We're going to have a rental car for 5-6 days in the Netherlands before taking the train to Ghent. Most trains in NL seem to go start at, or go through, Rotterdam in order to get to Belgium (Ghent, Bruges and Antwerp, for instance). My preliminary research seems to indicate that there's no direct train or bus from Rotterdam/Hague Airport to Rotterdam Central Train Station. We're a couple of old folks with big suitcases, so walking 500-900 meters to catch transportation isn't our best option. Does anyone know if it's easier to return a rental car in Utrecht and then get to the Utrecht Central Train Station (in order to go from there to Rotterdam to catch our train to Ghent)? I understand it will depend on the location of the rental car agency; I've mapped several and it's not looking good. We may end up having to return the car to Schiphol. Thanks for any suggestions.
Posted by
Green Bay
20026 posts
There is the 33 bus from the terminal to the Meijersplein Metro station that takes you to Rotterdam Centraal 3 stops away.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32708 posts
OK, I'm officially confused.
In here are references to the tiny Rotterdam Airport, Schiphol and Utrecht.
All major hubs (well at least Rotterdam is, not the little airport).
Maybe it would help to set out exactly what you have to play with, and what you want to achieve.
How does the airport come into it?
Are you in Utrecht at the end? There are trains to Belgium from Utrecht - no need to go to Rotterdam.
Traffic in Rotterdam is heavy - that's true for the whole Randstad. Read about the Randstad at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randstad I wouldn't drive a long way out of the way (did you see the bit in the article about the 14 lane highway being built?) just to return a car.
Or are you flying into Rotterdam?
And about those steamer trunks with all your worldly belongings... that's solvable too.
Posted by
OP
San Antonio, TX, USA
37 posts
Thanks. Sorry for the confusion. We're trying to decide the best car rental company to go with, and where we want to pick up and return the car. Our itinerary is Amsterdam Cruise Port (Sat) to Haarlem, Amersfoort, Utrecht, then Rotterdam (Fri) solely to return the car and get on the train. So we wondered if it would be easier to return the car in Utrecht and skip dealing with the Rotterdam Airport altogether. The thing is, the car company we'd like to go with has pick-up at Schiphol and return only to there or Rotterdam. If we got a car in Amersfoort on that Sun, there's a very short window to pick up the car (they're only open 1300-1500), but we can return it to Utrecht. We already have non-cancellable reservations in Utrecht for that Thurs. I suppose it's just as easy (or hard, given that we'd be dealing with "Randstad" traffic in any event) to return the car to Schiphol from Utrecht and take the train to Ghent from there. No, we don't have "steamer trunks" (ha ha), but we will need to pack for a 4-week vacation, in a country with changeable weather. We're just not very physically fit, and would prefer not to lug suitcases around between airports/train stations/car rental places if possible. We also don't believe in spending money on taxis (which seem to cost a fortune in the Netherlands) if we can help it.
Posted by
Green Bay
20026 posts
Figured it out yet?