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Questions on Purchasing Train Tickets in the Netherlands

Greetings! I have several related questions regarding purchasing train tickets in the Netherlands. We will be home-basing out of Delft and traveling short-distance day-trips to various locations (Rotterdam, The Hague, Leiden, etc) by train. Is there any benefit to purchasing the tickets early, or may we just purchase them on the day of travel? Also, we will be taking the train from Delft to Paris; and, in this case, the tickets are cheaper if purchased in advance. Is this correct?

Finally, it has been quite some time since we travelled around Europe by train. Are there any recommendations you have?

~Darrel

Posted by
1007 posts

We did purchase tickets from France to Belgium in advance this past spring. (I have no idea if they were cheaper, but it just seemed more reassuring to have tickets. But for everything else within the Netherlands we just purchased upon arrival to the train station. Very user friendly to purchase at kiosks, (or tap in/out with your credit card, which is even easier) but if you were to have any questions, there is always someone available to ask at a ticket booth.

Posted by
5786 posts

We were in the NL spring, 2024. Train travel within the country is all tap pay. At the turnstiles entering the train station, tap using your credit card directly, or use your phone or watch via Apple Wallet. When leaving the train station, again at the turnstiles, tap again. It's all very convenient and easy. Buses and trams work the same way.
Have a great trip in this wonderful country!