My wife and I will hopefully take a RS tour of Berlin, Prague and Vienna next fall. I was thinking of flying into Amsterdam before the tour. How far is it to Berlin from Amsterdam? Is the best way to get to Berlin by train? What other suggestions do you have on where to explore before Berlin for a couple of days?
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
The direct train takes 6.5 hours from Amsterdam city center to Berlin city center and can be a relaxing ride, allowing you to bring a lunch onboard, etc. How to Look Up Train Schedules and Routes Online gives you the DB train schedule link which also sell tickets for this route, starting as low as €40 for a limited number of tickets, which usually go on sale 92 days in advance of departure.
Flying can be equally cheap when booked ahead; see www.skyscanner.com for connections within Europe or explore any price differences to book a multi-city trip for all your flights.
Amsterdam certainly offers plenty to see, both in the city and by easy day-trip. Although the B-P-V tour gives you two full days of sightseeing each in Berlin and Vienna, an extra day before and after the tour can be useful, especially if you like a lot of museums.
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
7162 posts
We recently flew from Berlin to Amsterdam- rather than taking the 6.5 hour train.
Unless you have the extra time I feel a 6.5 train ride is just about 2.5-3 hours too long- and really eats up that whole day.
EasyJets flies A'dam to Berlin and is very affordable- although we actually flew KLM because the flight time worked best for us. We left Berlin hotel at 7:45 am and were at our A'dam hotel just before 12 noon.
Getting to/from Schiphol is also quick and easy.
Decide based on budget and time constraints which is the better mode of transportation for you.