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Dutch trains special offers

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ScotGG

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I know it's very hard to find details of specials on Dutch railways but I did recently find a site that updated offers - often local only available in ticket offices. Quite obscure but very useful.

Does anyone know of latest offers or where to find them?
 
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dutchflyer

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These special offers nearly always consist of cheap off-peak daytickets, costing around 15/18 eur (valid mo-fr after 9.00-all dday sat/sun), BUT there is indeed a very big BUT:
they are NOT sold by NS or train-companies, but as customer-drawers by other shopchains, like supermarket AH, householdgoods Blokker, and today starting 27/9, a drugstore Kruidvat- 13,99, only valid sat/sun. So you need to scan folders and run if they go on sale.
Of course there is an easy way out: many are scalped and resold in the 2nd hand market for a few eur more- on an e-bay owned site named marktplaats.nl (tickets- NS or trein). Some are even arranged to be sold onward (this is illegal) after nr 1 has done his/her trip at a station, so nr 2 can travel later in the day.
That site treinreiziger lists them
Besides that NS itself has an e-shop spoordeelwinkel, where one can nearly always buy cheap-ish off-peak returns (mostly around 18/19 eur), plus some ''consumption'' in a national chain-cookies, sandwich etc. You do not need to use it. There is an even bigger BUT for you Brits: can only be paid using the Dutch banks direct online payment called I-deal.
Then there is that ultimate cheap: the GROUP ticket-which actually only needs at least 5-6 people to have the same Destination-not departure- for around 7-9 eur each. Facebook sites, mostly aiming temp. foreign students have been set up- they gather punters-mostly to populair towns like Ams/Rotterdam etc-you prove online youve paid (1 eur or so more for the organiser) and you get the code with which you can order the e-ticket and print it.
For anyone and aiming tourists-but not advertised at all-is the Holland travel Ticket- 59 eur flex or 39 eur off-peak: valid on ALL publ. transp. where chipcard is taken-incl bus/tram/metro and waterbus. Max return fare in 1 day is around 54/55 eur. Buy from any NS-machine selling tickets-cred cd taken, fee 50 cts more. This was introduced after pressure from parliament to help out the foreigners with this silly chipcard thing.
many Dutch relations can also be bought as e-ticket online by b-rail.be (Belgian rails=NMBS) as this takes cred crd without fee, thus circumventing the foreigner-fiendish attitude of NS.
Currently there is also a special offer for ANy BE station to ANY NL station for just 19 eur/single, 1 day, breaks allowed, not valid on Thalys, midweek: only mon-thur after 9.00. 33% further discount for junior<26. Untill around 5/10.
 

Groningen

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Shall i give you an example why i only travel on these cards. From Groningen to Leeuwarden and Hoogeveen is nearly the same distance (54 and 58 kilometers). For both destinations you pay 10 euro one way ticket for 30 to 40 minutes of travel; and than you also have to return. With a special ticket i can travel on Sunday (the only day i am really free) from 6.46 till 1.25 the next day. On Saturday the window is 5.46 to 1.56. Sometimes there are also offers which include all busses and trams in the Netherlands.
 

Groningen

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evening single for 9 euros

It is a daypass (no single/no return) for the whole of the Netherlands after 18.30 till the last train of that day. ICE/Intercity direct supplement; no Thalys. Last day valid is December 8, 2016.
 

LNW-GW Joint

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Many thanks for the great replies. That was the website I was looking for and lots of questions have been answered.
On the linked site I found an offer of an evening single for 9 euros. This looks perfect http://www.treinreiziger.nl/reizen/...aartje:_avond_vrij_treinen_voor_9_euro-147702

Windows Edge translator produces this interesting version: ;)
Enjoy an evening with the train on path? NS sells temporarily (until 4 October) the Evening Smoking ticket.
For 9 euros you can after 6:30 pm unlimited trains. The train trip must take place before or on 8 december 2016
 

HowardGWR

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Smoking?!

I wonder if it has something to do with formal evening wear. You know those quilt smoking jackets you see wealthy men wearing in old films when relaxing at home with a cigar? The Dutch word for that is a 'smoking'. The Dutch language does not recognise gerunds, so they often use an English gerund as a noun. (E.g. (the) Bowling, (the) Camping).

As the Dutch on that page referred to 'Avond vrij' (free evening) I just wondered if that was the connection.

Any better ideas?
 

ScotGG

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Could this be used on Eindhoven Airport trains as well?
 

Groningen

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The Lidl in Germany has today 2 single tickets with ICE for 49,90 euro. Not on Friday.

lidl-bahnticket.png
 

AlexNL

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I have no idea what the built-in translator in Edge is doing, it looks like they're translating things literally. In Dutch, "met de trein op pad (gaan)" means "(to go) on a trip by train". Edge translates it as "with the train on path"...

But it baffles me how they ever managed to translate "Avond vrij" (Free evening, a night off) into "Smoking" (as in the act, or maybe a tuxedo?)...
 

ScotGG

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Thanks. in the end I couldn't book after spending a long time planning. Only available to Dutch citizens with bank restrictions!
 

radamfi

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Thanks. in the end I couldn't book after spending a long time planning. Only available to Dutch citizens with bank restrictions!

There is the Holland Travel Ticket available to anyone for 39.00 after 9am weekdays, all day weekends, giving unlimited travel on train/tram/bus/metro nationwide:

https://www.ns.nl/producten/en/alleen-te-koop-via-station-of-kaartautomaat/p/holland-travel-ticket

If you get the Hoek van Holland ferry, you can get day tickets on the boat for about 17.00, train only. A similar ticket was available from Eindhoven airport last time I was there for about 23.00, including free bus to and from the airport.
 
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Groningen

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Remember that next year Hoek van Holland - Rotterdam Centraal will not be NS anymore, but Randstadrail. So trainticket not anymore valid.
 

AlexNL

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I'm pretty sure they'll come up with a new offer by then.
 

ScotGG

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There is the Holland Travel Ticket available to anyone for 39.00 after 9am weekdays, all day weekends, giving unlimited travel on train/tram/bus/metro nationwide:

https://www.ns.nl/producten/en/alleen-te-koop-via-station-of-kaartautomaat/p/holland-travel-ticket

If you get the Hoek van Holland ferry, you can get day tickets on the boat for about 17.00, train only. A similar ticket was available from Eindhoven airport last time I was there for about 23.00, including free bus to and from the airport.

It's of no use to me though at that inflated cost. I only need a one way for a 1 hour trip. The standard price seems very high so I wanted a special offer ticket.
 

Groningen

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At this moment at all the Albert Heijn stores an offer to good to be true. 15 euro / 11,74 British Pound for travel on the Dutch railways from Friday 18.30 till Monday 4 in the morning. Yes; 57,5 hours of traveltravel (traintravel)! One free coffee with every ticket!

http://www.ah.nl/ns > Supplement on Intercity Direct and ICE; never on Thalys.
 
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