Train from Germany to Amsterdam - Advice Needed Please!

[DMCinSJC]

We have a cruise booked out of Amsterdam and we will be using Frequent Flyer miles for our airfare from SFO. Our carrier’s partner airline doesn’t fly directly to Amsterdam, but connects through London/Heathrow. The taxes and fees for this “free” flight are very high. Also, the connection times do not match up, requiring an overnight in London prior to the flight from Heathrow to Amsterdam. I guess nothing is truly ever free, right?

 

How crazy would we be to fly to Germany – either Dusseldorf or Frankfurt – and take the train into Amsterdam? Our carrier’s partner airline doesn’t fly directly from SFO to either, but both options connect through a US city before flying directly to Germany. The taxes and fees for these flights are very low. Time isn’t a huge issue, as we will be flying in a few days prior to the cruise departure date and had already planned to leave the day after the cruise to return to the US.

 

Looking at the timetables for the train, Dusseldorf - Amsterdam is about 2 hours, 15 minutes and Frankfurt - Amsterdam is about 4 hours, 30 minutes. Plus it looks like both train stations are at the airports, so no intermediate transportation would be necessary.

 

This would be MUCH less expensive than traveling through Heathrow, the difference in taxes and fees would more than cover the cost of the train tickets – but is it doable? Are we adding too many variables to our trip? I took German in high school, but that was years ago – will not knowing the language be a huge barrier for us? We are 45 (mom) and 25 (daughter) - just in case it matters at all in the advice you would give.

 

The pictures of the trains are lovely, but what are they really like? Are they safe, provided we take normal precautions with our luggage? Would we see any of the countryside on a train traveling 300 miles per hour?

 

Cruise Critic has some wonderfully knowledgeable members who either currently live, or have spent time, traveling in Europe. Has anyone done this trip or a similar trip? Can you share your experience, please? Thank you!

[sddsddean]

I think what you are basically asking is "can I get a train from Dusseldorf/Frankfurt to Amsterdam?". Answer is, yes. Absolutely no problem at all. As all concerned countries are in the EU you wil have no problems with borders (except on arrival at the airport). Rail travel in Europe is far more 'passenger centred' than in the US and German railways are amongst the best in the world. Just do it! Regarding language, I used to drive every week to Germany and Austria and though I had my schoolboy German, I rarely needed it. You will have no problems in this respect. Have a look at http://www.seat61.com/ . Though most of Marks advice is regarding Uk to Europe travel, he has lots of helpful advice on the German and Dutch pages.

 

Simon

[Globaliser]

We have a cruise booked out of Amsterdam and we will be using Frequent Flyer miles for our airfare from SFO. Our carrier’s partner airline doesn’t fly directly to Amsterdam, but connects through London/Heathrow. The taxes and fees for this “free” flight are very high. Also, the connection times do not match up, requiring an overnight in London prior to the flight from Heathrow to Amsterdam. I guess nothing is truly ever free, right?

 

How crazy would we be to fly to Germany – either Dusseldorf or Frankfurt – and take the train into Amsterdam? Our carrier’s partner airline doesn’t fly directly from SFO to either, but both options connect through a US city before flying directly to Germany. The taxes and fees for these flights are very low. Time isn’t a huge issue, as we will be flying in a few days prior to the cruise departure date and had already planned to leave the day after the cruise to return to the US.

I don't immediately understand why you have a problem with flight connections, although it's difficult to know when you don't say which airlines you're talking about.

 

The first thing that I find hard to understand is why there are no flights from a US connection point (or a European connecting point) to Amsterdam, which is a bigger and busier hub than Duesseldorf.

 

Second, I don't understand why you'd have to overnight at Heathrow if you were connecting there. The last flight from Heathrow to Amsterdam is at something like 9 pm, which is a long time after all the US west coast flights have arrived at Heathrow.

 

If you have availability problems, rather than there being no flights, that would be a different matter - but it might be solvable with some flexibility.

 

In picking your route, you also need to think about some further things. Connecting at a US connection point is one thing on the eastbound trip. However, if you connect at a US point on the westbound trip, you'll have to clear immigration, collect your bags and clear customs at the connection point. This necessarily requires you to build in a lot of time for that journey because the amount of time needed to do all that is so variable and unpredictable and you'll probably want to have build a long connection here. You could get home faster if you connect at a European point and then fly straight to SFO.

 

The other thing concerns the "very high" taxes and fees. Again, without knowing the airline or the amount concerned, it's difficult to know how this would impact your planning or whether there might be ways of reducing them. But there's no point saving $x on taxes, fees and charges by flying to Duesseldorf or Frankfurt if you then spend even more than $x on the train fare from there to Amsterdam - as well as spending a lot of time on the train. (It must be said, though, that if you go from Frankfurt to Amsterdam and the train travels along the Rhein, you will get to see some of the scenery along the prettiest part of the river.)

[Mairnealach]

Hi,

 

I live in Ireland and my friend lives in the Netherlands. Last year, to celebrate her birthday, we visited Cologne. I flew to Dusseldorf airport and took a local train to Cologne. My friend took the IC train from Amsterdam to Cologne. This is a similar train to the one that you would be taking.

 

Firstly, you will have no language problems. English is spoken at all European airports and major train stations. You are not quite correct when you state that 'both train stations are at the airports, so no intermediate transportation would be necessary'. If you fly to Dusseldorf, you will have to take the S-Bahn or local urban train from Dusseldorf airport to Duisburg or Dusseldorf central stations. The journey time is only about ten minutes. However, there are direct trains from Frankfurt airport to Amsterdam.

 

http://www.dus.com/en/arrival-and-departure/bus-and-train/arriving-by-train

 

My friend was highly impressed with the IC train to Amsterdam. She has travelled frequently on the high-speed Thalys train from Amsterdam to Paris and preferred the IC train. She travelled first class and feels that the supplement for so doing is well worth it. Reservations open three months in advance of date of travel and the earlier you book the cheaper the fare. I have never felt any safety concerns on trains in Germany and the Netherlands. If you have a specific query about the IC train let me know and I will try to find the answer for you.

 

Good luck whatever way you decide to travel,

 

Dermot

[DMCinSJC]

Thank you all for your quick replies -

 

I didn’t want to mention the airline by name to avoid a discussion on the pro’s or con’s of one mileage rewards program versus another. Mine, as I am discovering, is not very good with international travel.

 

This is absolutely a flight availability issue with the single airline on which my frequent flyer miles can be used. The taxes and fees on any of the very limited flight options I have available, connecting through London, are $558 per ticket as opposed to the taxes and fees to fly into either of the German airports which are only $130 per ticket. I thought making arrangements in January for an August trip would be sufficient, but with the lack of flight options, I now know that I should have started sooner.

 

The per ticket difference in taxes and fees might not seem like a lot compared to the rest of the money spent on the cruise, pre-cruise hotel, post-cruise hotel, etc…but it is a lot to me.

 

I am really glad this is looking like a viable option, I think I will consider it part of the adventure. I have never been to Germany, in a few months, that will no longer be true.

 

If anyone else has advice on train travel, I would still love to hear it.

Edited January 8, 2015 by DMCinSJC

[Scriv]

Just to add that I have travelled several times on Deutsche Bahn (DB) German trains and the ICE (Inter City Express). They run very much to time and are totally safe and you will have no problem at all getting by in English.

I found the ICEs lovely trains and once I also upgraded to first class for a small fee and it does give you a more comfortable seat with more legroom in a more spacious and less crowded carriage and refreshments served to you in your seat.

Also, just for info, I am female and have also travelled alone and with my daughter and would be very happy to do so again.

I think that if it fits in with your schedule and your budget, it will be a great experience.

Edited January 8, 2015 by Scriv

[FreestyleNovice]

Use Bahn.de, currently Frankfurt - Amsterdam starts at 39 Euro, some $45.

 

The ICE is a great and comfortable way of travel, going 300 km/h/186mph between Frankfurt and Cologne, having an onboard bistro and it just takes 4 hour of scenery passing by (fast). :D

[scottbee]

We have a cruise booked out of Amsterdam and we will be using Frequent Flyer miles for our airfare from SFO. Our carrier’s partner airline doesn’t fly directly to Amsterdam, but connects through London/Heathrow. The taxes and fees for this “free” flight are very high. Also, the connection times do not match up, requiring an overnight in London prior to the flight from Heathrow to Amsterdam. I guess nothing is truly ever free, right?

 

How crazy would we be to fly to Germany – either Dusseldorf or Frankfurt – and take the train into Amsterdam? Our carrier’s partner airline doesn’t fly directly from SFO to either, but both options connect through a US city before flying directly to Germany. The taxes and fees for these flights are very low. Time isn’t a huge issue, as we will be flying in a few days prior to the cruise departure date and had already planned to leave the day after the cruise to return to the US.

 

Looking at the timetables for the train, Dusseldorf - Amsterdam is about 2 hours, 15 minutes and Frankfurt - Amsterdam is about 4 hours, 30 minutes. Plus it looks like both train stations are at the airports, so no intermediate transportation would be necessary.

 

This would be MUCH less expensive than traveling through Heathrow, the difference in taxes and fees would more than cover the cost of the train tickets – but is it doable? Are we adding too many variables to our trip? I took German in high school, but that was years ago – will not knowing the language be a huge barrier for us? We are 45 (mom) and 25 (daughter) - just in case it matters at all in the advice you would give.

 

The pictures of the trains are lovely, but what are they really like? Are they safe, provided we take normal precautions with our luggage? Would we see any of the countryside on a train traveling 300 miles per hour?

 

Cruise Critic has some wonderfully knowledgeable members who either currently live, or have spent time, traveling in Europe. Has anyone done this trip or a similar trip? Can you share your experience, please? Thank you!

 

I'm assuming you're talking about American Airlines, who are the only of the big three US carriers that don't serve AMS directly. To clear up an item here, flying via the UK isn't expensive, flying on AA's partner British Airways is expensive, and it's not 'taxes' or 'fees' it's additional fare imposed by the airline under the name "Fuel Surcharge" (an amount which actually exceeds the per-seat fuel cost -- and there are class action suits against BA for that right now).

 

However, back to your question, European Rail Travel is dead easy; and given it's location, I would expect Dusseldorf would be the easiest. Looking at bahn.de some of the connections from Dusseldorf Flughaven (airport) require a bus ride, but there is a pretty decent connection via Duisberg

RE 10223

Düsseldorf Flughafen dep 15:13

Duisburg Hbf arr 15:22

 

ICE 124

Duisburg Hbf dep 15:29

Amsterdam Centraal arr 17:27

(Hbf translates to Main Train Station)

 

As for 300mph, the trains don't go that fast. While some European high speed trains (French TGV, Dutch/Belgian Thalys, Spanish AVE) trains might hit or slightly exceed 300 kmph (200mph), the ICE (InterCity Express) shown above will probably be around 200 kmph or about 130 mph; you'll see plenty. Even at 300kmph, it's amazing how much you still see.

[Twickenham]

Well, next Friday I'm taking the Eurostar to Brussels so I can fly out of BRU instead of LHR and save $250 in taxes, so your plan makes perfect sense to me :D.

[DMCinSJC]

Thanks for the replies, links, clarifications, additional information and most importantly, the reassurance that this wasn't a completely crazy idea.

 

I am looking forward to adding this experience to our trip!

 

Happy & safe travels to you all!

 

Sent from my SM-N900V using Forums mobile app

[LHT28]

Can you not just connect in a US airport on the way to AMS ??

[FreestyleNovice]

Can you not just connect in a US airport on the way to AMS ??

 

AMS is Delta/KLM Skyteam all over. Just a few United Star Alliance and former/soon te be AA US Airways One World flights fly to here so I guess the possibilities are limited for OP.

 

The German trick should be fine. But.. I would prefer an hotel or at least refreshing shower before getting on the train after a long redeye flight from SFO. ;)

[LHT28]

AMS is Delta/KLM Skyteam all over. Just a few United Star Alliance and former/soon te be AA US Airways One World flights fly to here so I guess the possibilities are limited for OP.

 

 

Sorry I am not good with guessing what their FF plan is with

Just an options if it works if not OH WELL

 

I like to keep things simple others like more adventure

 

To each their own

 

Lyn

[FreestyleNovice]

Sorry I am not good with guessing what their FF plan is with

Just an options if it works if not OH WELL

 

I like to keep things simple others like more adventure

 

To each their own

 

Lyn

 

Heheh, neither am I. ;)