There are now two options for taking a direct train from Basel to The Netherlands
Final Destination: Amsterdam Centraal/Amsterdam CS
This train also calls at: Arnhem and Utrecht
Departing from Basel:
This is the only direct daytime train service between Switzerland and The Netherlands and it is usually scheduled to depart from Basel Bad Bf station at around 15:20.
Though due to the length of the journey, this train is particularly vulnerable to having its schedule altered due to works on the line, especially at weekends.
It also usually commences its journey at Basel SBB station at around 15:15.
1 x train per day
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date
Finding this 1 x direct train of the day when booking online can be tricky; there will also be a plethora of alternative journeys available, all of which involve making a connection.
So look for the journey usually departs from Basel Bad Bf station at around 15:30.
Choosing your departure station:
This train commences its journey at Basel SBB station and then calls at Basel Bad Bf.
So use Basel Bad Bf as the 'from' station when looking up tickets for this train; they can be much cheaper than journeys from Basel SBB.
A choice of tickets on the DB website
Three types of tickets are always available: Sparpreis and Super Sparpreis and Flexpreis.
A key difference between these types of tickets is refunds:
The other key difference is that both types of Sparpreis tickets are only valid on the specific departures selected when booking, but the Flexpreis tickets live up to their name, as they can be used on any departure on your travel date.
Note that none of the tickets can be exchanged to a different departure.
There's no need for this to be available for Flexpreis tickets, as they aren't train departure specific.
If you book a Sparpreis ticket and want to travel by a different departure you can refund it and then use the travel voucher towards the cost of the new booking.
Super Sparpreis tickets can't be exchanged or refunded.
Seat reservations
Seat reservations are optional on ICE trains on this route - take note if you will be using a rail pass.
They cost €4.90 when travelling in 2nd Class and €5.90 when travelling in 1st class.
They are included within the cost of booking 1st class Flexpreis tickets and both 1st and 2nd class Flexpreis Plus tickets.
Specific seats can be selected from seating plans - you don't have to accept the seat(s) that you will be automatically offered.
When booking Super Sparpreis, Sparpreis and 2nd class Flexpreis tickets, you have the option of purchasing seat reservations later.
It can be worth re-looking up a journey a week or two ahead of travel, because the DB website will indicate how busy a departure will be.
Although if you do book your reservations later and your journey involves more than one train, you will then have to pay for separate reservations per train.
Booking on the DB website
You can find this direct trains more easily by making a proactive selection of 'Direct Trains Only'.
Or to see all the combinations of trains and journey options, some of which may be cheaper, take off the 'fastest connections' default.
The alternative route via Paris:
If the limited numbers of discounted tickets for this direct train have sold out, travelling via Paris can be the cheaper option - on a combination of Lyria trains from Basel to Paris and then by Thalys train from Paris to Amsterdam.
However, there are two points to be aware of:
(1) the journey via Paris involves a transfer across the city between two Paris stations (the ticket price won't include the transfer),
(2) the trains to Paris depart from Basel SBB and not Basel Bad Bf.
So if the discounted tickets for the direct train have sold out; then search again, changing the 'from' station to 'Basel SBB', or use the non-station specific city name.
Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
---|---|---|
DB Bahn | * | |
NS Intl | * | |
Happy rail | * | |
Omio | * | |
Save A Train | * |
On departure from Basel the part of train heading to Amsterdam is usually joined to another train that will be heading to Dortmund.
If you only see 'Dortmund' on the departure screens, then it's likely that the info will ALSO apply to this Amsterdam train.
The train journey from Basel to Amsterdam:
This journey has three distinct phases:
(1) From Basel to Frankfurt Flughafen, this is a fairy typical German express train journey, though the train will be on a higher speed line from Offenburg to Karlsruhe.
(2) Between Frankfurt and Siegburg/Bonn, to the south of Koln, the train will be travelling at around 280 km/h on Germany's fastest high speed lines; so this part of the journey has a wow factor.
(3) Between Koln and Amsterdam it is the many towns that the train passes through which add interest, as the train will unsurprisingly travelling across a flat landscape.
Final Destination: Amsterdam
The train also calls at: Arnhem (07:51), connect for Nijmegen; and Utrecht (08:33), connect for Rotterdam.
The train is usually scheduled to depart from Basel SBB station at 23:13 and from Basel Bad bf at 23:23 and arrive in Amsterdam Centraal at 09:14.
If your journey is commencing in Basel city , heading to the German 'Bad bf' station in the city will typically be both faster and cheaper.
Though before calling at Basel Bad bf, train will also call at the main Swiss station in the city, Basel SBB; join the train at Basel SBB if you will be connections from other destinations in Switzerland; or the EC train from Milano, which typically has a 25 min connection into this train
1 x train per night
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date
The train conveys:
The first price you will see on the OBB ticketing site will be for the compartment seats.
Click the train details below for more info including the rail pass reservation fees:
Rail pass users must reserve before boarding these trains,
You can now book rail pass reservations without paying booking fees on the OBB website (OBB operates these trains).Though the process for doing so isn't particularly obvious, hence this step-by-step guide.
By booking online you can avoid the booking fees which will be payable at the station in Switzerland.
Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
---|---|---|
OBB | * | |
DB | * | |
SBB | * |
This train is in effect two trains combined into one departure:
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