I will be cruising into Bergen, Norway in 2027 and will need to get to Amsterdam for another cruise 3 days later. I do not want to fly. Does anyone have suggestions? I'm thinking the train would be my best option. I think it's too early to get schedules and prices but how would be the best way to get these and tickets when the time comes?
Posted by
NY
602 posts
I'm going to ask a blunt question -- have you looked at a map?
Bergen and Amsterdam are 1500 km (900 miles) apart by road and are separated by bodies of water (i.e. you need to cross something to get from the Scandinavian peninsula to the "mainland" part of Europe).
Doing this by train will be a multi-day, multi-train journey -- I would think you would have to change trains in Oslo, Copenhagen, and Hamburg at the very minimum. I'm not actually sure if this can be done in 3 days because of the scheduling of the trains.
All this isn't to say that you shouldn't do it, if the timing, logistics, and desire to spend (lots of) time on a train work for you, but I personally wouldn't want to do this trip by train unless I had no other choice.
Posted by
Freedonia
17988 posts
I looked at the current schedules. The best time will take about 28 hours and include 5 changes. (This is just an estimate since the exact schedule won't be out until sometime next year.)
Or you can take a combination of ferry, train and bus which will take even longer.
Posted by
Lake District, England
10652 posts
By 2027 there will be through trains from Oslo to Malmo (possibly Copenhagen), so that will eliminate the change at Gothenburg. The trains will certainly be run by Vy (the same company as run Bergen to Oslo), but there are two other companies interested as well.
If I was doing the trip for efficiency I would have arrival day in Bergen for sightseeing, then take the night train to Oslo, for onward connections.
Or, coming off the cruise in Bergen, you should easily be able to do a half Norway in a Nutshell- the 1035 train to Myrdal for Flam or the 1115 direct bus to Flam (also calls at Gudvangen), the afternoon cruise to Gudvangen, bus up to Voss, day train back into Bergen for the night train to avoid joining the night train at Voss at half past midnight.
There is also a night train from Malmo to Hamburg, then day train to Amsterdam. I know SJ have said this is ending due to loss of subsidy, but it is currently understood that it will continue without the previous subsidy.
If you took the mid morning Bergen to Oslo train then flixbus also run a night bus from Oslo to Hamburg for rail to Amsterdam next morning.
One slight question- in Amsterdam is the cruise departing from Amsterdam PTA or from Ijmuiden (which many cruise companies call Amsterdam, but isn't really, being at the wrong end of the Nord See Kanal)