Maastricht to Koln

[dggar]

I will be in a party of 3 adults (2 over 60) who wish to travel between Maastricht and Koln ,mid afternoon or early evening, on Friday 18th November. The member under 60 will be making the return journey on Sunday 20th November.

I would be grateful if anyone can advise the best route, mode of public transport and best fares and where to obtain tickets for the journey. I am resident in the UK.

Thanks in advance.

 

[AndrewE]

The DB journey planner
https://www.bahn.com/i/view/GBR/en/index.shtml
says it is about 2 1/2 hrs via varying routes, but doesn't quote all the fares, I assume because it's an international journey. Seems like 25 to 32 Euros single.

 

[MisterT]

Book the whole journey with Deutsche Bahn, NMBS Europe or NS International. You can pay by credit card on all websites.

The cheapest way for the Maastricht - Köln part is via Heerlen, Herzogenrath and Aachen, at €57 for the three of you.
For the return part you can choose between the cheapest (€19, Köln - Dusseldorf by train and Dusseldorf - Maastricht by Bus), the fastest (€30, by Thalys from Köln to Liège/Luik, change there for Maastricht), or via Aachen, Herzogenrath and Heerlen at €25.

 

[30907]

Book the whole journey with Deutsche Bahn, NMBS Europe or NS International. You can pay by credit card on all websites.

The cheapest way for the Maastricht - Köln part is via Heerlen, Herzogenrath and Aachen, at €57 for the three of you.
For the return part you can choose between the cheapest (€19, Köln - Dusseldorf by train and Dusseldorf - Maastricht by Bus), the fastest (€30, by Thalys from Köln to Liège/Luik, change there for Maastricht), or via Aachen, Herzogenrath and Heerlen at €25.

Sorry, the only €19 fares I can find are using the bus, and they are Advance fares, booked service only.
For the outward trip, guessing that you don't want an inflexible ticket, I suggest travelling on Regional trains. Maastricht via Heerlen to Herzogenrath costs €8.30 each.
For the onward journey a regional day ticket ((NRW Schöner Tag Ticket) at €43 for the three of you will give you unlimited travel on Regional trains buses trams etc for the rest of the day over a vast area. You can book it online in advance or pay cash at the machine.
There is a frequent express bus Maastricht to Aachen, and I expect there is a direct service from the airport too. Then the same group ticket.
For the return journey a single ticket is the only option.

 

[radamfi]

The 50 service from Maastricht to Aachen run by Veolia runs every 15 minutes Mon-Sat daytimes and every 30 minutes evenings and Sundays and stops at the following stops:

http://wiki.ovinnederland.nl/wiki/Lijn_50_Maastricht_Station_-_Aachen_Hauptbahnhof

so it is a local bus as far as Vaals (the border) then only main stops to Aachen station.

Here is the timetable:

http://avv.de/files/avv/files/fahrplaene/linienfahrplaene/050_veolia.pdf

You can get a

Daldagkaart Zuid-Limburg bus + enkeltje grensoverschrijdend

(Veolia off-peak day ticket + single international trip)

for 6.00 euros. You can get this ticket on the bus. That gives you unlimited travel on buses after 9am weekdays (all day weekends) in the Netherlands south of Echt, plus a one-way trip to Germany, so that would cover you for the whole trip from Maastricht to Aachen, plus from Maastricht airport if that is where you are coming from

https://www.veolia-transport.nl/lim...en/buskaarten/dagkaarten-z-limburg/index.html

If you happen to have an OV-Chipkaart, that is valid on the whole route, even in Germany, but the fare is 6.50, so it is cheaper to get a ticket on the bus.

 

[Groningen]

so it is a local bus as far as Vaals (the border) then only main stops to Aachen station.

It is forbidden for the dutch driver to pick up passengers in Germany. So only folks that want to leave the bus.

 

[dggar]

I'm puzzled as to why the DB site only seems to display fares on some trains. Is there a setting to get it to display fares for all of the trains shown?

 

[Groningen]

Maybe; just maybe it is that certain area is than part of a Verkehrsverbund.

 

[30907]

I'm puzzled as to why the DB site only seems to display fares on some trains. Is there a setting to get it to display fares for all of the trains shown?

No. As Groningen says, it only displays fares where DB fares apply. In large parts of Germany local services are specified by a Passenger Transport Association or Verkehrsverbund which has its own tariff structure, usually for all modes of transport, and almost always cheager than the DB Class C regional tariff which is distance based. The tariff is published in a PDF fares manual somewhere on the DB site.

 

[tannedfrog]

It is forbidden for the dutch driver to pick up passengers in Germany. So only folks that want to leave the bus.

Even on the way back?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
I think the EUregio ticket is worth a plug here as well.

A Euregio ticket is a day ticket:

which allows you to use public transport (train, tram and bus) within the Euregio (Liege-Limburg-Aachen and Maastricht) for 1 day
price: € 16,50
validity: for 1 person (Monday to Friday) and for small groups to a maximum of 2 adults and 3 children (on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays)
on sale in the stations for the routes involved

https://www.b-europe.com/Travel/Promotions/Discounts/Cross-border traffic/Euregio

 

[30907]

Even on the way back?

Groningen was specifically discussing the outward journey!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I think the EUregio ticket is worth a plug here as well.

Indeed it is, though perhaps not for the OP's purpose.

 

[dutchflyer]

To cut the cost: for FROm Aachen-buy the NRW-Group day ticket (about 39 eur, max 5 people-too lazy to check now) and its valid ALL day (from 9.00 mo-fr) in ALL of NRW-on LOCAL trains (NO EC/Thalys/ICE) and also all local bus/tram/metro etc. use machine-takes also all credit cards. (from desk it cost 2 eur more).
A normal single is now to VRS-verbundtariff- max zones, 17,50/single (incl all local transp. also on destination to HTL or whatever).

 

[30907]

To cut the cost: for FROm Aachen-buy the NRW-Group day ticket (about 39 eur, max 5 people-too lazy to check now) and its valid ALL day (from 9.00 mo-fr) in ALL of NRW-on LOCAL trains (NO EC/Thalys/ICE) and also all local bus/tram/metro etc. use machine-takes also all credit cards. (from desk it cost 2 eur more).

It's EUR43 now, see post #4.

 

[atillathehunn]

Shout out to my adopted home town.

If you need any tips or tricks for your visit, shoot me a PM.

There is a lot of construction work going on at the central station, so leave extra time to find where the bus departs.

The bus is by far and a way the best connection to Germany from our part of the world. As others said, thence pick up the regular trains from Aachen HBF to Cologne. The Maastricht bus stops right outside the station in Aachen.