drive legal in Berlin center.

Reception is open 24/7.

Check-In is always possible – rooms are usually ready from 2 pm.

Check-Out is until 11 am. You need to leave your room and return sheets and key card to reception by then in order to get back the 10 Euro deposit you paid on arrival.

If you arrive before 2pm, you can leave your luggage or lock your valuables in our safe for free. Coffee and tea is available for free too.

The breakfast buffet is available for 10 Euro per person until 12 noon.

Our booking system calculated prices based on preset prices, current availability and the (im)probability for how many beds will be left on a particular day in the future. This means prices constantly change with new bookings and as time progresses.

This way we can offer lower prices for less requested times with low occupany – but also means higher prices for very busy days. This also ensures, that we can offer the best price possible for every single day while getting a higher average price for beds available.

If you are flexible in your travel plan, you can save this way. Please go to our online booking form and play around with arrival dates to find the best offer.

We offer our beds on our own website, but also through 3rd party websites like Hostelworld, Hostelbookers, Hostelsclub and many others. These sites have their own sub-pages and affiliate websites as well.

We control the beds on these website by uploading our availability and prices. These “agents” charge a commission/provision and sometimes a booking fee on top – sometimes called “deposit”. In the end we only get the uploaded price minus the extra charges, but you pay the full price of course.

As we are low budget already, we don’t want to loose money on extra charges and thus often add the provision to our prices leading to higher prices on 3rd party channels – in short: “you pay more for the same bed!

By booking directly with us you always save as we offer the best price available – guaranteed!

Breakfast is available from 8 am until noon for 10 Euro per person.

New
if you book breakfast included with your stay, we offer 20% discount!

It usually consists of variations of bread, bread rolls, jam, honey, Nutella, cream cheese, cheese, salami and other meat, (soy/oat-)milk, yogurt, muesli, cornflakes, fruit and vegetables, orange juice, tea and coffee.

Most of this also as vegan alternatives

Please ask for gluten free options ahead of arrival – especially for groups – but we usually have a few things in storage at all times.

No need to reserve, just pay before you start or at arrival.

It is an “All you can eat” buffet. Take away is not allowed though.

We offer a guest kitchen from 8am to 10pm.

It’s about 30 m² and includes a sink, 2 x 2 induction cooking plates and a microwave. We had to temporarily deactivate the oven as it was mainly used to burn food. We are working on an alternative.

A few fridges, cutlery, cups, plates and tools are available to prepare your own food.

It offers space for around max 20 persons – but of course it’s best to eat outside in the Biergarten.

The kitchen is supposed to offer a free way to have meals and save money for travellers on a budget – not for parties and not for guests, that want to burn something..

At the HEART OF GOLD Hostel we offer you free wi-fi. If you need to print a couple of pages, please ask at reception and we should be able to help.

There are free lockers in every room! You need a padlock, which you can bring yourself or rent from reception. Before going to the rooms or after checkout you can store your belongings in our free lockers in the reception.

For valuables we also have a free safe or our special small lockers including charging facilities for laptops, cell phones, tablets or your favourite toy…

Sheets are provided for free and piled on your bed on arrival. Please use them – you need to put them on yourself!

On Check-Out you return the sheets and key card to reception by 11am in order to get your 10 Euro deposit back, which you paid on arrival.

Towels are available in a limited number – but for free – at reception. They are not in the room. Although we usually have enough, it is never wrong to travel with your own towel.

In general we do not offer soap – in part for hygiene reasons but mainly to safe waste – especially plastic. We offer small plastic free soap at reception if you forgot yours. In shared bathrooms we installed sustainable soap dispensers.

Pets are not allowed to stay at the HEART OF GOLD Hostel.

Please note that unfortunately we cannot accept any registered mail, where we would have to sign the acknowledgement of receipt.

If you do send a regular letter to us please make absolutely sure that your full name, as it appears in your booking and the duration of your stay are clearly marked on the envelope. Otherwise we do not know who the letter is for and will have to return it to sender.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any further questions.

There are plenty of restaurants, take-aways, coffee shops and bars in walking distance from the Heart of Gold Hostel so you won`t stay hungry or thirsty.

Also we picked the best sightseeing spots for you so you can discover Berlin on your own.

Here are some of our recommendations!

How to:
1. Pick one of our recommended maps
2. Scan the QR-Code or click on the link
3. Open the link in Google Maps

Food options & recommended coffee shops

Sightseeing & Attractions

Clubs & Bars

Essential things

At the moment we do not do bike rental – you can find a lot of Bicycleses, E-Bikes and E-Scooters in the street of Berlin, that you can book directly online.

Recommended Walking Tours

There are many guided tours in the area – including pickup and meeting spots. At the moment we do not cooperate with any of them – so we do not want to recommend here.

The google maps seem to be outdated – working on it.

We picked some nice routes to get you to the best spots in our area!

How to:
1. Pick one of our recommended walking tours
2. Scan the QR-Code or klick on the link
3. Open the link in Google Maps
4. Go take a walk!
5. All tours can also be done by bike

Tour 1 – “Classic Sightseeing Tour”
(8km / 1:45 hrs net / plan for 3-4 hrs)

This extensive sightseeing tour will take you to the biggest sights spots in Berlin: the Berlin Cathedral, the Red City Hall, Checkpoint Charlie, the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag building are on this great round trip.
There are plenty of restaurants, take-aways, coffee shops and bars on your way so you won`t stay hungry or thirsty.

Tour 2 – “The Old Berlin”
(4.5 km / 0:55 hrs net / Plan for 2-3 hrs)

This tour will show you the old gems of the city and let you revel in feelings of “Good Old Berlin”.
There are plenty of restaurants, take-aways, coffee shops and bars on your way so you won`t stay hungry or thirsty.

Tour 3 – “DIY Pub Crawl”
(4km / 0:50 hrs net / plan for a sleepless night)

Drinks, Party & Currywurst – a recipe for a legendary night out in Berlin

Tour 4 – “Vintage Shopping Tour”
(3.5 km / 0:45 hrs net / Plan for 3-4hrs)

Berlin is the capital of vintage clothing. Choose between huge stores where you buy your clothes by kilo or small shops where you can get carefully picked gems.
There are plenty of restaurants, take-aways, coffee shops and bars on your way so you won`t stay hungry or thirsty.

Free Guided Walking Tours

are available depending on Corona restrictions.. but due to the ever changing schedules we cannot recommend anything here.

Feel free to ask our staff at the reception.

You can also create your own walking tours on gpsmycity.com

Since the Heart of Gold Hostel is situated in the Environmental Zone of Berlin, your car needs a green environmental badge ( „Umweltplakette“) to park in the immediate surrounding of the Hostel. The environmental badge shows what emission group your car belongs to.

You can buy the environmental badge at an emission examination place such as TÜV, DEKRA, GTÜ, FSP, KÜS and authorized service station, or you can make an online application in advance. It is not the car itself that gets examined, but its papers. If you do the online application you can scan the papers and send by E-mail, or send them by regular mail. It is recommended to apply at least 3 weeks ahead of your trip to Berlin so that the badge arrives in time.

“Umweltplakette” – green environmental badge

The examination place closest to the hostel is the DEKRA KFZ-Prüfstelle in the Prinzessinnenstraße 17-18, 10969 Kreuzberg. You can search for other examination places by DEKRA and TÜV here.

There is no set price for the environmental badge, but normally it costs between 5 – 10€

The registration number of the car has to be written on the white field of the badge, and the badge is to apply to the windshield.

If you park in the environmental zone without the badge you may be charged 80€.

If you do not get the green environmental badge or you are not interested in getting a badge, you can simply park outside of the environmental zone. The option closest to the HEART OF GOLD Hostel would be north of the Berlin Gesundbrunnen train station. From there it takes you three stops with the train (S-Bahn) to Oranienburger Straße.

At the moment we are looking for cleaners – part time or full time.

German Registration Papers are needed to start working – e.g. working Visa or EU passport.

We can help with accommodation and Anmeldung though.

Unfortunately we can not offer work for stay, as it is rarely legal in Germany.

To apply please send an Email to office@heartofgold-hostel.de – CV and/or photo appreciated, but not necessary.

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