The Netherlands is well-connected by a sturdy rail community that can whisk you away to only about any city within the nation and it has a number of connections to Europe’s different main cities. And whereas touring by the Dutch rail system is pretty easy, I’ll cowl just a few quirks that it is best to learn about. On this Netherlands prepare information, we’ll cowl every part it is advisable to learn about touring the Netherlands by prepare and the right way to discover the perfect prepare ticket costs.
Fast Overview of the Netherlands Rail Community
The official Dutch Railways’ identify is Nederlandse Spoorwegen (it’s typically shorted to NS) and it connects main cities with 4-5 trains every hour and smaller cities with hourly trains. You’ll be able to verify schedules on the official Dutch rail web site at www.ns.nl.
How To Purchase Prepare Tickets In The Netherlands
Shopping for Dutch prepare tickets is pretty easy however there’s a distinction between shopping for home prepare tickets and shopping for worldwide prepare tickets.
I’ve outlined the distinction under:
Shopping for Home Prepare Tickets In The Netherlands
Home prepare tickets within the Netherlands use a fixed-price mannequin so costs are primarily based solely on the space traveled. This implies you don’t save something by buying tickets early. Nevertheless, you’ll be able to nonetheless purchase tickets upfront through Omio and have the digital tickets despatched straight to your telephone if you wish to keep away from the effort of shopping for tickets on the station.
Alternatively, you should purchase tickets on the station through the self-service machines or from the staffed ticket home windows—each settle for main bank cards.
Shopping for Worldwide Prepare Tickets In The Netherlands
The Netherlands has a number of worldwide prepare routes that join its main cities with different main European cities like Paris, London, and Brussels. These high-speed trains function on a dynamic pricing mannequin that will get dearer because the journey date approaches—which implies it is best to e-book early to get the perfect costs.
It’s best to make use of a third-party reserving web site like Omio or TrainLine to search out and e-book the most cost effective possibility on your journey time. These companies are user-friendly (particularly when utilizing a international bank card) and so they’ll ship your digital prepare ticket on to their smartphone app.
- Omio: Omio is a superb prepare reserving engine that permits you to e-book tickets from nearly each nation’s rail service and different digital tickets are despatched straight to your telephone. Omio expenses little to no markup and so they make the reserving course of very user-friendly.
- TrainLine: TrainLine is one other third-party prepare ticket reserving website that connects instantly to a number of European rail networks.
Fashionable Trains Routes In The Netherlands
High Home Prepare Routes From Amsterdam:
- Amsterdam To Utrecht (30 minutes)
- Amsterdam To Den Haag (50 minutes)
- Amsterdam To Rotterdam (40-60 minutes)
- Amsterdam To Breda (1h 10mins)
- Amsterdam To Eindhoven (1h 20mins)
- Amsterdam To Groningen (2h 10mins, 1 change)
- Amsterdam To Maastricht (2h 30mins)
- Amsterdam To Vlissingen (2h 50mins)
High Worldwide Prepare Routes From Amsterdam:
- Amsterdam-Paris through the Thalys Excessive-Velocity Prepare
- Amsterdam-Brussels through Thalys Excessive-Velocity Prepare or Intercity Brussels Prepare
- Amsterdam-London through the Eurostar Excessive-Velocity Prepare
- Amsterdam-Frankfurt through ICE Worldwide Excessive-Velocity Prepare
Basic Ideas For Utilizing The Prepare In The Netherlands
- Know Prepare Station Names: Most bigger cities have a number of prepare stations (Amsterdam technical has 9 stations) so this may create confusion. Double verify to ensure you have the suitable station—particularly when reserving your ticket.
- Research The Departures Board: You’ll discover your prepare platform through the departure board on the prepare station. Don’t fear if you happen to don’t see your prepare as a result of they sometimes solely show trains departing inside the subsequent 10-20 minutes.
- Prepare Schedule: Fashionable routes between main cities may have a number of routes each hour however much less well-liked routes could solely have just a few per day.
- Self-Service Machines Are In English: All of the ticket machines (and prepare station indicators) are in English—there’s a good likelihood customer support individuals additionally communicate English.
- Pack A Picnic: You’re allowed to carry your individual meals and alcohol on trains. It’s nice for these lengthy prepare rides.
- No Baggage Limits: There aren’t any weight limits on baggage and you may carry as a lot as you need (properly, as a lot as you’ll be able to carry). Merely carry it on and retailer it above your head, behind your seat, or within the baggage racks in every automotive.
- Open Seating: Home trains don’t have assigned seats so sit wherever.
- Making Connections: The Netherlands is a small nation so many routes join by means of Amsterdam. Don’t fear if there isn’t a lot time between trains as a result of switching trains is normally pretty fast and simple (it’s not like flying).
- Get To The Prepare Station Early: Prepare stations are normally pretty simple to navigate however they could be a little complicated if you happen to’re unfamiliar with the station.
- Baggage Storage: Most giant prepare stations may have baggage storage choices however small stations more than likely received’t have baggage storage.
Take a look at our Full Information To Prepare Journey In Europe for extra recommendations on touring Europe by prepare.
Extra Europe Journey Ideas From The Savvy Backpacker
James Feess is the creator of The Savvy Backpacker and the creator of the e-book “The Savvy Backpacker’s Information To Europe On A Finances”. He is been running a blog about price range journey in Europe since 2010.
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