Dutch Rail Advice

[stuartmoss]

Hi All, I'm off to Amsterdam for 4 days between Christmas and the New Year, and want to use it as a hub for exploring the country. Does anyone know of any special tourist tickets that might cover me for the period, or advance offers / deals through the web that might be useful?

I went there in the early 2000s and had a country wide ticket that allowed unlimited travel on 3 out of 7 days, but can't remember any more details. Anything of that ilk would be super.

Cheers!

 

[30907]

I'm sure another user will be along with better info soon, I'm not familiar with NL, but for starters:

Interrail one country (actually all BeNeLux) pass is EUR119 for 3 days, 150 for 4 days. Not valid if you are resident in those countries (!).

There was a one-day Dagkaart at EUR47 but you can now only get this loaded onto the OV-Chipkaart which is an Oyster-type card.

The day ticket is sometimes available at a big discount in a promotion with a retailer but I've not spotted one lately.

The other thing to be aware of is that NS ticket machines dont accept non-NL cards (unless you have Maestro).

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Buying tickets at the window means a 50 cent surcharge ! (not sure how the "buy on train" works , whilst checks are quite robust , everyone has always had a ticket !) - fares are not unreasonable , around 3.20E from Schipol and Amsterdam to Hoorne return was around 17.0E

Supplements on the Flyra services (which explains why they are often lightly loaded from say Amsterdam CS to Schipol)

 

[reb0118]

Interrail one country (actually all BeNeLux) pass is EUR119 for 3 days, 150 for 4 days. Not valid if you are resident in those countries (!).

I suppopse if you get the dutch flyer service then you would have (sort of) five days travel as dutch flyer ticket offers a free run to any stop in the Nederlands.

I have been told that Utrecht is a much more centraal base for rail bashing in NL ~ and also has the national rail museum.

 

[stuartmoss]

Thanks everyone for your very helpful replies!

 

[atillathehunn]

I'm not sure if any supermarket is selling them at the moment, but often they offer Dagkaart tickets for under €20 which is a bargain.

I will keep my eyes out and let you know if any are likely to start selling them soon. Other than that, as someone above says you can buy a Dagkaart for full price otherwise of €47ish euro. Not too sure it's worth getting an OV card as they require a balance of €20 to use on the mainline trains.

Beware that at the moment the trains have gone a bit haywire with the snow!

 

[Greenback]

I saw reports at lunchtime that a special timetable had been introduced today due to the weather.

 

[atillathehunn]

Yes, they have introduced a new 'emergency' timetable. There is a new timetable out anyway with the timetable change, but this is because the weather has screwed things up a bit. But I just got an email from the NS which says that on most routes there are two intercity trains per hour instead of 4 where applicable. Most sprinters should run, with the exception of Rotterdam - Hook.

They also offer a pretty good money back offer if your train is more than an hour late.

 

[EWS 58038]

Have a look at this:
http://www.treinkaartkorting.nl/ns-dagkaart.php €21,99 for one person Valid on trains operated by ALL TOC's excluding Thalys. For FYRA and ICE a supplement is required

OR... (official site operated by national rail)
Day travel card for 2 persons including coffee/tea and a very unhealthy but delicious snack. € 34,-
NOTE: Not valid on trains of the following TOC's: Arriva, Connexxion, Syntus, Breng en Veolia, Thalys.
Valid on TOC's: NS, FYRA* ICE*

*Supplement required (usually a few euro's)
http://www.spoordeelwinkel.nl/product/november/toervoordeel

Don't know if it works, so you might want to try with 1 ticket. If that woks... get the other three.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

not sure how the "buy on train" works

It means the maximum fare plus a 35 euro fine for not having a ticket, so be warned and do go that way.

 

[Stonesourscotty]

In my 4 days of Travelling i only got my tickets checked once and that was between Eindhoven and Rotterdam and even then he stamped my any dutch station to hook ticket which i found odd?

Also When travelling from Hook the train was a newish smart styled train had the looks of a 175 but about 5 carriages? infact on the line they all where... yet last monday they where skanky old trains.

There where numerous cancellations between Amsterdam and Rotterdam which wasnt announced definitely made me think the services where better in England.

 

[EWS 58038]

There where numerous cancellations between Amsterdam and Rotterdam which wasnt announced definitely made me think the services where better in England.

Silly season my friend... People tend to jump in front of trains more often these days....

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Fyra FIP pass add on , is a very reasonable 6 Euro.

Points failure at Schipol yesterday - the 1241 off AMS was around 25 late in reaction. The HS line really does make a difference to the journey time from Brussels , - it should make a real difference once patronage (light) builds up.

 

[radamfi]

There is a new walk up ticket for Fyra costing €39 between Amsterdam and Brussels called the 'jump-on ticket'. This compares to €25 for the cheapest non-flexible fare and €54 for the normal flexible fare.

http://www.nshispeed.nl/nl/reis-met-fyra/fyra-amsterdam-brussel/jumpon-ticket#

This ticket will exist until the end of April and can only be bought on the day of travel.

A reservation is included but you can use any train that day. The train is therefore no longer reservation only.