Booking train tickets in Europe

[andy118run]

Specifically Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.

Going to be visiting these 3 countries in a couple of weeks and my train spotting son will be expecting some train journeys. I've never travelled on a train outside of the UK.

In the UK I usually book e-tickets. Is this the process in these 3 countries? Anything I need to be aware of, or any useful tips from seasoned travellers?

I've done a little bit of research on the Netherlands as it's our first stop and we'll be an hour outside of Amsterdam and plan to get the train into the central station. On the NS website it does look possible just to book e-tickets and the alternative of buying tickets with 'chips' in or their travel cards just looked a bit complicated and unnecessary.

In Germany out local station will be Kuperdreh between Essen and Dusseldorf and in Belgium it will be Peruwelz near the French border. Haven't looked into the tickets in Germany or Belgium yet but hoping it will just be a case of booking an e-ticket with a view to a fairly basic day or half day out from these stations.

Thanks...

[abzmike]

Finding routes is easy, Google maps will do that for you,The challenge is that buying tickets in each country is a bit different.. and then in some places you have more than one system - mainline and local services. Then you need to work out the sometimes beaten up and arcane ticket machines in each place. Some places you need to scan or validate tickets... So, best to check on respective websites before you set off.

[chip*]

It's all detailed under the drop-down section "A guide to European train travel"

https://www.seat61.com/

[andy118run]

chip* said:

It's all detailed under the drop-down section "A guide to European train travel"

https://www.seat61.com/

Thanks, plenty of good info on there.

[andy118run]

abzmike said:

Finding routes is easy, Google maps will do that for you,The challenge is that buying tickets in each country is a bit different.. and then in some places you have more than one system - mainline and local services. Then you need to work out the sometimes beaten up and arcane ticket machines in each place. Some places you need to scan or validate tickets... So, best to check on respective websites before you set off.

Yes, Google maps has been pretty good so far in checking out routes and where to change etc.
I suppose it's just a case of working out how best to buy the tickets really and the website in the other post below certainly has some good into.

[Your Dad]

I’ve bought tickets for trains in Belgium and Holland using either the relevant app or via website and then using e-tickets received via email, on a couple of occasions I’ve literally purchased moments before travel.

[Rushjob]

Living in both France and Spain I've used the Trainline website for booking both French and Spanish train tickets.

Booked one for my brother in law this morning to Alicante....

[Ezra]

We did a trip last year that took in Belgium, Germany, Italy and France. We used thetrainline to find train times but never booked online or with etickets. Apart from the Dijon to Paris TGV that required booking in advance, we took numerous trains but simply rocked up at the station and bought tickets from machine/ticket office. Tiny little village in Belgium called Theux, got the train to Brussels and also Liege. Germany, again little village Beimerstetten to Ulm and also Munich, and then Bergamo to Milan. We've done similar all over the place in recent years - Japan. S Korea, Canada.....just turn up and buy the ticket. I wouldn't over think this.

[FredericRobinson]

I’ve used trains in Belgium a fair bit, just bought tickets at the station on the day, if it’s just a day trip why make it any more complicated than that?

[andy118run]

Ezra said:

We did a trip last year that took in Belgium, Germany, Italy and France. We used thetrainline to find train times but never booked online or with etickets. Apart from the Dijon to Paris TGV that required booking in advance, we took numerous trains but simply rocked up at the station and bought tickets from machine/ticket office. Tiny little village in Belgium called Theux, got the train to Brussels and also Liege. Germany, again little village Beimerstetten to Ulm and also Munich, and then Bergamo to Milan. We've done similar all over the place in recent years - Japan. S Korea, Canada.....just turn up and buy the ticket. I wouldn't over think this.

Good to know. Thanks

[Tabs]

I was in Nice last year to watch the Tour de France.
I had a day spare to go to Monaco.
Station in Nice was packed, and although they had many self service machines, the queues were horrendous.
Got my phone out, opened the Trainline app, and had a QR ticket within a few minutes. Straight through the gates and onto the train. Was amazed!

[grwyellow]

For local journeys just buy a ticket at the station on the day - there is little advantage in booking ahead for those. Longer intercity journeys usually have dynamic pricing so booking ahead can save money - you could use De Bahn (the German train operator) to book all your trains in Belgium, Netherlands and Germany.

[Lotusgone]

This isn't any help logistically, but you might want to include Antwerp in your journey - the station there is stunning.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Rushjob said:

Living in both France and Spain I've used the Trainline website for booking both French and Spanish train tickets.

Booked one for my brother in law this morning to Alicante....

Yup, Trainline worked for me in Germany and Denmark too. Probably most European countries

[andy118run]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

Yup, Trainline worked for me in Germany and Denmark too. Probably most European countries

Damn...should have remembered to use trainline when I was in a bit of a pickle in Germany.

Anyway, thanks for all the suggestions and I'm still in Belgium at present but have most likely finished my train travelling for this holiday. Catching the Eurotunnel back to the UK early-ish on Monday am - another new experience for me.

My experience of using the various trains -

Netherlands -
Downloaded the NS app - bought all my tickets for the family of 4 on here.
Absolutely easy to navigate the stations, change trains, scan the tickets at barriers etc.
Would have no issue travelling in Holland again. As easy as the Uk.
Also used the trams in Amsterdam via tickets on the GVB app though the trams were horribly crowded in the centre and preferred to walk.



Germany -
Quite enjoyed the country, visited a castle above the Rhine etc, but if I never see another German train, I will be a happy man.
Downloaded the DB app but couldn't figure out how to buy a simple single/return ticket for 4 of us. Tried a ticket machine in the station but even with the English option it wasn't making sense. No ticket office from our departing station.
In the end my wife asked a random passer by the help on the ticket machine and a purchase was made. No ticket barriers or checks so i assume it was the right ticket.
Returning (from Wuppatal station) I used the 'travel centre' which seemed to be a ticket office but even that was a painfully slow process.
In Wuppatal we used the rather amazing suspended railway - I downloaded their app but again I really struggled with the options so settled on buying a ticket at the little shop just below our station (Vohwinkel).
Vohwinkel -


Belgium -
What a doddle. Just as easy as the Uk. Downloaded the SNCB app - when i played around on it it was incredibly easy to pick single/return, adult/child etc (under 12 don't need a ticket in Belgium though).
The app actually had technical problems today when I was trying to buy though, so off we went to the station to use the machine.
Navigated the machine (in English) in probably less than a minute, printed our tickets and off we went. Nice trains too.


So there we have it. I've done travel threads before and usually never return with any feedback or outcomes so thought I'd better pop back this time.

Edited by andy118run on Saturday 2nd August 17:10

[daqinggregg]

Good to read your follow up, a couple of questions if I may.

Ticketing aside, did the non train spotters, enjoy the travel by train experience?

How did it compare cost wise against taking a car, as a family was it as easy/difficult as you expected?

Any plans to do it again, possibly a little further afield?

[andy118run]

daqinggregg said:

Good to read your follow up, a couple of questions if I may.

Ticketing aside, did the non train spotters, enjoy the travel by train experience?

How did it compare cost wise against taking a car, as a family was it as easy/difficult as you expected?

Any plans to do it again, possibly a little further afield?

1. we kept our journeys pretty short - no more than an hour or so, so the non-train enthusiasts were not really bothered one way or another. Though my daughter (9) did enjoy the double decker trains and was a bit disappointed if the top had no seats.

2. I think I preferred to use the train rather than the car, certainly for travel to Amsterdam. I did look at park and ride etc. but the train just made more sense. Can't remember the price of our Netherlands tickets but probably just short of 80 euros return for the 4 . The child ticket is very good value at 2.50 for the day, so I suppose the other tickets were on a par with UK pricing.
I also tried to base ourselves within a walk of the train stations so travelling by train where possible just made sense anyway.

3. Will I do it again? As a family we really like our UK holidays - Scotland especially - so I think we will head there for our main holiday next year. Though this trip has still had some fun experiences (visited Pairi Daizi in Belgium today to see the Giant Pandas among others). I did consider Switzerland/N. Italy or a bit further into Germany such as Berlin or Munich so may look at that in the future. But to be honest it's been a tiring 9 days and I still have to get from Belgium to manchester tomorrow, so not the best time to be thinking about doing this again!