I'm studying abroad over winter break and have 8 days of free travel once my course is done in London. With this time I would like to go visit a friend who lives in Stockholm, however I would like to make some stops on the way being that this is only my second time to Europe. My plan is as follows: London, Bruges, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Copenhagen, and finally Stockholm. I was curious as to what was the most time and money efficient way to go about this and if I would even have time to squeeze all those cities in that short of time. Thanks for your help!
Zach
Posted by
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
2779 posts
On Amsterdam to Hamburg and Hamburg to Copenhagen you can get Europa Spezials on bahn.de for €39. Geographically - or actually the way rail-lines are built - you may have to change trains from Amsterdam to Hamburg either in Düsseldorf or Cologne. With you being a student I would like to point out that Cologne is one of the party capitals in Europe, definitely No. 1 in Germany - and the most "Bohemian" city after Prague. There are also very cheap flights from DUS and CGN airports...
Posted by
Oak Park, Illinois
4535 posts
The cheapest way would probably be by flying a discount airline. But that doesn't allow you to stop along the way. As a student, you may be able to get some discounted train fares. And remember that discount airlines strictly enforce minimal luggage limits. So expect to pay more for bags. A Eurail pass might actually work for you given the amount of travel you are doing, so compare prices on that as well. Even as a student, I think your itinerary is too aggressive. You have 5 stops in 8 days. That's less than 2 days per stop not counting travel. Brugges can be seen in a day and Amsterdam is close by. Amsterdam would be fun for any college student so I'd hate to think of you spending less than a couple days there. So I'd pick either Hamburg (haven't been so can't comment) or Copenhagen. Copenhagen needs 2-3 days and is a great city for young people. Stockhom is a 5+ hour train ride from Copenhagen, so factor in travel time if you are not flying. Amsterdam has an overnight train to Copenhagen.