After my husband and I take a Gate 1 tour of Croatia I would like to travel from Munich where we are stopping to Amsterdam. I need to keep the cost of this part of the trip to about $800. Are buses available from Munich and are they less expensive than the train? I could not get rates on the internet for May at this time. Do you have a cheap but clean and comfortable suggestion for a hotel in Amsterdam?
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19092 posts
With sufficient advance purchase from the German Rail (Bahn) website, you should be able to get train fare from Munich to Amsterdam for 39€/person. It's an eight hour trip by train. I don't think you can beat that with a bus.
Posted by
OP
Boynton Beach, Florida, USA
87 posts
Thank you for the information but when I go to that site I cannot get a price as they are not selling tickets yet and they want to know a return trip date but I won't be returning. Any other suggestions to get the information I need to have so that I can work on the budget too?
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19092 posts
If you pick "single ride" it won't require a return date (but it will still offer a link to a return ticket). German Rail only sells tickets online 92 days in advance. Pick dates that far out from today to see typical fares. The lowest fares sell out quickly, and some days of the week sell out sooner than others. When the lowest fares sell out, a higher, but still discounted fare, is offered until you reach only full fare. To get the best fares, book shortly after midnight, CES (6 pm EST), on the first day the tickets become available. These discounted tickets are train specific and nonrefundable. Full fare is about 160€/person. There is a least one international bus line on the European continent (I think one is called Euroline), but the bus might not go directly from Munich to Amsterdam and might not run every day.
Posted by
Paradise
6637 posts
"I would like to travel from Munich where we are stopping to Amsterdam. I need to keep the cost of this part of the trip to about $800." Get the train tickets Lee suggests. The tickets can be used only on the trains scheduled. You CAN refund them - see the details HERE - but only with a penalty and not at the last minute, and then you're stuck buying another ticket. So plan carefully. I'd suggest a stopover to break up the 8-9 hour train trip you have planned. Your journey unfortunately bypasses the Middle Rhine Valley, one of Germany's highlights, so why not make a mini-detour and stay over in Bacharach, then do a 2-3 hour Middle Rhine river cruise and tour one of the 40 castles? Get your Munich-A'dam ticket but use the stopover feature at the German Railways itinerary page and specify Bacharach and 24 hours. Reasonable rooms in Bacharach are detailed at Bavaria Ben's website.