Safety on a Night Train from Amsterdam to Den Haag?
May 22nd, 2013, 11:52 PM
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Safety on a Night Train from Amsterdam to Den Haag?
Hi All!
I am traveling to Den Haag for a two-weeks training that starts at 9 AM the morning after I land at Schipol's airport and since my flight is arriving rather late at night (around 10 PM), I was wondering whether it will be safe for me to take a night train to Den Haag from the Amsterdam Central station. I read on the forum here that the streets around the Central train station are rather sleazy (although this information might be outdated in which case I will be only happy!). I am on a tight budget and would rather not spend the night in Amsterdam but was wondering what other travelers' experience was like, and what they would recommend.
Thank you in advance to you all!
I am traveling to Den Haag for a two-weeks training that starts at 9 AM the morning after I land at Schipol's airport and since my flight is arriving rather late at night (around 10 PM), I was wondering whether it will be safe for me to take a night train to Den Haag from the Amsterdam Central station. I read on the forum here that the streets around the Central train station are rather sleazy (although this information might be outdated in which case I will be only happy!). I am on a tight budget and would rather not spend the night in Amsterdam but was wondering what other travelers' experience was like, and what they would recommend.
Thank you in advance to you all!
May 23rd, 2013, 12:05 AM
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You don't need to go to Amsterdam Centraal - there's a direct train from Schiphol to Den Haag. Looks like it's every half hour. If you miss the last direct train, you can still get to Den Haag with a change in Leiden.
No need to spend the night in Amsterdam. Train Schiphol-Den Haag is only half an hour.
No need to spend the night in Amsterdam. Train Schiphol-Den Haag is only half an hour.
May 23rd, 2013, 01:12 AM
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Thanks a bunch for the info! I didn't check the Schiphol's airport transportation options but I will definitely look into it, as it seems like the most convenient way to get to Den Haag. Thank you!
May 23rd, 2013, 01:25 AM
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Thirty or so years ago, I and a friend arrived at the VVV near Centraal, looking for a room. We got one in a super-cheap place nearby.
The following morning, we discovered we'd both slept equally fitfully: the walls between rooms were paper thin, and other guests were extraordinarily noisy.
Because, of course, most other rooms were being rented out by the hour. As always with brothels, the regulars were scrupulously polite - and like most real cities in Europe, Amsterdam's sleaziest streets are just about the safest. Hookers know the police (I'm fighting hard against the temptation to add "intimately") and lobby for safety, while traders in the "neater" streets lobby for garbage collection and road cleaning. Few businesses elsewhere care much if a few tourists get pickpocketed, as long as the streets look clean.
Sleaze, in my experience (having lived round the corner from a London red light district most of my adult life), never means civilians are unsafe. Avoiding an area because the girls are plying for trade usually means missing the best value hotels and the most enjoyable low-cost pubs and restaurants.
Which said: even if the area weren't safe and there weren't frequent trains from Schiphol to The Hague (as it's called in English): why would you need to leave the station to change from the Schiphol train to the Hague train?
The following morning, we discovered we'd both slept equally fitfully: the walls between rooms were paper thin, and other guests were extraordinarily noisy.
Because, of course, most other rooms were being rented out by the hour. As always with brothels, the regulars were scrupulously polite - and like most real cities in Europe, Amsterdam's sleaziest streets are just about the safest. Hookers know the police (I'm fighting hard against the temptation to add "intimately") and lobby for safety, while traders in the "neater" streets lobby for garbage collection and road cleaning. Few businesses elsewhere care much if a few tourists get pickpocketed, as long as the streets look clean.
Sleaze, in my experience (having lived round the corner from a London red light district most of my adult life), never means civilians are unsafe. Avoiding an area because the girls are plying for trade usually means missing the best value hotels and the most enjoyable low-cost pubs and restaurants.
Which said: even if the area weren't safe and there weren't frequent trains from Schiphol to The Hague (as it's called in English): why would you need to leave the station to change from the Schiphol train to the Hague train?
May 23rd, 2013, 03:23 AM
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Have a look at www.ns.nl - click on English - to plan your journey. It seems you can only buy a ticket online if you have a Dutch bank account - I can't imagine why the Dutch railways don't accept credit cards online. At Schiphol you can pay with Mastercard or Visa.
There are two main stations in Den Haag - Centraal and Holland Spoor. Check which is closer to your hotel.
There are two main stations in Den Haag - Centraal and Holland Spoor. Check which is closer to your hotel.
I remember the name - the Parima. Went through a curtain to the left of the bar out front to get to the stairs to the room.
