London to Hamburg anyone

[Phoenix]

Basically next year I plan to go from London St pancras to Hamburg and well so far all I know is that.

1.It will involve going on a night train.
2.I think there may be a way of buying the whole journey for actually cheaper than the individual connections.

So I could do with some advice basically I need some info on some good websites or even holiday companies that will be perfect for my needs as I need to make this whole thing as cheap as I can (although I understand this won't be cheap)

Cheers.

 

[Pumbaa]

Head over to Thalys - I've used them in the past when heading into der Fuhrers state. I'm sure someone else who travels on the continent can give you a better HU though.

 

[Polarbear]

Your best bet for planning anything continential is this excellent website;

http://www.seat61.com/

 

[paul1609]

Dont get too taken in by their projections of CO2 and the enviromental benefits of train travel though. Many of their claims are pure eco-fantasy!

 

[A60K]

Basically next year I plan to go from London St pancras to Hamburg and well so far all I know is that.

1.It will involve going on a night train.
2.I think there may be a way of buying the whole journey for actually cheaper than the individual connections.

So I could do with some advice basically I need some info on some good websites or even holiday companies that will be perfect for my needs as I need to make this whole thing as cheap as I can (although I understand this won't be cheap)

Cheers.

My first call would be to Deutsche Bahn's UK office - www.bahn.co.uk - they'll have all the info on SparPreis fares, the advance purchase bargains. Rail Europe and Thalys sites are OK if you're going to Cologne, not so good for elsewhere in Germany. DB UK can also do you Eurostar tickets at the same time if you want. It might possibly be worth getting a BahnCard 25 as well, which gives you 25% discount on all DB tariffs within Germany, and now the BC comes with RailPlus included, which gives you 25% discount on all TCV international fares across Europe. RailPlus discount would also be available on TCV tickets for travel in Great Britain (open return, valid two months) bought in connection with 'Global' priced tickets, i.e. Eurostar - meaning you get a true anytime return for around the Saver (sorry, Off Peak) return rate, depending on where you're travelling in GB.

 

[BRX]

I'd suggest you check with Eurostar to see what they can offer for a London-Cologne ticket ; they can sell you a through ticket for that part of the journey.

Then check on the DB website www.bahn.de which has an english version to see what you can get from Cologne to Hamburg.

Or, if you'd rather have an agent sort it out for you, phone Deutsche Bahn UK as suggested above. The advantage of doing it like this is that you don't have to spend ages faffing about on websites, and also they can probably sell you a through ticket which has more guarantee of no extra cost being incurred if one leg of your journey is delayed (which can be the case if you book the journey yourslef in several separate legs). On the other hand, if you do it yourself on the web, you might (not necessarily) find a cheaper deal.

Also look at www.seat61.com as suggested above.

 

[gordonthemoron]

Have used www.bahn.co.uk for booking london-hamburg, very cheap (free actually, they forgot to charge my credit card .

BTW, bahncards no longer give discounts on german nighttrains

 

[Chilled Phill]

Have used www.bahn.co.uk for booking london-hamburg, very cheap (free actually, they forgot to charge my credit card .

BTW, bahncards no longer give discounts on german nighttrains

hock:hock:hock:

Wow, a TOC that forgets to charge it's passengers. Now that's my kinda train company...

 

[Zamracene749]

If you are happy to travel by sleeper (and very comfy they are too) this is the page you want- much cheaper than individual fares or anything web bookable.

http://www.bahn.de/nachtzugreise/view/en/angebote/partner/eurostar_en.shtml

You will need to phone db uk to book- Phone: 08718/808066 (8p per min.); Mon - Fri 9 am to 5 pm- my tickets were sent out by post within 2 days.

Prices may have risen slightly as i believe you now need to change in Paris rather than Brussels.

Happy travelling!

 

[gordonthemoron]

You still change in Brussels for hamburg & berlin. Change in Paris for Munich

 

[Gerald Fiennes]

Sadly, the Brussels to Hamburg sleeper train is no more. It was axed in December, so your best route is to go to Cologne on an ICE or Thalys and then get an ICE there.

The current lowest fare from St. Pancras to Cologne is £79 which, in theory, is bookable via www.eurostar.com but as other posts suggest you will probably find it easier to use the DB Booking Centre in Surbiton who are normally very good.

The Bahn Card is a good idea but is designed for people who make two or more trips a year and so costs a fair bit. You can simply get advanced purchase tickets (Sparpreise), which are not too expensive (although are certainly not cheap). By looking on www.bahn.de, you may be able to find some through Sparpreise fares from Brussels to Hamburg and, in theory, you can book these directly by creating an account with DB's Internet service. Again though you might find it easier to check the availability on the website but book via Surbiton.

Gute reise!

 

[D841]

You shouldn't need to use a night train to do the trip. Eurostar to Brussels, Thalys/ICE to Cologne and then an IC from there to Hamburg should be easily do-able in the daytime.

Of course, if you want to save money, flying may well be cheaper.

 

[Zamracene749]

Flying will , sadly, be much cheaper and faster.
Ryanair STN to BRE for about 20 quid each way all in, then a ten minute tram ride to the Hbf and a 146 hauled metronom to Hamburg. Tickets available at BRE airport(the proper bit, not the Ryanair warehouse).
Or BA LHR -HAM, then 20 mins on the new s-bahn link, flights at the mo about 120 quid return.
Nowhere near as much fun and atmostphere as the train though.....

PS If you do go via Bremen(and you're old enough), do try a glass of Becks in one of the bars under the Hbf- tastes so much better than the bottled stuff we get in the uk....

 

[33056]

St Pancras to Hamburg easily do-able in one day

This is from the DB Travel service for next Monday, does not give prices though.

London St. Pancras International Mo, 12.01.09 dep 07:10 EST 9110 EUROSTAR
Subject to compulsory reservation, Special ticket or supplement required, Please observe check-in times, Non-smoker train, Bistro Cafe
Bruxelles-Midi Eurostar Mo, 12.01.09 arr 10:31
Bruxelles-Midi Eurostar Mo, 12.01.09 dep 10:31 transfer 18 min.
Bruxelles-Midi Mo, 12.01.09 arr 10:49
Bruxelles-Midi Mo, 12.01.09 dep 11:59 ICE 15 Intercity-Express
Bordbistro
Köln Hbf Mo, 12.01.09 arr 14:15 4
Köln Hbf Mo, 12.01.09 dep 14:49 2 ICE 651 Intercity-Express
Bordrestaurant
Hannover Hbf Mo, 12.01.09 arr 17:28 9
Hannover Hbf Mo, 12.01.09 dep 17:36 8 D-G ICE 586 Intercity-Express
Bordrestaurant
Hamburg Hbf Mo, 12.01.09 arr 18:53 12a/b

Apologies for the formatting, can't get it any more user-friendly that this. If you go to the link above, you can type in your own enquiry if you know what dates and times you are going.

BTW, this is the best journey planner in Europe IMHO.

 

[D841]

St Pancras to Hamburg easily do-able in one day

This is from the DB Travel service for next Monday, does not give prices though.


Apologies for the formatting, can't get it any more user-friendly that this. If you go to the link above, you can type in your own enquiry if you know what dates and times you are going.

BTW, this is the best journey planner in Europe IMHO.

Curious that it's routing Cologne to Hamburg via Hannover! There's still an hourly direct IC service via Bremen as far as I know, and it's probably cheaper, as it's a shorter route, too. This journey planner might be good, but it seems to be aimed at maximising revenue for DB (I note it doesn't offer a THALYS connection from Brussels to Cologne, either, but I haven't checked to see if there is one at that time).

 

[33056]

The DB planner normally gives the fastest route in default mode, though you can specify certain routes, longer connecting times and "means of transport". With the latter you can specify travel without ICE or only using local trains for example.

The price difference is not much, 87 Euro on the ICE via Hannover (dep Köln 1449, arr Hamburg 1853 with one change at Hannover) and 78 Euro on an IC train leaving at 1511, arriving at 1912 and going direct. Of course, most cranks would opt for the IC move

 

[Aussie_Rail]

St. Pancras to Cologne for £79 works out to be $AUD172 which that distance is about 500km; Thats not that bad I reckon, how much would it cost if you were to fly there?

For me to travel 500km give or take by train would get me to Cootamundra in NSW, about 350km from Sydney and it would cost me about $AUD60.00 which is £27.50 mind you though thats travelling on the XPT so there's no changing trains and any connections.


AR

 

[Zamracene749]

Approx 70 quid each way to travel today, easyjet Gatwick to Cologne
Advance purchase (2 months ahead)20 quid each way. Check out skyscanner or kayak for cheap flight info, those are the two websites i use most often they are normally pretty good.

St. Pancras to Cologne for £79 works out to be $AUD172 which that distance is about 500km; Thats not that bad I reckon, how much would it cost if you were to fly there?

 

[Aussie_Rail]

Thats pretty good, although I'd prefer to take the train, you see more of the country side along the way, but then again if the plane is flying low enough you might get a pretty good view.


AR