Travelling to Germany
This section will go into specifics on how to make sure your stay here is well organized and comfortable.
Rules and Regulations
Germany is similar to a lot of European countries in rules and regulations. The most important things to know for visitors are collected here.
Visa
Citizens of the EU/Schengen area do not require a visa to travel to Germany.
British and American citizens do not require a visa but do need to comply with the travel checklist found here.
Getting to Cologne and Hürth
The event will be located in Hürth, which is just outside of Cologne. Travel is recommended by public transport, as this is the easiest option.
By Air & Rail
You have many options to get to Cologne/Hürth.
Cologne Airport does not have many direct flight options from US or Asia, but does easy flight connections from all major EU flight hubs. Another convenient option is to fly to Frankfurt, and a 1-hour train from Cologne.
- Flight to Amsterdam (~3 hours from Cologne): https://www.schiphol.nl/en/
- Flight to Frankfurt (~1.5 hours from Cologne): https://www.frankfurt-airport.com/en.html
- Flights to Cologne: https://www.cologne-bonn-airport.com/en/flights/flight-destinations.html
- (Inter-) National rail (Germany): [https://www.bahn.de/]{.underline}(https://www.bahn.de/)
- Mobile app: https://www.bahn.de/service/mobile/db-navigator
- (Inter-) National rail (Netherlands): https://www.nsinternational.com/en
- Mobile app for international travel: https://www.nsinternational.com/en/nsinternationalapp - It may be that you get cheaper tickets into Germany when using the NS International app instead of booking through Deutsche Bahn.
- (Inter-) National bus: [https://www.flixbus.de/
By Car
Traffic in the area and in the city can be very busy, especially during rush hour, and parking (on the street or in parking garages) can get quite expensive.
Uber and taxi services are also available. As always, take a good look at the prices in advance.
Getting around Cologne and Hürth
Check out the local transport links below. You might also want to install Moovit, a mobile app to help you plan local transport in Germany.
- Huerth mobility overview: https://www.huerth.de/mobilitaet.php
- Local rail: https://revg.de/
- Local bus: https://www.swhmobil.de/fahrplaene/fahrplaene#c30
- Map: https://www.huerth.de/stadtplan_und_strassenverzeichnis.php
Accomodations
You might want to decide whether you want to stay in Hürth or in Cologne. Hürth is closer to the venue and Cologne offers more social activities. From the Cologne train stations (Köln Hauptbahnhof, Köln West, Köln Süd) you can reach the event location in Hürth in 10-25 minutes.
The event will be held in Hürth, a suburb of Cologne, however, many will prefer accommodations in Cologne. The nearest station in Cologne is Köln Süd, which is about 10 minutes away with regular service to Hürth.
There are many hotel options in the area. One recommendation is: ibis Koeln Centrum, Neue Weyerstraße 4, 50676 Köln, Duitsland
Cologne, like other major European cities, has a lot of hotels in various price categories, as well as a lot of privately rented apartments. Hürth is a smaller town, but also there you can find hotel rooms and privately rented apartments. You can see a full selection on any accommodation search website, such as Booking.com or airbnb.
There will be a trade fair in Cologne at the same time as the RWOT, so hotels will be booked out quickly or may become more expensive. Please book your hotels as soon as possible.
Many more hotels (including all major international chains) are in the city center of Cologne, which is easily reached via public transport (see Travel to the venue and around the city). You can see a full selection on any accommodation search website, such as Booking.com or airbnb.