Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TrANSPOrTATION
cONNEcTIONS
The Netherlands
The Netherlands is so small, level, and well-covered by trains and
buses that transportation is a snap. Major cities are connected by
speedy trains that come and go every 15 minutes. Buses take you
where trains don't go, and bicycles take you where buses don't go.
Bus stations and bike-rental shops cluster around train stations.
Amsterdam
Trains
The easiest way to reach nearly any Dutch destination is by train.
Connections are fast and frequent, and you'll rarely wait more than
a few minutes. Intercity (IC) trains are speediest, connecting big
cities;
sneltreins
connect smaller towns;
stoptreins
are pokey milk-
run trains that stop at every station; and the misnamed “Sprinter”
trains are actually slow
stoptreins
. Throughout the Netherlands,
smoking is prohibited in trains and train stations.
Train Schedules:
The easiest way to get train schedules in
advance is online. The German Rail site has comprehensive sched-
ules for virtually anywhere in Europe (http://bahn.hafas.de/bin/
query.exe/en). Or try the Dutch Rail site (www.ns.nl for domestic
trains, www.nsinternationaal.nl for trains to Belgium and beyond).
For phone information, dial 0900-9292 for local trains or 0900-
9296 for international trains (€0.50/min, daily 7:00-24:00, wait
through recording and hold...hold...hold...). The numbers listed
in this chapter are frustrating phone trees in Dutch and—if you
wait—maybe in English.
To find schedules at the station, check the yellow schedule
posters, or look for TV screens listing upcoming departures. If
