Kiel is well connected by train, ferry, and road, though it has no commercial airport of its own.
By train: Kiel Hauptbahnhof has direct IC and regional services to Hamburg (about 70 minutes), which connects onward to the rest of the German rail network. There is no high-speed rail to Kiel, but the Hamburg connection is frequent and reliable. From Hamburg, trains run roughly every hour.
By ferry: Kiel is one of Germany's main ferry ports for Scandinavia and the Baltic. Stena Line runs overnight ferries to Gothenburg, Sweden (14 hours), and Color Line sails to Oslo, Norway (20 hours). DFDS operates a service to Klaipėda, Lithuania. Ferries depart from the city centre ferry terminal, within walking distance of the main train station. Booking in advance is advisable in summer.
By road: The A215 autobahn connects Kiel to the A7 south of the city, which runs all the way to Hamburg and beyond. Driving from Hamburg takes about an hour in normal traffic. There is no motorway running along the Schleswig-Holstein coast north of Kiel — road connections to Flensburg and the Danish border follow the B76 and B77 through the interior.
By bus: FlixBus and regional bus services connect Kiel to Hamburg and other cities in Schleswig-Holstein, though trains are faster and more reliable for most journeys.