Lower Saxony is Germany's second-largest state by area, stretching from the North Sea coast and the East Frisian islands down through rolling farmland to the forested Harz mountains on its southern border. Its capital, Hannover, is best known for the Herrenhausen Gardens and a compact, walkable Old Town, but the state's UNESCO credentials lie elsewhere: the Romanesque churches of Hildesheim, the thousand-year Rammelsberg silver mine above Goslar, and the vast tidal mudflats of the Wadden Sea along the coast. Half-timbered towns like Celle and Lüneburg preserve centuries of Hanseatic and salt-trading wealth, while Wolfsburg's Autostadt and the university town of Göttingen add an industrial and academic counterpoint to the state's historic core.
Lower Saxony's transport backbone centres on Hannover, home to Hannover Airport (HAJ), the state's main air gateway, and Hannover Hauptbahnhof, a major ICE hub on the Berlin-Cologne and Hamburg-Frankfurt corridors. Local transit is split across GVH (Hannover Region), VBN (the northwest and East Frisian mainland), and VSN (Göttingen, Hildesheim, and Braunschweig), all covered by the Deutschlandticket at €58/month alongside every regional train. As a coastal state, Lower Saxony adds a further layer of North Sea ferries linking mainland ports to the seven East Frisian Islands, several of which are entirely car-free, making Lower Saxony easy to explore from a Hannover base by train for inland destinations and by a combination of train, bus, and ferry for the coast and islands.
Transport at a glance
- Public Transit
- Rating 4 · Notes The GVH network around Hannover is dense and well-integrated, and Deutsche Bahn regional trains reach nearly every Lower Saxony town of size, though the East Frisian coast and islands need a ferry to complete the trip
- Taxis
- Rating 4 · Notes Reliable and plentiful in Hannover and Braunschweig; sparser and better pre-booked by phone in East Frisian mainland towns and unavailable in the usual sense on the car-free islands
- Biking
- Rating 5 · Notes Lower Saxony is largely flat, with excellent long-distance routes and the East Frisian Islands themselves best explored entirely by bicycle once cars are left behind
- Walkability
- Rating 4 · Notes Hannover's old town, Hildesheim's UNESCO core, and most Lower Saxony market towns are highly walkable; the car-free islands are walkable end to end in most cases
- Driving
- Rating 4 · Notes Autobahns are fast and well-maintained, though the A7 corridor sees heavy congestion at peak commuting and holiday travel times, and driving is not possible at all on five of the seven East Frisian Islands
Airport transfers
Getting from the airport to your accommodation.
- Overview
- Hannover Airport's own S-Bahn station gives it a fast, single-change connection into Hannover Hauptbahnhof, covered by standard GVH tickets or the Deutschlandticket, with onward ICE connections available directly from the Hauptbahnhof.
- Items
- S5 S-Bahn (18 minutes) · S5 to Hannover Hbf, then RE/S-Bahn onward (Approximately 1 hour with one change) · S5 to Hannover Hbf, then ICE or RE onward (Approximately 1 hour with one change)
Local transport
Getting around the city.
Items
Taxis & rideshare
What to expect from taxis and apps.
- Overview
- Taxis are plentiful in Hannover, Braunschweig, and Hildesheim, reliable in Celle and Hameln, but sparser in East Frisian mainland towns and on the islands themselves, where advance booking or the island's own carriage/electric-taxi services are more dependable than hailing on the street.
- Items
Intercity travel
Getting between cities and regions.
Operator
FlixBus and Deutsche Bahn long-distance (ICE/IC)
Website
https://www.flixbus.de
Overview
Deutsche Bahn ICE trains make Hannover Hauptbahnhof a major long-distance hub on the Berlin-Cologne and Hamburg-Frankfurt/Munich corridors; FlixBus adds low-cost coach connections to Braunschweig, Oldenburg, and beyond for budget travelers.
Items
- Route
- Hannover to Bremen (FlixBus)
- Price eur
- €7-16
- Duration
- 1h 15min-1h 45min
- Route
- Hannover to Osnabrück (FlixBus)
- Price eur
- €8-18
- Duration
- 1h 30min-2h
Terminals
Hannover Hauptbahnhof's ZOB (central bus station) on Rundestraße is the main hub for coach services serving Lower Saxony
Useful apps
Download before you arrive.
Transport tips
Travel smarter, not harder.
Buy the Deutschlandticket (€58/month) if combining Hannover, Braunschweig, and regional day trips for a week or more — it covers every GVH, VBN, and VSN train, tram, and bus in Lower Saxony
Validate any paper single ticket before boarding — GVH, VBN, and VSN operate an honour system with spot checks and fines for invalid tickets
Hannover Airport's own S-Bahn station under Terminal C puts Hannover Hauptbahnhof 18 minutes away, with ICE trains to Berlin, Hamburg, and Frankfurt boarding directly from there
ICE fares to Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, and Cologne are not covered by the Deutschlandticket — book ahead online for the best price
Book East Frisian Island ferry tickets ahead for July-August weekends, when Norderney, Borkum, and Langeoog sailings sell out
Plan mainland ferry-port parking in advance for a car-free island day trip, since the harbourside lots at Norddeich, Neuharlingersiel, and Harlesiel fill early on summer weekends