Can i just confirm, the way to buy this ticket is to buy it from Herzogenrath to Maastricht, the Aachen to Herzogenrath leg should be covered by the D-ticket.
And since this is a regional train, essentially, I am free to take any train? And I can buy on the day of travel, it won't sell out?
D-ticket is a monthly subscription with automatic prolongation - no one-way or day ticket.
I suggest reading this page (switch to English at the top) - check for 24h ticket to have free choice of train:
https://avv.de/de/tickets/tickets-fuer-bus-bahn
Correct. The D-ticket will cover you in Germany, so you will need an additional ticket for the Dutch part. You could buy that online, or at the station in Aachen. Online on www.ns.nl might be a bit cheaper.
Then you indeed just board any R18 in Aachen, and stay on the train till Maastricht.
Thanks.
There seems to be a flixbus option that only takes 35mins. However, it drops off at Maastricht, Meerssenerweg which according to google maps is about a 30 min walk into city center. Bus #3 takes about just as long and only runs about every 30 mins. Is there a better way that I'm missing to get from Meerssenerweg to the city center?
Actually I think google maps gave me the wrong location for Meerssenerweg. The international bus station where flix bus drops off seems to be just next to the train station. Can anyone confirm?
How do people usually get to the city center from the station, do they just walk?
Online on www.ns.nl might be a bit cheaper.
Thanks for the tip. I don't see any pricetime tickets at all, do pricetime exist on this route?
The wrong direction? That's why I don't use google maps, much less rely on them.
Read the signs pointing to your destination. You take a regional train..
I visited Maastricht while in Aachen in December and took the train. A D-ticket didn't make sense for my trip, so I just bought a ticket on the DB app each way. And, yes, we just walked to the city center. It's actually a pleasant walk -- very aesthetically pleasing and not that long -- maybe 10-15 minutes.
@dave thank you for sharing that. Curious, did you enjoy Maastricht and how long did you stay for?
Maastricht was an afternoon/evening trip for me and my buddy while staying in Aachen. We stayed in Aachen for 4 nights.
We went to Maastricht to see guide Peter play drums at a gig for his Louisiana-style jazz band at a small cafe/pub in Maastricht (a favorite activity of the trip!) and to visit to Maastricht's Christmas market. Maastricht was gorgeous -- very nice architecture and very nice waterways (the Meuse River and the city's canals). It has some other things to keep one busy like "caves" of its own -- spaces mined for rock that now have a cave appearance + some other sites. We liked our short time there quite a lot.
When I told the guide who gave the morning tour of Aachen on Day #2 about going to Valkenburg, she told me, "That's a nice place to go, but I would really encourage you to go to Maastricht. It's exceptional!" I already knew we were going to the jazz band performance, but I thanked her for the suggestion.
And if you would like a little more detail on our trip, here's the trip report: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/the-young-adult-and-i-2025-christmas-markets-in-germany
If you would like info on Peter as guide: https://maastrichtguide.com/en/
Thanks Dave. Enjoyed your trip report too!
To get from Aachen to Maastricht there is also the #350 bus, which runs every 15 minutes, and takes about an hour. This is a normal, mass transit bus, so you do not need to book it in advance like the Flixbus (which will probably not run on time as well). So just hop on, pay with your credit card and ride. Ultimate flexibility.
https://arriva-reisinfo.fis.nl/?_transport=bus&_region=ln~lz&_line=26350&_dir=2
