Niann

Hi,there.I'm planning to go family trip on May with my family and we are 5 of us.Could anyone suggest me which is the best way to travel?train or rent a car?because my parents are coming along,dun't want them to get too tired so was thinking to rent a car,but we are not familiar to the environment. If we are travel by train is it too late to buy the tickets?
I had checked some website about the train but it is really confused me!
Please,really need some help!!

adrienne

Since you have a very short time and the first three destinations are cities you should use the train to get around. When you put in countries for destinations (Belgium and Germany) it's difficult to advise without knowing what town/city you're going to.

It's not too late to buy train tickets.

For tickets in Germany use this site:
http://www.bhpsnj.org/domain/133

For Belgium:
http://www.b-rail.be/main/E/index.php

You can read all about trains here:
http://seat61.com/

I think you're trying to do too much in 10 days - 3 major cities and an entire country. It won't be only your parents who are tired and you won't have time to see very much as you'll be on the move all the time.

treplow

With 5 of you in the party,you are probably better off renting a car, especially travelling with your parents. You don't want to get in a hassle trying to get 5 people on a train. Probably a van or or SUV woud fit the comfort and luggage needs of the whole party. Ford, Renault, Fiat, Chrysler have vehicles that should meet your needs. If you give us a better sense of your itinerary, and the reasons why you want to go to certain places, we could be of better help. Your current list is pretty generic, and duplicates places: Frankfurt, Duesseldorf ARE in Germany, for example.

If you travel by train, unless you are travelling long distances, it makes no sense to buy tickets in advance. You get better deals with discounted day tickets. For example,when you are in the State of Bavaria, you can get a Bavarian Ticket for EuR28 that allows all five of you to travel all day long, all over Bavaria, for one day. Certain restrictions apply, like travel cannot dtart on weekdays before 9AM, and you are restricted to Regio (local) trains.

You can check train schedules on www.bahn.de ; there is an English version, just "follow the flag".

adrienne

Sorry - I gave you the wrong link for the German trains. The correct one is above bahn.de and switch to English.

Niann

Thank you very much Adrienne and Treplow.
Actually,mainly we wanted to go visit Amsterdam for it beautiful turlips,but the flights are full now.so I'm thinking the alternative way to go to Amsterdam which is from any Germany city and also im thinking if i bought the BENELUX train tickets,why dont i fully make use of it! So,after I refered many websites,then I come out with this idea!

6th SUN            DXB-FRA-COLOGNE-DUS
Reach FRA by 9am.To cologne to explore the GOTHIC CATHEDRAL then transfer to DUS for overnight/overnight in FRA.

7th-8th MON-TUES      DUS-VENLO-AMS
Morning-take train to visit Floriade 2012-world horticultural expo.
Afternoon-Amsterdam.visit Dam Square,Royal Palace,the New Church and National monument.

9th WED          AMS
Zaanse Schans-Dutch village dotted with windmills and cottages.
                         -cheese farm 
                         -live wooden clog-making demo.
After that back to Amsterdam for canal cruise.

10th THURS          AMS
Giethoorn

11th FRI      AMS
Keukenof
kinderdijk

12th SAT            AMS-BRUGGES-BRUSSEL
Take intercity trains from Amsterdam central to Anterpen centrale then change intercity train to brugges,about 3.5 hrs

13th SUN      BRUSSEL
City tour

14th MON. BRUSSEL-FRA/DUS

15th TUES. FRA/DUS. FLy back home by 1500.

That's roughly what I'm going to do, Please give me some advice which can make my journey more pleasant.
THANK YOU.

adrienne

I don't understand day 1. You're getting off a plane, taking the train to Cologne. Then going to Dusseldorf and staying overnight in Frankfurt.

Then the next morning shows you leaving from Dusseldorf. Where are you staying the first night - Frankfurt or Dusseldorf?

Why are you doing to Dusseldorf? Can't you get to Floriade from Cologne or Frankfurt?

I don't understand the Frankfurt/Dusseldorf stuff. It's not like they're next to each other. Such as the 14th - Brussels to Frankfurt/Dusseldorf. Which one are you going to?

I also don't understand why you're buying Benelux tickets if you primarily want to visit Germany and Amsterdam. And then you're going to Belgium just because you're buying Benelux tickets? This is strange. German train tickets are very cheap when you buy them ahead. What is the advantage of buying Benelux tickets and are they valid in Germany?

The_lonely_traveler

Rent a car and don't overdo it.

For example, do you really think you can do the Floriade in the morning, than a 2 hour drive to Amsterdam and than enjoy the city? Let's say you leave the hotel in Dusseldorf at 9 AM. You'll prolly be in Venlo by 10. Visit Floriade until 2 PM. In amsterdam at 4 PM. That'll be quite a busy day!

If you do the above by public transport, you'll first have to get to the train, than train 1 hour 8 minutes, than wait for shuttle (where do you leave the luggage?), shuttle 15 minutes. That's 10:30 AM. Visit Floriade until 2:30 PM. Shuttle + train to Amsterdam, you'll be there at 4:45 PM if you're lucky (most probably you'll miss the train and will have to wait half an hour).

You just need to find a place to park the car and pay for it, but I expect it'll be faster and cheaper.

adrienne

You might also consider seeing the Aachen cathedral (rather than the one in Cologne). It's been so long since I've seen them that I can't remember which one is more spectacular. If you have a car it's just as easy to go from Frankfurt and then on to Venlo. Maybe someone can recommend one over the other.

Niann

Adrienne,I think if I'm close to you,I will be slapped ^^
That's just Im planning,if it doesn't work of course I will amend it.But,u know travel agency back home really plan this kind of itinerary.
The lonely traveler,thank you for drawing me clear picture I have to face.
I'm going to plan something better.

adrienne

OK Now it's beginning to make sense. You've revealed that a travel agency is planning this mess, not you. You should have been suspicious when you were put in two different towns at the same time. And now I understand why there are airport codes rather than town names.

I know that you think I was harsh but I really didn't understand much of what you were doing or the reason for it so that's why I was asking all the questions. I had hoped you would clarify which you did by mentioning the travel agency.

You should look at a map and at the driving times between each place. Add about 25% to the suggested driving times and add some time for rest stops. There are a couple of sites to use for driving in Europe.

viamichelin.com
mappy.com

If you have no reason to go to Dusseldorf then you should head toward Venlo and be closer to your destination for day 2.

PalenQ

If going by train no it is not too late and is never too late to buy tickets on practically any train in those countries. Thalys trains, which you do not have to take on your routing, do have a Byzantine fare structure where the early bird gets the worm and just show up you could pay tons more - check www.thalys.com for the cheapest fare and if doing it book as soon as possible.

And there is also a Germany-Benelux Railpass good on trains in Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg and Germany - all trains but on the Thalys there is a steep supplement - otherwise just hop on any train anytime and if traveling in such a part I would highly suggest first class so you can all find seating together - great sites for planning a train trip in those countries - www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.seaat61.com; www.ricksteves.com.

five folks and their luggage can be too much for a normal size car so if going by road get a large car with a large trunk or rooftop carrier (but do not put dogs up there!) - train can be relaxing and if going to big cities like Amsterdam you will find cars a liability and useless - hard to find parking and in Amsterdam it would cost about $30 a day if you do - trains go city center to city center and run so frequently that with a pass you could just show up at the station and hop any of the oft twice or more hourly trains.

PalenQ

If you have no reason to go to Dusseldorf then you should head toward Venlo and be closer to your destination for day 2.>

hey hey - Though I have been to Duesseldorf a zillion times on business IMO it is one of the least romantic German towns - most of the old town being blitzed it seems during WW2 and rebuilt in a rather blah modern fashion - but fashion could be a reason for coming here as lining the stately Ko are fancy world-famous fashion shops.

Oh D'dorf is a pleasant town but your time could be used better.