Flying into Amsterdam

As you make your decision, consider how much of that extra day will be spent traveling from Amsterdam to Bacharach. After a lengthy flight and an evening in Amsterdam, you would need to either fly from Amsterdam to Frankfurt, then train/car to Bacharach; or, take the train from Amsterdam to Bacharach. Either way, that is a lot of travel time and effort added to the very beginning of your vacation. It can be done, but you have to decide if this is worth one night in Amsterdam.

If you're more interested in saving money than in recovering from jet lag while getting a quick look at Amsterdam, you could take the train from Schiphol to Bacharach on the day you arrive in Amsterdam. If you book well in advance (up to 92 days allowed) at www.bahn.de, you can get a Europa-Spezial Niederlande fare as low as €29. Those tickets are for a specific departure date and time and are non-refundable and non-exchangeable so you have to allow a generous connection time between your flight's scheduled arrival time and your train's scheduled departure time.

If the price difference is great enough, it's probably worth it. We were planning to fly into London and out of Amsterdam, but then we found a round-trip fare to Amsterdam for almost $250 lower than our original route, so we went for it. Even with the budget airline flight to London (and a few hours taken away from our London stay), I think it was totally worth it.

Thanks Guys,
You have been a big help. Wasn't sure what type train ticket we would need but you have answered that question as well. Thanks again,

Wendy

If you are trying to save money you should know that Amsterdam's hotels are not inexpensive, unless you are willing to stay at a hostel.

I'm not sure about prices for hotels in Amsterdam, but a B&B in nearby Haarlem is not too dear.