The Netherlands is well-connected by a sturdy rail community that may 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 a number of quirks that it’s best to learn about. On this Netherlands prepare information, we’ll cowl all the things it’s essential learn about touring the Netherlands by prepare and how one can discover the very best 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 may examine 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 gap traveled. This implies you don’t save something by buying tickets early. Nonetheless, you possibly can nonetheless purchase tickets prematurely by way of Omio and have the digital tickets despatched straight to your cellphone if you wish to keep away from the trouble of shopping for tickets on the station.
Alternatively, you should buy tickets on the station by way of 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’s best to guide early to get the very best costs.
It’s best to make use of a third-party reserving web site like Omio or TrainLine to seek out and guide the most affordable choice in your journey time. These providers 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 allows you to guide tickets from nearly each nation’s rail service and different digital tickets are despatched straight to your cellphone. Omio fees 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 web site that connects straight to a number of European rail networks.
Fashionable Trains Routes In The Netherlands
Prime 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)
Prime Worldwide Prepare Routes From Amsterdam:
- Amsterdam-Paris by way of the Thalys Excessive-Velocity Prepare
- Amsterdam-Brussels by way of Thalys Excessive-Velocity Prepare or Intercity Brussels Prepare
- Amsterdam-London by way of the Eurostar Excessive-Velocity Prepare
- Amsterdam-Frankfurt by way of ICE Worldwide Excessive-Velocity Prepare
Common Suggestions 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 could create confusion. Double examine to be sure to have the best station—particularly when reserving your ticket.
- Research The Departures Board: You’ll discover your prepare platform by way of the departure board on the prepare station. Don’t fear in the event you don’t see your prepare as a result of they usually solely show trains departing inside the subsequent 10-20 minutes.
- Prepare Schedule: Fashionable routes between main cities can have a number of routes each hour however much less common routes could solely have a number of per day.
- Self-Service Machines Are In English: All of the ticket machines (and prepare station indicators) are in English—there’s a good probability customer support folks additionally converse English.
- Pack A Picnic: You’re allowed to deliver 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 deliver as a lot as you need (effectively, as a lot as you possibly can carry). Merely deliver 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 anyplace.
- Making Connections: The Netherlands is a small nation so many routes join by 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 straightforward to navigate however they could be a little complicated in the event you’re unfamiliar with the station.
- Baggage Storage: Most giant prepare stations can have baggage storage choices however small stations most certainly received’t have baggage storage.
Take a look at our Full Information To Prepare Journey In Europe for extra tips on touring Europe by prepare.
Extra Europe Journey Suggestions From The Savvy Backpacker
James Feess is the creator of The Savvy Backpacker and the creator of the guide “The Savvy Backpacker’s Information To Europe On A Price range”. He is been running a blog about finances journey in Europe since 2010.
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