Amsterdam to Berlin: Train or plane?

I agree with Michael. I think that the rule of thumb is for rail connections of 6 hours or less, you don't save time flying. For Aug. 1, I found €49 Europa-Spezial Niederlande fares for 6-6½ hr connections every 2 hours starting a 7 AM.

Hi Kirsten. I think that the flight would be the best plan. I know this isn't exactly the same thing as what you're doing, but I have taken the train from Goettingen (a college town in north central Germany, 2 hours west of Berlin) to Brussels. I bought my ticket the day that I left and I think it was around 100 euros (in 2008, when the exchange rate was terrible!). I had to transfer trains once and it took about 5 hours to get to Brussels.

I've also flown from Berlin to London (also not the same thing, I know) and that took about 2 hours.

Hope this helps!

You don't have to take a night train to get to Berlin by train; it's a six hour journey by rail with a change in Duisburg-departures every hour. When you factor in the time you have to arrive at the airport for check-in/security, plus time/expense to get to/from the city centers, the train won't take much longer than flying (an may be cheaper as well). If you book in advance you can get cheap restricted tickets at the DB site:

http://www.bahn.de

I'm with Michael and Lee. The train is cheaper (with an advance purchase discount fare), more comfortable, and just as fast as flying when you factor in the time to get to and from airports, go through security, etc. And you'll leave less of a carbon footprint.

I took the train two weeks ago from Berlin to Amsterdam. I debated flying. If you factor in airport time you're looking at about 4 hours flying vs 6 hours training. I paid 49 euro, but I recall seeing similar airfares at the time. You don't need to take the night train, takes 6 hours during the day. Unfortunately there is no express on this route so you will see quite a few train stations. In my view it's a tossup.

Hi,

While I have not taken the Berlin-Amsterdam route, either day or night, my suggestion, too, is to take the train option instead of flying for the same reasons as others have pointed out here. Transfering at Duisburg is preferable than doing that in Holland, and, besides, the Berlin-Duisburg route includes going through part of the interesting North German Plain.

Duisburg's train station has been remodeled in the last few years (much better than when I first visited that city in 1992),
was there in the first week of this month for a ride from Duisburg-Frankfurt, and then to Paris.

You guys have sold me. Day train ride it is and good point about the carbon foot print. Plus, by train I'll at least get to see part of the country I don't have the time to visit. Thank you!

There's a low cost carrier called Transavia serving Amsterdam to Berlin Tegel airport. You might want to check their website. It would certainly save you a lot of time. From Tegel airport there is cheap bus service to all parts of the city (no train service unlike at Schönefeld airport).