Train, car, or plane

Big city to big city the train is almost always better. In your case better option than driving is to go by train.

For your itinerary, driving is a bad idea for two reasons. The first is that a car will be useless in all three cities; you will just be spending a lot of money to keep it parked. The second is that picking up a rental car in one country and dropping it in another has high fees; on this Forum I've seen surcharges mentioned of €100 to €600.

If you buy your train tickets in advance and can commit to non-exchangeable, non-refundable tickets, you can save a bundle. For both your trips, tickets should be sold on the Bahn (German Rail) website: http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en
Here are Rick's tips on using it: http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/online-schedules. In your case, you want "Amsterdam Centraal," "Hamburg Hbf," and "Copenhagen" as your stations.

You'll see the Saver fares and the Standard fares, and can decide how to proceed. For Saver fares, you can usually print the tickets at home; it says you need A4 paper, but 8.5 x 11 works fine. On the train, you need to have the credit card you used to purchase the ticket; the conductor scans the ticket, swipes your credit card, and you're set. If you're fine with Standard fares, no need to buy these ahead; just buy them locally at the station (preferably a day before your departure, in case you encounter lines at the ticket window, so you don't miss your train).

kat,

For the trip from Amsterdam to Hamburg, train is absolutely the best method. One of the easiest trips will be a departure from Amsterdam Central at 09:01, arriving Hamburg Hbf at 14:13 (time 5H:12M, one change at Osnabrück).

For the trip from Hamburg to Copenhagen, train is also the best method. One of the easiest trips is a departure from Hamburg Hbf at 09:28, arriving Copenhagen at 14:13 (time 4H:45M, direct with no changes).

Especially on longer routes, trains will usually be faster than car as high speed trains are often used (some of which travel at up to 300 kmH, which no car can match). That's a more efficient use of valuable holiday time, as you spend less time in transit and more time enjoying the places you've come to see.

One additional point to mention - are you planning to pre-purchase tickets for the trains you'll be using, or buy them locally when you arrive in Amsterdam? If buying locally at Amsterdam Central, note that they ONLY accept "Chip & PIN" credit cards, so be sure you have cash available if you don't have that type of card. If you want to pre-purchase tickets, you could use the bahn.de website or capitainetrain.com.

kat,

if you decide to do the train from Hamburg to Copenhagen, its a cool ride. They drive the train onto the ferry. I did it the other way around.

happy trails.

Trains and public transport in Europe are always better than driving. It is faster, cheaper, and does not involve driving fees or places where you are not allowed to drive in European cities. With a Eurail pass, you can go in comfort with no worries.

You would not need a Eurail pass for these two trips, since the 4-country pass starts from $420 per person and 2-country pass starts at $250 (but could consider one if you had more train travel planned). With just two long rides, I would try to commit to schedules and book the advance-discount tickets through DeutscheBahn, starting 3 months before the travel dates.

"With a Eurail pass, you can go in comfort with no worries. "

But you could pay dearly for the comfort and no worries. Particularly in Germany, it pays to compare a rail pass with point to point tickets. For longer distances, using express trains (ICE/IC/EC) there are advance purchase, Savings Fare tickets starting at 29€ for the first person, 20€ for each co-traveler up to 5 people total. For shorter travels in a single Land, regional passes like the Bayern-Ticket, are a great bargain. The Bayern-Ticket costs 28€ for two people, all day.

Last year two of us spent 21 days in Germany, traveling on 8 of those days, and spent 279€ ($315 today) for that travel. German Rail passes are for 7 or 10 days, so paying full fare (21€) for the least expensive travel day, I would have spent 258€ ($291) for 7 days of travel ($42/day). A 7-day German Rail twin pass in 2nd class is $510 ($72.86/day).

How many days, total, are you planning on traveling while in Germany (including Amsterdam to Hamburg)? Just the two days, Amsterdam to Hamburg and Hamburg to Copenhagen? Or more?

Also, do you plan on leaving for Hamburg as soon as you arrive in Amsterdam, or will you spend a day or more in Amsterdam before moving on? Savings Fare tickets are for specific trains (day and time) and refunds/exchange are limited. Ticket to leave immediately after arriving can be risky because of late flight arrivals.

Thank you to everyone who responded to my query. I truly appreciate all of the advice, and will be buying train tickets in advance.

hi try rome2rio.com or GoEuro.co.uk they compare train, bus and air for you.

Thank you.