We're planning a trip for late Sept-early Oct that is primarily to northern Italy, but we want to add a couple of days in Amsterdam (either as flight destination from US, and then travel via train or other means onward - or do it in reverse). Another destination is Bad Oeynhausen, just to visit a friend. Does anyone have advice on best route/means to get from Amsterdam to Bad Oeynhausen, which seems closest large city may be Hanover? We've traveled by train before; we've also used small airlines like EasyJet to get between large cities/different countries, and found that to be convenient for some places and faster than a train, but perhaps this route would be picturesque for a train ride? thanks for any suggestions from this community!
There are direct trains between Amsterdam and Bad Oeynhausen. The trip takes a little over 3 and a half hours.
Not all trains from Amsterdam to Berlin call at Bad Oeynhausen. When they dont, you'll have a transfer at Bünde to a regional train. The trip will then be around 4 hours.
Book your ticket in advance via bahn.com.
Thank you, Floris! Do you know if that's a scenic route that we might enjoy traveling through by train?
Sharon, I doubt that you'll find too many people who have traveled this particular route by train (although you might want to also check the boards on Trip Advisor, which has a larger forum). However, one thing you could do is use Google Maps to get an idea of what the route looks like.
Go to Google Maps, and request directions from Amsterdam Centraal to Bad Oeynhausen, using the public transportation. It will show you the train route. Then switch to satellite view - this will show you aerial shots of the topography so you can get some idea of what the surrounding countryside will look like (it looks very green from a cursory look). :) You can also switch back to the general maps view and then zoom in for street view, which will show more detailed photography.
Personally, I love train travel, and unless the view is absolutely horrendous (which I doubt that it is), I think it would be a pleasant trip.
To find actual train schedules, use the Bahn (German Rail) website http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en, following Rick's tutorial: http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/online-schedules
To find flights within Europe, use Skyscanner: https://www.skyscanner.com/
At the www.bahn.com website (same as the "reiseauskunft" website mentioned above) click on the Details button for the train route, then on Map View to get route shown on a map, which you can zoom in.
Since it goes through the German low lands, I don't think it would be particularly scenic, but certainly easier and quicker than flying, when you factor in all the hassle and transfer times to airports, check in and security time. And for 40 EUR for 2 nonrefundable tickets bought well in advance, you can't beat the price.