RachWC3

We just booked our flights for a trip next year and now we need to figure out how to work the rails to travel in and between our stops. Not sure what the best options would be. We started to look at the rail pass but not sure how many travel days to get or if this is the best option. Any advice would be much appreciated-here is roughly what our trip will look like:


April 27-Fly into Amsterdam;
28-29-stay in Amsterdam (no trips planned out of city);
30- May 1-train to Bacharach, stay in Bacharach-plan to do river cruise and trains around the area;
2-3-train to Brussels, stay in Brussels;
3-6-train to Bayeux, stay in Bayuex and plan to travel around the Normandy region (ie-Mont St. Michele);
7-9-train to Paris (plan to stay in city but may take a day trip?);
10-fly home

PalenQ

You would certainly want to look at the Eurail Select Saverpass - good in Benenlux (Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg), Germany and France for this type of itinerary.

I always recommend two fine sites for lots of objective info on European rail travel and passes - sites that have much more than the usual pass prices and add to cart button to click on: www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com - the latter lets you download their free European Planning & Rail Guide, a fine primer on using European trains and railpasses - they also have a toll-free phone where experts answer any rail/pass questions IMO.

For prices in Europe go to www.bahn.de - the German Rail site for fares for Amsterdam-Bacharach and Bacharach to Belgium

www.voyages-sncf.com for French fares

The pass allows travel on practically any train any time in Benelux and Germany - just hop on - in France some lines like TGVs require reservations but trains to Normandy and back from Paris generally do not.

Dukey

Geographically you are backtracking but if that works best for you then OK

you might input your itinerary at www.railpass.com or www.railsaver.com and see if point-to-point tickets would be more economical.

However, if you do get a pass it would be good for some of the Rhine boat trips.

PalenQ

rather than 2-3 days in Brussels i and i believe most would concur that 1 day or even 2 in nearby Bruges would be better- Bruges being one of the most incredibly gorgeous cities in Europe - canals - ancient Flemish facades in what was once one of the world's greatest ports until its port silted up

An incredibly romantic place - Brussels to me is one of the most un-romantic cities in Europe (and many will also concur with that)

GeoffHamer

If you're travelling next year, there's no way of knowing what rail passes might be available or what they might cost. The tickets on offer have changed several times over the years. Train timetables change little from one year to the next, so you can plan where you want to go, but leave the tickets till next year.

Russ

I don't think you need a railpass. Belgian tix are quite cheap and your distances not that long altogether. Here's some help with the first couple of legs:

LEG 1: A'dam - Bacharach: High end estimate, about 65 Euros each, low-end around 40.

It's about 24 Euros from A'dam to Venlo (Dutch/German border town) according to www.ns.nl (dutch railway site.)

On 5/30 you can use a "Happy weekend" Ticket to get to Bacharach on the slower regional trains (17 euros each if you're a couple) or regular tix (about 40 Euros each acc. to www.bahn.de .)

Leg 2: Bacharach-Bruges: about 60 euros each.

Figure about 40 Euros back to the border, 18 euros from there all the way to Bruges.

You can guesstimate the other legs on your own using www.b-rail.be and www.sncf.fr

PalenQ

The French portion is the part that could make a Eurail Select Pass be viable.

And Happy Weekend Tickets do not include the K-D boats on the Rhine, at least i believe they do not, as a Eurail Select Pass would.

I would not dismiss the Eurail Select Pass out of hand.

hetismij

The day you are planning to leave Amsterdam, 30th April, so not a good one - that is Queens Day and the city will be full of people, the trains will be running a different schedule, and all in all you may prefer to enjoy the festivities that day, or leave a day earlier.

PalenQ

Queens Day was one of the best travel days i've ever experience - a great citywide festival - bands everywhere, even on boats - a citywide flea market where anyone can stake out a spot to sell practically anything

IMO be in Amsterdam on the 30th and not thus miss out on a very very special event

RachWC3

We actually just did some research on Queens Day and have changed our plans to stay in Amsterdam for this and have decided not to do the overnight in Brussels. I am very excited for this!

Thanks for all the information! This has been very helpful.

PalenQ

You will not regret staying for Queen's Day - really an astounding event IMO - unique in the world

PalenQ

Koninginnedag - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The largest celebration of Queen's Day is in Amsterdam and of Queen's Night in The Hague. During the celebrations as reference to the colours of the House ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queens_day_-_The_Netherlands - 48k

PalenQ

But if you are planning on taking a train from Amsterdam Centraal Station on queen's Day forget it as the station has been totally closed down on that day the past few years due to incredible overcrowding

Thalys trains are aborted at Schiphol i think, etc.

I was on a train in central station one Queen's Day before they started shutting down the station and witnessed an incredible overcrowding of mainly young orange-clad folk, many carrying cases of Heineken pour out of trains and swamping the platform

Later in the day they closed the station.

And of course all trams and buses in the centrum are shut due to the crowds as well

pinkyfin

Hi RachWC3

I found an article that can probably help. It breaks down how to choose which pass to get including how many flexi days and all. Even better than the article though are some really handy charts that give you point-to-point ticket prices to judge if a pass is the best choice.
Check it out at www.noambit.com or here:
http://noambit.typepad.com/my_weblog...imes-this.html

DalaiLlama

Here's a more manageable version of that monster URL in pinkyfin's post:

http://tinyurl.com/dh9xmn

(In case this is news - go to www.tinyurl.com and input any long URL to get a shorter version - free, easy, handy).

Also handy for figuring out if a railpass is the way to go:

www.railsaver.com

and there is a rough but handy ready-reckoner for price comparisons (and other good info) at
www.ricksteves.com

pinkyfin

Wow, thanks Dalai!
I had never heard of that. Sorry about the long url. Hoped the suggestion helped though.