train from paris to amsterdam

It may well be lots lots more expensive to wait until shortly before the train to buy a Thalys train ticket Paris to Amsterdam - go to www.thalys.com or www.voyages-sncf.com and look at the online fares that may well offer a deep discount over full price - but those cheaper tickets go fast so the early bird does get the worm - saving you perhaps $100 each or so if you just buy a ticket a few days before the train in paris. The Thalys train takes just about 3.5 hours between Paris' Gare du Nord and Amsterdam's Cenraal station and tghey run about hourly.

for lots of great info on European trains and Thalys, etc I always spotlight these fantastic sites - www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

It may well be lots lots more expensive to wait until shortly before the train to buy a Thalys train ticket Paris to Amsterdam - go to www.thalys.com or www.voyages-sncf.com and look at the online fares that may well offer a deep discount over full price - but those cheaper tickets go fast so the early bird does get the worm - saving you perhaps $100 each or so if you just buy a ticket a few days before the train in paris. The Thalys train takes just about 3.5 hours between Paris' Gare du Nord and Amsterdam's Cenraal station and tghey run about hourly.

for lots of great info on European trains and Thalys, etc I always spotlight these fantastic sites - www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

Hello

thank you for the information. I went on to www.voyages-sncf.com but the language is in French. Is there an English version? I went on www.thalys.com but the dates in August were all crossed out.

Go to the bottom of the voyages-sncf.com homepage and look for the little flags on the right side of the page. Click the British flag and you will get the English version. You can only start buying Thalys tickets 90 days before you plan to travel. So if plan on traveling the first of August, start looking around the first of May.

Hello

Thank you for your help. I have another question. How do I travel from Amsterdam to London? Do I book the local train from Amsterdam to Brussels and then book the Thalys train from Brussels to London? thanks

If you are interested in flying to London from Amsterdam - we flew Easyjet from Amsterdam to London Gatwick for about 30 euros. The transfer from Centraal station in Amsterdam to Schiphol airport was fairly quick and inexpensive. On arrival at Gatwick we had pre-booked an Easybus transfer for 4 pounds each which took us quite close to the West Brompton Tube stop.

With the transfer, flight and bus I am not sure how it compares time-wise to taking the train but I think it could be cheaper. If you do fly Easyjet be aware of their strict policies on checking in on time and carry-on limits.

If you are going by train to London then you get the Thalys to Brussels and the Eurostar from there. You can book it all on a single ticket.

Flying is easier and possibly cheaper, whether to Gatwick, Heathrow or London City.

Is it better to pick up the tickets in Amsterdam (despite ordering online) or should one select "US" when ordering?

Three ways to get from Amsterdam to London:

(1) Train - Book the Eurostar portion first. Choose the "Any Dutch Station" option. It will give you an Eurostar booking from Brussels Midi-Zuid station to London St. Pancras. You can use that booking to travel for "free" from any station in the Netherlands (e.g., Amsterdam Centraal) up to 24 hours before your Eurostar leaves Brussels. This "free" ticket Amsterdam to Brussels only applies for ICE trains (the non-high speed ones); you print out your Eurostar ticket and show that to the train conductor in the Netherlands. If you want the Thalys (high speed) train, you will have to pay separately for that. Again, book that after you book your Eurostar ticket. Advantage of booking ICE + Eurostar: saves money. Advantage of booking Thalys + Eurostar: if for some reason your Thalys is delayed, Eurostar will put you on the next train without charge; if an ICE is delayed, they charge you the full last-minute fare.

(2) Ferry - http://www.seat61.com/Netherlands.htm explains this pretty well. You can take a day ferry or (my preference) overnight ferry. You would book "from any Dutch station" to "any NEEA station." What that gets you is a train ticket from Amsterdam Centraal (or wherever) to Hoek van Holland, then you board ferry, arrive Harwich and take train into London. All this is time consuming, but I actually enjoy the overnight ferry when I have time to spare. If you are booking with a credit card from the US, you will probably get an error message when you try to pay online, will need to call and they will charge your card and e-mail your confirmation. You print this out and this is what you show the train conductor in the Netherlands.

(3) Plane - This is pretty self-explanatory. Just book something from Schipol, not Eindhoven (Ryan Air flies out of Eindhoven and it is a bear to get to)

Re: picking up tickets vs mailing: My preference is the print at home option, *not* having the tickets mailed. Print at home means you will get an e-mail confirmation with a barcode on it, so you can print at your leisure and if you happen to lose it you can just print another copy in Amsterdam. Alternatively, choose to pick them up at the station, although of course that can take longer as you'll have to wait in the queue to do so.

Paris to Amsterdam:

From 35 euros in advance (max 90 days) up to about 90 euros on the day. So book early, like air fares, for the cheapest prices. Book at the English version of voyages-sncf.com, www.tgv-europe.com, but say you're from Canada if you really come from the US, to avoid being bumped to Rail Europe in the States.

For London-Amsterdam, the clever money takes the Dutch Flyer integrated train and ferry service. From £39 plus cabin charge (£26 or so for a single berth private cabin with shower/toilet, £42 odd for a 2-berth cabin), you leave central London at 7pm daily and arrive central Amsterdam at 10:03 next morning, an easy stroll away from your hotel. It effectively takes less time out of your schedule than flying, is far less hassle & far more relaxed, and saves an expensive hotel room in London or Amsterdam into the bargain. www.dutchflyer.com or www.seat61.com/Netherlands.htm

I am in the USA, and I booked my train ticket from Paris to Amsterdam directly on the www.thalys.com site in English without any problem.

As pointed out above, you can only buy tickets 90 days out. Check the "ticketless" option, and they send you an e-mail confirmation with a code on it that you show as your ticket.

cheryl - curious as to what you paid on the Thalys?

thanks

I paid 79e pp (158e for two) for a comfort 1 Smoove fare for early June.

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/thalys-trains-on-longer-journeys-first-class-or-second.cfm

That thread was asking about first vs. second class, and given what everybody said I went with first. There was no Smoove fare available on comfort 2, and I don't know if that means they sold out early or they aren't available on weekends or what (I'm traveling on a Sunday). But I checked the fares as soon as the 90 day window was open and the cheapest I could get was 65e pp on comfort 2.

ps- PalenQ, you are one of the people who posted on that thread saying that first class was worth the extra money, so I followed your advice. It was only 14e pp extra, so with the meal included it seems like we're getting a deal.

Hello,

Yes, you can just go to train station to buy the ticket directly there 4-5 days before, there are 6-8 thalys train daily from paris to amsterdam and about 13 normal train, so you do need to worry about not getting ticket.

However, when you purchase the ticket directly there, you pay normal full price, where if you purchase online, often there is great deal. Normal price about €78 one way, on online, you can get around €25 on good deal.

you may read more on details on http://www.TrainFromParisToAmsterdam.com

PalenQ, you are one of the people who posted on that thread saying that first class was worth the extra money, so I followed your advice. It was only 14e pp extra, so with the meal included it seems like we're getting a deal.>

Not sure it is always just that much more but in your case the meal you got had to be worth the 14 euros difference if not more - heck a glass of wine on a train can cost several euros.