I have a 3-country Eurailpass that covers 1st class travel in Germany, Swiss and Italy but not in Holland. What would be the additional cost of taking ICE International train in 1st class from Amsterdam to Koln/Cologne? I assume I would have to pay for the portion of the trip that goes through Holland ( Amsterdam to Arnhem I guess ). Could anybody estimate the cost of that ticket ? I am having trouble using http://ns.nl website. Also, do I need to pay an additional 2 Euro supplement for taking ICE International between Amsterdam and Koln? The ns.nl site states that " a surcharge is to be paid for Amsterdam- Arnheim leg". Does it apply to my itinerary as well? Do I pay for this supplement right at the train station, before departure? Could I pay for it on the train, after boarding?
And the last question: how hard is it to find a seat in 1st class on ICE train on Saturday morning without reservations?
Many thanks in advance for your input.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, United States
873 posts
When is your trip? If it's a month or two away, you can buy a discounted Sparpreis ticket from Amsterdam all the way Köln for 19EUR (full price being 55EUR). Since Köln is fairly close to the border, it might be easier to just buy a ticket from Amsterdam to Köln, which already includes reservations, instead of buying a ticket to the German border and purchasing separate reservations for the German leg.
I'm sure you'll get some excellent advice from this boards rail experts though :)