Travel in Netherlands/Belgium?

[reb0118]

I am planning a wee Benelux (minus the Lux) group trip for next month. Cheap flights to Eindhoven & back with the Eurostar from Brussels. Most of us will have FIP coupons [NS/NMBS] but one chap will not. A Friday to Monday trip with Saturday & Sunday for travelling around and Monday for travelling from Eindhoven to Brussels to connect with the morning Eurostar on the Tuesday.

We wish to be flexible but wish to visit Utrecht, 's-Hertogenbosch, Nijmegen, Maastrict, & possibly Baarle Nassau/Hertog.

Would the Benelux Eurail pass (three days for 121€) offer any saving over point to point fares?

TIA

 

[biko]

It depends on the order you'd like to visit the cities. In the Netherlands, fares are distance-based, but the price per km decreases on longer journeys, so a journey from Maastricht to 's-Hertogenbosch would be cheaper than Maastricht to Eindhoven + Eindhoven to 's-Hertogenbosch. The regular prices for a return to these cities are:
Utrecht: €31
's-Hertogenbosch: €13.80
Nijmegen: €29.20
Maastricht: €36
Baarle Nassau (train part of the journey to Tilburg): €15.60

A single ticket from Eindhoven to Brussels is €18 if booked at least a week in advance online. This ticket is valid on any train on the day, but should be booked in advance. On the day itself it would cost €35.80.

To me, it sounds like a lot of travelling and you might not have much time in the cities. Also, if you would for example travel Eindhoven - Utrecht - Nijmegen - Eindhoven, you would save money compared to the return prices above. This roundtrip costs €15.50 + €15 + €14.60 = €45.10 instead of more than €60. So it really depends on your exact plans whether Eurail/Interrail is cheaper. If you would just return to Eindhoven after visiting every city, Eurail is cheaper by a small margin, but otherwise it probably is not.

Another note: these prices are if you buy e-tickets online or in the app or when using a ov-chipkaart (pay as you go smart card). If you buy them from a ticket machine, €1 is added per ticket.

 

[30907]

https://www.ns.nl/producten/en/onbeperkt-reizen/p/dagkaart
2x EUR 54 for a day ticket looks better value than an Interrail/Eurail while retaining flexibility.
ISTR there are sometimes discount-price day tickets from specific retailers.

 

[Spoorslag '70]

ISTR there are sometimes discount-price day tickets from specific retailers.

Sadly, they were phased out at some point last year...

A slightly cheaper alternative to the "normal" day rover would be the Holland Travel Ticket (https://www.ns.nl/producten/en/onbeperkt-reizen/p/holland-travel-ticket) which (despite it's name...) is valid on most (some ferries are excluded) public transport in the Netherlands - the off-peak version costs 42€. So that would be 84€ for Saturday and Sunday + 18€ for Eindhoven-Brussel.

 

[biko]

Sadly, they were phased out at some point last year...

Day rovers were phased out, and the promotional day returns are currently not available due to covid. The only promotional tickets at the moment include some sort of canal trip in certain cities only.

 

[reb0118]

Thanks for the above. All good information. It appears that two more non rail staff may join our party so this will affect the dynamics. As the ratio of rail staff to non rail staff was originally 3:1 we were going to subsidise the rail fares (in effect all paying 25% which corresponds to the UK priv discount). This seemed fair.

However with the ratio now being 1:1?....

So, it looks like the plans will be as follows:-

Friday: evening/night in Eindhoven.
Saturday: day trip to Baarle (with cycle hire from Tilburg).
Sunday: day trip to 's Hertogenbosch.
Monday: travel to Brussels (using the 18€ advance fare for non rail staff).
Tuesday: Eurostar home.

One of the prospective new travellers is a former resident of Tilburg so we are hoping to get some local knowledge.

Thanks again for your responses.

 

[biko]

In that case, the normal fares are cheapest, so €15.60 to Tilburg and €13.80 to 's-Hertogenbosch return per person. Combined with €18 single to Brussels, it becomes €47.40 per person, so definitely not worth it to buy an interrail or Holland Travel Tickets. The only alternative I could think of is a group ticket, but that is for 4 to 7 persons travelling together and it only cheaper on longer distances.

The easiest way of buying these tickets is online or in the app and don't forget to buy the tickets to Brussels at least a week in advance. The Brussels tickets are available at https://www.nsinternational.com/en, the domestic tickets at https://www.ns.nl/en.

 

[reb0118]

Well that's the trip confirmed and almost fully booked. We will be based now in 's-Hertogenbosch for three nights before heading to Brussels for the final night.

I have some supplementary questions about the international ticket from Den Bosch to Brussels. We have to change at Breda, & can change again at Antwerpen to catch a faster service, but can we leave the stations (break of journey) for a few hours? Secondly as our hotel is outside Brussel Zuid can we double back to Centraal after checking in? (I've heard that International tickets to Brussels also give you travel in the central zone).

 

[biko]

The €18 ticket from 's-Hertogenbosch to Brussels is a so-called Early Bird fare. The only difference to the fully flexible fare is that you have to book it at least a week in advance and that the rules for refunds are a bit stricter. In the fare conditions, there is nothing stopping you from breaking your journey, as it explicitly says you can take any intercity or regional train on the day as long as you travel via the same border crossing (Hazeldonk grens in your case). I attached a screenshot of the conditions.

With respect to the Brussels zone, I am not sure if you can double back, but I know you are allowed to travel to any of the stations within the zone (overview: https://support-en.nsinternational....-antwerp,-bruges,-brussels,-leuven-and-liège?). On the site of Belgian Railways, I find the same information, also just mentioning it does not matter where you end your journey, but it does not state anything about routing. Maybe somebody else knows more about the exact conditions of this.

 

[Spoorslag '70]

From the conditions of a normal, domestic, Belgian ticket (https://cdn.belgiantrain.be/-/media/files/pdf/productfiches/nl/standard-ticket-nl--20200305.ashx):
"Als je vertrek- en/of bestemmingsstation* deel uitmaakt van een Zone*, kun je de ganse dag onbeperkt reizen binnen de zone* zonder deze te verlaten."
If your depature and/or your destination are within a zone, it allows unlimited travel within that zone for the whole day (but you are not allowed to leave the zone for travelling between two stations within it).

Or from NMBS International(https://www.b-europe.com/EN/Questions/Tickets)
"All international tickets departing from or arriving at Brussels (Midi/Zuid) are valid across the whole of the Brussels area. This means you do not need an additional ticket to travel by train between Brussels (Midi/Zuid) and other stations in Brussels. Your international ticket is all you need.

The Brussels area includes the following stations and stops: Arcades, Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Bockstael, Boondael, Bordet, Boitsfort, Brussels-Central, Brussels-Congres, Brussels-Chapelle, Brussels-Luxembourg, Brussels-Nord, Brussels-Schuman, Brussels-West, Brussels (Midi/Zuid), Delta, Vivier d'oie, Etterbeek, Evere, Germoir, Haren, Haren-Sud, Jette, Meiser, Mérode, Moensberg, Schaerbeek, Simonis, Tour-et-Taxis, St.-Job, Uccle-Calevoet, Uccle-Stalle, Forest-East, Forest-Midi and Watermael."

 

[reb0118]

Thanks once again for the above information.

 

[Chriso]

I’m off to Brussels on Tuesday. Does this mean I can use my Eurostar ticket as a kind of day ticket in the stations mentioned above or just as a single from Brussels Zuid?. No probs if not I intended to buy a 24hr jump ticket

 

[Spoorslag '70]

I’m off to Brussels on Tuesday. Does this mean I can use my Eurostar ticket as a kind of day ticket in the stations mentioned above or just as a single from Brussels Zuid?. No probs if not I intended to buy a 24hr jump ticket

You should be able to use it as a rover for Zone Brussel.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

My son is thinking of taking his bike over on the Hook ferry and potentially biking to Arnhem - as back-up , can bikes be taken on NS ? - conversely , in the land of bikes , what are local hire arrangements like.? - can you ire one place and return elsewhere ?

Any help appreciated - he is a railwayman and having worked through , is in sore need of a holiday and some good excercise.

 

[bspahh]

My son is thinking of taking his bike over on the Hook ferry and potentially biking to Arnhem - as back-up , can bikes be taken on NS ? - conversely , in the land of bikes , what are local hire arrangements like.? - can you ire one place and return elsewhere ?

Any help appreciated - he is a railwayman and having worked through , is in sore need of a holiday and some good excercise.

https://www.seat61.com/bike-by-train.htm#Netherlands says:

By Stena Line train & ferry: A bike-friendly option is to take the Stena Line Rail & Sail service as shown above. This will get you from London to any station on Greater Anglia to Amsterdam or any Dutch station, and is highly recommended.

Bikes on trains within the Netherlands: Once in the Netherlands, bikes can be taken on all trains except in peak hours (06:30-09:00 & 16:00-18:30 Monday-Friday, no restriction on national holidays or in July & August). You need to buy a one-day bike ticket for around €6. The peak hours bike ban does not apply to you if you're taking your bike on a domestic Dutch train in connection with taking it on an international train. For information on taking bikes on trains in the Netherlands, see www.ns.nl.

https://www.seat61.com/bike-by-train.htm#Taking_bikes_by_Dutch_Flyer says:

• Taking bikes on the ferry from Harwich to Hoek van Holland: When your train arrives at Harwich International, as you're a cyclist not a foot passenger you need to go up onto the footbridge (a lift is available) and out of the main station entrance, then cycle round to the motorists' ferry terminal so you can check in as a road user and ride your bike onto the ferry's car deck. Park the bike on board the ferry where you're shown and head upstairs to the cabins & passenger accommodations. While you are on the ferry, buy a Dutch Railways bicycle ticket from the information desk on deck 9 - the announcement that tickets for the Dutch railways are on sale at the information desk will remind you to do this! On arrival at Hoek van Holland, the ferry terminal is right next to Hoek van Holland Haven station.
• Taking bikes on the metro from Hoek van Holland to Schiedam Centrum: You can take a bike on the RET metro any time on Saturdays & Sundays. On Mondays-Fridays you can take a bike on the metro 09:00-16:00 and after 18:30. See www.ret.nl. So if you arrive at Hoek van Holland on the night boat at 08:00 on a weekday, you'll need to wait until 09:00 before you can leave Hoek van Holland.
• Taking bikes on Dutch trains from Schiedam Centrum to Amsterdam or Rotterdam Alexander to Utrecht, etc: You can take bikes on any Dutch domestic train if you buy a bike ticket for around €6, except during peak hours when bikes are banned. Peak hours are defined as 06:30-09:00 & 16:00-18:30 Mondays-Fridays. See www.ns.nl.

For a short ride you can hire bikes at 300 locations https://www.ns.nl/en/door-to-door/ov-fiets
For a nicer bike, you could do a google search for "fiets rental" and a town name, such as https://www.google.com/search?q=Arnhem fiets rental

 

[ChiefPlanner]

https://www.seat61.com/bike-by-train.htm#Netherlands says:


https://www.seat61.com/bike-by-train.htm#Taking_bikes_by_Dutch_Flyer says:


For a short ride you can hire bikes at 300 locations https://www.ns.nl/en/door-to-door/ov-fiets
For a nicer bike, you could do a google search for "fiets rental" and a town name, such as https://www.google.com/search?q=Arnhem fiets rental

Excellent - really helpful and he is now going to sit down and do some planning - likely to hire off the local bike hire suggestions as you have so well pointed out. He is about 1/16th Dutch anyway - so a good thing to do. We have forebears from Vlissingen - many thanks again

France was a plan - but Eurostar is very expensive for bike carriage (he cycled Geneva - Dijon 18 months ago , and trained it back from there to home - crossing Paris on his own wheels !)

 

[biko]

Just to add to the post of bspahh, NS asks passengers to register a bike space due to covid and the reduced space in trains at the moment. You can do that on the website or in the app. This gives a idea about the crowdedness on a train. I thought it was required, but rereading on the site, it does not seem to be obligatory anymore, but just advised: https://www.ns.nl/en/travel-information/bikes-on-the-train.html

Also the price of the bike ticket is now a bit higher at €7.50. You can buy it following the above link.

For a short ride you can hire bikes at 300 locations https://www.ns.nl/en/door-to-door/ov-fiets

As good as it is, OV-Fiets is not usable by tourists as you need a subscription, a OV-chipkaart and a Dutch bank account, so I don't think it is suitable for this case.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Just to add to the post of bspahh, NS asks passengers to register a bike space due to covid and the reduced space in trains at the moment. You can do that on the website or in the app. This gives a idea about the crowdedness on a train. I thought it was required, but rereading on the site, it does not seem to be obligatory anymore, but just advised: https://www.ns.nl/en/travel-information/bikes-on-the-train.html

Also the price of the bike ticket is now a bit higher at €7.50. You can buy it following the above link.



As good as it is, OV-Fiets is not usable by tourists as you need a subscription, a OV-chipkaart and a Dutch bank account, so I don't think it is suitable for this case.

Sorry to bother you again - but could a local "Fiet" hire be paid for using a standard (non Dutch) credit / debit card. ?

 

[biko]

Sorry to bother you again - but could a local "Fiet" hire be paid for using a standard (non Dutch) credit / debit card. ?

It probably is possible, but I am not sure as different companies provide cycle hire in different cities. OV-fiets is just different as it is owned by NS and paid for using the national smartcard (OV-chipkaart). I'd advise to google on 'fietsverhuur' + city name to find local hire companies

 

[Chriso]

You should be able to use it as a rover for Zone Brussel.

Brilliant. Thanks for your help

 

[bspahh]

As good as it is, OV-Fiets is not usable by tourists as you need a subscription, a OV-chipkaart and a Dutch bank account, so I don't think it is suitable for this case.

Ahh. Thanks for the correction. An OV-chipkaart isn't such a problem, but the bank account is.