Travelling

Breakpoint is held in the city of Bingen, a small city located at the river rhine (Rhein) between Mainz and Cologne. It's perfectly reachable by airplane, train, car and even ship. On this page we have gathered lots of information and hints on how to get to Breakpoint the cheapest and most convenient way.

Visitor-organized bus trips / group travels

If you are planning to organize a bus trip / group travel not listed here, please drop us a note at !

Going by car

Bingen is connected through the german motorways A60 and A61, which are connected to all major german motorways (A1, A3, A4, A5, A6). Here are a few suggested routes:

the map
North

Get on the A7 direction Hannover (if you come from Sweden, get on A1 first till you reach A7 after Hamburg). Prepare for a loooooong ride till you get to the Hattenbacher Dreieck where you then leave the A7 to get on A5 direction Frankfurt/Main. Pass the Frankfurter Nordwestkreuz. Some km's later you will arrive at the Frankfurter Kreuz, A3 is the motorway to be then. Follow the signs to Mainz/Wiesbaden/Bingen (you'll see A67 and some others ;). You'll end up on the A60, direction Bingen. Follow it and see below.

If you are coming from north-west (Ruhr area, netherlands), check the directions for "west".

In case you care: Two exits before Bingen (Ingelheim-West/Gau-Algesheim), there is a McDonalds.

West

Coming from france, get on the A6 at Saarbrücken. At Kreuz Frankenthal you'll see the A61. Go there, direction Mainz/Alzey/Worms. Exit at Bingen (see below).

For those coming from Venlo/Aachen/Netherlands/Cologne: Get on the A1 which later merges into the A61. Pretty easy.

McDonalds: Exit Pfalzfeld, exit Waldlaubersheim (2 exits before Bingen); Burger King: exit Rheinböllen.

East

A9 is your friend. At Nürnberg, get on the A6, direction Mannheim/Heilbronn. Follow it until Kreuz Frankenthal, where you have to get onto the A61, direction Mainz/Alzey/Worms. Follow it till Bingen, then refer to below.

South

In case you're starting out below munich, first travel in that direction. From Munich, get on the A9 till Nürnberg (your route-planner may tell you to use A8, which is always full of traffic-jams). From there, get on the A6, direction Mannheim/Heilbronn. Follow it till Kreuz Frankenthal, where you have to get on the A61. Follow it till Bingen and see below.

Bingen

When reaching Bingen on the A60 or A61, there isn't much you could do wrong. The most common mistake people make is using the wrong exit. Please do not exit at "Bingen-Sponsheim", exit at "Bingen-Mitte". Also from most directions the exists have been recently redesigned to be way too short, have wrong markings etc to be absolutely dangerous and confusing. Please drive SLOWLY.

Here's a small map for your way through Bingen. Click it for a larger view.

Your way through Bingen (map)

Location address:
Rundsporthalle Büdesheim, Nuits-Saint-Georges-Strasse, 55411 Bingen am Rhein, Germany


In case you still get lost, maybe because you insisted on taking the wrong exit even after we warned you, ask the local people on how to get to "Rundsporthalle Büdesheim".

See below for maps and infos regarding the hotel locations etc.

Plane (Frankfurt Airport)

If you plan to go with a major airline, you will arrive at Frankfurt Airport. This is the real Frankfurt Airport, not to be mixed up with "Frankfurt"-Hahn, which is located 120km away.

Depending on demand, there might be bus shuttles from Frankurt to Breakpoint. See the Airport shuttle registration page.

Alternatively you may take the train, to do so carefully read these instructions:

Arriving at the Airport, you need to go the regional train station ("Regionalbahnhof"), not the long distance train station. Sadly the way from the airport to Bingen will make you cross the border of two Integrated Public Transport Systems, so most train ticket machines will simply explode if you try to buy a ticket to Bingen from them. That's why you need to make sure you'll use a ticket machine labelled "RMV". All train connections on Friday require you to change trains on the way once. Sadly there are two different ways, and both ways have different pricings. And none will be listed on the ticket machine.

THIS INFORMATION IS NOW UPDATED AND VERIFIED FOR 2010:

If you are using a connection using "S-Bahn S8", changing trains in Mainz: buy a ticket price class "5" at the RMV ticket machine. A single for grown-ups ("Einzelfahrt Erwachsene") costs 6,95 Euros. A group ticket ("Gruppentageskarte Erwachsene") valid for 5 persons is available for 23 Euros (again price class is "5"). These trains depart from track 3 ("Regio 3") on 9:29, 11:29, 13:59, 14:59, 15:59, 16:59, 17:59, 18:59, 19:59, 20:59, 21:59, 23:29, 00:29. The trains look a bit like metros, and have the sign "S8" - they are heading direction Wiesbaden. In "Mainz Hbf" (Mainz Hauptbahnhof) you have to exit the train. You will arrive on track 1. You have to change to track 11, which is the SAME platform, just walking 250m into the direction the train is going. From there you'll have to take a train operated by "TransRegio/Mittelrheinbahn", direction Koblenz/Koeln. Train number starts with "TR". The trains are grey with yellow doors. Exit in "Bingen(Rhein) Hbf" (Bingen am Rhein Hauptbahnhof), the central station. Do NOT exit at "Bingen(Rhein) Stadt", which is the city station. Once you've arrived at the Bingen central station, take the Breakpoint bus shuttle to the location.

If you are using a connection using a "Regionalexpress (RE)", changing trains in Bad Kreuznach: buy a ticket price class "6" at the RMV ticket machine. A single for grown-ups ("Einzelfahrt Erwachsene") costs 10 Euros. A group ticket ("Gruppentageskarte Erwachsene") valid for 5 persons is available for 31,80 Euros (again price class is "6"). These trains depart from track 3 on 10:37, 12:37, 14:37, 16:37, 18:37, 20:37. The trains are red and diesel powered and operated by "Deutsche Bahn (DB)". They will be heading direction "Saarbrücken". In "Bad Kreuznach" you have to exit the train. You will arrive on track 3. You have to change to track 2. From there you'll have to take a "Regionalbahn (RB)" train direction Bingen am Rhein. Exit in "Bingen(Rhein) Hbf" (Bingen am Rhein Hauptbahnhof), the central station. Once you've arrived at the Bingen central station, take the Breakpoint bus shuttle to the location.

Your way back: If your flight is leaving on Monday April 5th after the prizegiving, there will be shuttle bus going to the Airport. For more information and registration for that shuttle bus, please see our Airport shuttle registration page.

In case your flight is departing before 16:30, you'll have to take the train again. Listen carefully, as this is extremely weird and stupid: You have to use the ticket machines from "Deutsche Bahn", which have touchpads (and are red). The yellow ticket machine from TransRegio won't work! As destination, enter "Frankfurt Flughafen Regionalbahnhof". Make SURE you select "Regionalbahnhof". Expect a completely different price, and no option for group tickets. Price should be around 8-9 Euros. Trains depart from track 201 and are grey/yellow "TransRegio" trains. You'll have to exit at "Mainz Hbf" (Mainz Hauptbahnhof). You'll arrive on track 6 and have to change to track 4. From track 4, take the "S-Bahn S8" train (again these are looking like metros) direction Hanau. Exit at Frankfurt Main Flughafen Regionalbahnhof.

Plane (Frankfurt-Hahn)

Frankfurt-Hahn is an abandoned military airport located in the "Hunsrück" mountains. It's just called "Frankfurt" for marketing reasons - in fact it's 120 km away from Frankfurt, in a different state. Luckily it is pretty close to Bingen. And best of all: The cheapo airline Ryanair (and a few others) is going there. If you want to go by plane, make sure you check out if your home city is connected by those airlines.

Hahn routes

Airport website.

As the airport is located in the middle of nowhere, getting from there to the party might be a bit complicated. But don't worry: If you are arriving on Friday April 2nd (the day the party starts), you most likely will be able to catch one of our dedicated Breakpoint airport shuttle busses. If you are arriving on Thursday, April 1st late in the evening, you might want to wait for a shuttle bus going on Friday morning. Regarding your way back: If your flight is leaving on Monday April 5th after the prizegiving, there again will be shuttle busses going to the Airport. For more information and registration for those shuttle busses, please see our Airport shuttle registration page.

If you are arriving or departing at/from the Airport outside these times, getting to Bingen will be a bit more complicated, as there is no regular direct Bus connection. You may either take the Bus to Mainz (1 hour ride) and then from Mainz take the regional train back to Bingen (the Bus crosses Bingen but doesn't stop there). Together this will be ~15 Euro/trip. Alternatively you may pick a bus to Simmern (make sure the bus in this timetable has got a "Bingen/Bad Kreuznach" remark, and tell the bus driver you want to go to Bingen), and in Simmern change into the Bus to Bingen. This will take ages and is only recommended for the brave.

Going by train

Bingen is connected with one of the most busy railroad lines in Germany. There are direct connections to Bingen from many german cities. Many "InterCity (IC)" trains going from Köln to Frankfurt and opposite direction stop at Bingen (Rhein) Hbf (Central Station). Please keep in mind that next to all "InterCity Express (ICE)" trains are using the new railroad on the other side of the rhine and do not stop in Bingen.

You may search for trains using the Deutsche Bahn travel planner. As destination choose "Bingen(Rhein) Hbf".

Bus shuttle service, hotel maps etc

Just as in previous years, Breakpoint 2010 will feature a free bus service connecting the party location, a supermarket, the hotels, the train stations and the bingen inner city. The Busses will be going non-stop from 09:00 in the morning till 04:00 in the night. You want to go shopping? You want to do a short sight-seeing tour to the rhine area? You wish to get to your hotel room in the nights? Well, the Breakpoint Bus Service will bring you there!

More info about the bus service, maps and a detailed timetable are available at the Bus Service Page.


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