Greetings,
We'll me connecting from Amsterdam for a 2019 Tour. It looks to me that a 1 hour flight to Luxembourg and then a train from Luxembourg to Trier (1 hour) would be the quickest route vs. Frankfurt to Trier which is 3 Hours. We're trying to maximize our time in Amsterdam with a morning flight and train to Trier. Any cons with this approach that you can think of?
Are you counting the 2 hours before boarding for check-in, security, bag check, etc. How about the time it takes to get to the airport? And then the time on the other end to exit the airport, and get to the train station? All that extra time makes a one hour flight a bit longer, for comparison purposes. Total all the time and maybe the 6-7 rail trip Amsterdam-Trier might be competitive. Just my thinking.
Much too complicated. Follow Stan's suugestion and take the train. Presently there is even a 5h30 connection with only two changes, leaving Amsterdam at the not unreasonable hour of 8:02 and getting you in Trier at 13:30, and bought in advance for only EUR 49,90. Next year there will undoubtedly be a comparable service.
I would go with the train. What if there is bad weather or delays for your flight? Hop on the train with reserved seats and relax.
I’ll just add a suggestion to get to Trier the day before the tour starts. I found it a very interesting city and the tour spends little time there. There is a city walking tour but it’s on a Sunday AM so it doesn’t actually go in to any of the churches. On my tour date we did go in to the Roman Baths but I’m not sure every tour does that.
I’m no help with your transport...I flew in to Paris, spent a week there and took the train via Saarbrucken.
If you do get to Trier ahead of time, take time to visit the Basilica and look at how modern it looks but look at how ancient it actually is.
And if you travel via Luxembourg City you might have a look around for a while examining the very three dimensionalness of the city, with pastel colours, towers, and high, low, and middle parts of the city over one another. Use the elevators and stairs.
"If you do get to Trier ahead of time, take time to visit the Basilica and look at how modern it looks but look at how ancient it actually is."
Nigel, yes! This was sort of shocking to me. The wide-openness of the nave was surprising and felt very modern. I was glad I got in on Saturday to see it as you can't visit during services.
If you fly, you will need to take the 9:00 flight from Schipol to Luxembourg, so you would need to take a 6:40 train from Amsterdam Centraal to Schipol arriving 7:00. The flight arrives Luxembourg airport at 9:55, and you might be able to make the 10:33 train to Trier, arriving at 11:24. That train has a Flexpreis of 38.80 EUR for 2, and the flight looks like 280 EUR for 2, and the train to Schipol is about 10 EUR for 2. If you miss it, the next one is in 1 hour.
There is a single connection train leaving Amsterdam Centraal at about the same time of 6:37, connecting at Cologne to a train to Trier (not the normal route along the Rhine, but through Gerolstein) that arrives at 12:27, 1 hour later than going by air. Cost if bought well in advance is 70 EUR for 2.
So there you have it. Spend 70 EUR, or spend 329 EUR and get there 1 hour sooner (maybe).
Thanks everyone for the advice! Looks like we will train it and try to get there the day before. Where are you finding the flexi pricing? Thanks again!
Those 35 EUR pp Amsterdam to Trier tickets are called Super Sparpreis Europa Tickets. They are like airline tickets, for a specific train itinerary on a certain date, and at that price, completely nonrefundable. However, you are really only obligated to ride the first leg from Amsterdam to Cologne. After that, you can ride any regional train on the same route to Trier. They go every hour.
Flexpreis tickets are the walk-up fare. Good when arriving at an airport and you want to protect yourself if the plane is late or some other type of delay. They are naturally much more expensive.
Thanks Sam! Appreciate the details
The description from Deutsche Bahn.
https://www.bahn.com/en/view/offers/germany/super-saver-fare.shtml?dbkanal_007=L04_S02_D002_KIN0060_ST-SUPER-SPARPREIS_LZ01
