London transportation to Amsterdam?

choochmac

New Member
Hi there,

I hope I am posting this is the right place. New to the forum (joined last month but been out of commission for awhile). Anyway, we are a family of three who have done some domestic travel but planning our first international vacation. I have booked the flight - Washington DC to London with an open jaw, then Amsterdam to Rome and back. My question to more seasoned travelers is whether we should find a cheap flight from London to Amsterdam (not sure I want to waste miles to do this leg) or take a train. I am leaning toward a train, my 12 year old son might enjoy the experience more than a plane ride. However, it will take longer and I only really have two days allocated for Amsterdam once we get there. As I understand it we will have to change trains in Brussels. This could be cool if we can get into the center of the city and grab a meal or something and at least get a flavor of Belgium as a trade off for the time spent. Anyone ever try to do a similar thing and did they find it worth it?
 

FlyinCajun

Silver Member
The question is what's more important to you. Time or Miles? (I lived in central London for a few years, recently). Using the train from Saint Pancras is really cool, you still need to get there at lease 45 minutes before departure to go through ticketing and Passport Control, which still has all the hurdles as airlines(no water through but can be purchased on the other side) The food car has some decent things as well. The trip would take about 3-ish hours. You'll spend 20 minutes under ground under water but before and after can be really great scenary. The train station in Brussels is not in the best part of town and depending on how much time you have between your connections you may find it difficult to locate a place to grab a meal, knowing the lay of the city is key(mussels and frits!). The trip from Brussels to Amsterdam is on a fast train but not the TGV also, from what I know it's not from the same station you arrived at. You may need to depart from Boom Markt and that's on the other side of town accessible by bus or taxi or Brussels-Noord, then again, you're dealing with potential traffic and your luggage, also from what I've read there are no direct routes, you'll probably go through Antwerp and The Hague. The station in Amsterdam is in the center of town and you'll have plenty of options there to get you to your hotel.
Now with flights you could possibly fly out of London City, which is in the center of town, not like Heathrow which is a schlep as well as Gatwick or Stansted, all accessible by train from a few stations around town. You should look at flying from London City 1st for discount airlines, then Gatwick or Stansted which offer lots of discount airlines. Try to avoid Luton! The train ride out to either will take about 45 min to an hour depending on which and the number of stops, you can get a direct from Victoria Station to Gatwick and some of the trains from St. Pancras do have limited stops to Gatwick and trains from Liverpool Station to Stansted have the same. They drop you right at the airport, give yourself time to get your luggage checked and you through security, it's pretty quick compared to the US but still lines can form. The airport in Amsterdam is amazing! Trains from deep underneath offer direct service to the main train station in the center of town.

Basically it comes down to picking which you want. The train will get you some pretty cool stuff to look at. Both will take about the same amount of time.

Hope this helps
 

choochmac

New Member
The question is what's more important to you. Time or Miles? (I lived in central London for a few years, recently). Using the train from Saint Pancras is really cool, you still need to get there at lease 45 minutes before departure to go through ticketing and Passport Control, which still has all the hurdles as airlines(no water through but can be purchased on the other side) The food car has some decent things as well. The trip would take about 3-ish hours. You'll spend 20 minutes under ground under water but before and after can be really great scenary. The train station in Brussels is not in the best part of town and depending on how much time you have between your connections you may find it difficult to locate a place to grab a meal, knowing the lay of the city is key(mussels and frits!). The trip from Brussels to Amsterdam is on a fast train but not the TGV also, from what I know it's not from the same station you arrived at. You may need to depart from Boom Markt and that's on the other side of town accessible by bus or taxi or Brussels-Noord, then again, you're dealing with potential traffic and your luggage, also from what I've read there are no direct routes, you'll probably go through Antwerp and The Hague. The station in Amsterdam is in the center of town and you'll have plenty of options there to get you to your hotel.
Now with flights you could possibly fly out of London City, which is in the center of town, not like Heathrow which is a schlep as well as Gatwick or Stansted, all accessible by train from a few stations around town. You should look at flying from London City 1st for discount airlines, then Gatwick or Stansted which offer lots of discount airlines. Try to avoid Luton! The train ride out to either will take about 45 min to an hour depending on which and the number of stops, you can get a direct from Victoria Station to Gatwick and some of the trains from St. Pancras do have limited stops to Gatwick and trains from Liverpool Station to Stansted have the same. They drop you right at the airport, give yourself time to get your luggage checked and you through security, it's pretty quick compared to the US but still lines can form. The airport in Amsterdam is amazing! Trains from deep underneath offer direct service to the main train station in the center of town.

Basically it comes down to picking which you want. The train will get you some pretty cool stuff to look at. Both will take about the same amount of time.

Hope this helps
Thanks for the input. Luggage does complicate things I guess if the train doesn't leave from the same station. I was hoping to put them in lockers while we looked around. Hmmm…. I still like the idea of a train though. I will have to give it some more thought. I will check out London City airport as well. I figured with the time to get to Heathrow or Gatwick (plus security etc) the time differential with the train would be not as consequential, but if closer airport cuts that time down then that is a different equation. Decisions, decisions…..
 

FlyinCajun

Silver Member
Thanks for the input. Luggage does complicate things I guess if the train doesn't leave from the same station. I was hoping to put them in lockers while we looked around. Hmmm…. I still like the idea of a train though. I will have to give it some more thought. I will check out London City airport as well. I figured with the time to get to Heathrow or Gatwick (plus security etc) the time differential with the train would be not as consequential, but if closer airport cuts that time down then that is a different equation. Decisions, decisions…..
As with most every train station in all of Europe, lockers should be available. I was thinking that you may have a few pieces per person to deal with and just having to manuver around crowded platforms and tight quarters in the train cars can be a little challenging and stressful. But as with any travel to a new place the journey to it is part of the fun!
 

Aegialia

New Member
I trained all around Europe one summer. While I did it because I was poor as heck (no points then :( ), I loved how it gave me a sense of place in a more robust way than flying! The Chunnel train, though, is boring as heck. After you get over the excitement of being there, it's black for the entire ride (not too long, though). The rest of it would be well worth-while, in my opinion. It would definitely help you feel like you had a better sense of where you were, and it would likely let you see some things you'd miss otherwise (like smaller towns, rural countryside).
 

FlyinCajun

Silver Member
.....It would definitely help you feel like you had a better sense of where you were, and it would likely let you see some things you'd miss otherwise (like smaller towns, rural countryside).
albeit a blur from those fast trains! But it's still pretty cool!
 

MarkD

Level 2 Member
Now with flights you could possibly fly out of London City, which is in the center of town, not like Heathrow which is a schlep as well as Gatwick or Stansted, all accessible by train from a few stations around town. You should look at flying from London City 1st for discount airlines, then Gatwick or Stansted which offer lots of discount airlines. Try to avoid Luton! The train ride out to either will take about 45 min to an hour depending on which and the number of stops, you can get a direct from Victoria Station to Gatwick and some of the trains from St. Pancras do have limited stops to Gatwick and trains from Liverpool Station to Stansted have the same. They drop you right at the airport, give yourself time to get your luggage checked and you through security, it's pretty quick compared to the US but still lines can form. The airport in Amsterdam is amazing! Trains from deep underneath offer direct service to the main train station in the center of town...
We're in the same boat. It should only be 4500 Avios per person one way on BA from London to Amsterdam. Also, as @FlyinCajun mentioned you can find some discount short haul airlines if you want to buy a ticket.
 

choochmac

New Member
I priced out BA from London City and it was about $100 a ticket. When I priced out Avios last nigh it gave me miles (can't remember the exact amount) but with a few hundred in fees. I assume they are "fuel" charges. I guess the charge those in Europe (unless I am doing something wrong in their search engine, which is entirely possible). So it looks like makes more sense just to buy a cheap ticket. However, I am still leaning toward the train, just for a different experience and to see some of the terrain.
 

MarkD

Level 2 Member
I just priced it out on BA. It was 4500 Avios and $27.50 per person from LCY-AMS on 07/17/15. They have something called Reward Flight Saver which I've never seen before.

"Reward Flight Saver : You just pay the Avios fare + a flat fee. We pay the full taxes fees and charges"

I don't know if this is only for certain days or I just got lucky. We'll probably do Avios and fly since we are crunched for time. The train sounds like a cool experience though.
 

FlyinCajun

Silver Member
I just priced it out on BA. It was 4500 Avios and $27.50 per person from LCY-AMS on 07/17/15. They have something called Reward Flight Saver which I've never seen before.

"Reward Flight Saver : You just pay the Avios fare + a flat fee. We pay the full taxes fees and charges"

I don't know if this is only for certain days or I just got lucky. We'll probably do Avios and fly since we are crunched for time. The train sounds like a cool experience though.
For most people Time is more important. If you're able to fit in the train and give up something else then do it. The train has a lot less hassel and experience once on is really nice. As in more room in the cars to SIT....walk around....etc.
 
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