The charming capital of Holland attracts tourists from all over the world. The modern capital of a European state surprises travelers with Van Gon's masterpiece palette, colorful tulip fields, the Museum Quarter, labyrinths of streets and bustling cycling. These and many more attractions make it so attractive. Therefore, today we will consider in detail all the possible options for how to get from Cologne to Amsterdam.
Types of transport
Cologne is located in the west of Germany, which is a great advantage if you need to get from it to Amsterdam. The capital and at the same time the largest city of the Netherlands is located in the western part of the country, in the province of North Holland. On the map, it is replete with canals, as it is located at the mouth of two rivers: Ey and Amstay, and is also connected to the North Sea.
The distance from Amsterdam to Cologne is 265 kilometers. This assumes that the trip by any means of transport will not take long. The table shows the different means of transportation, travel times and prices.
| Type of transport | Price | Travel time |
|---|---|---|
| Train | 19, 90-44,90 € | 2 h 40 min |
| Bus | 18,90-28 € | 4 to 6 and a half hours |
| Own car | 35 | About 3 hours |
| Rented car | 233 € + petrol cost | |
| A fellow traveler | 13-20 € | |
| Airplane | 99-700 € with transfers | 3-7 hours |
How to get there by rail
You can get from one city to another by train. This option is quite fast and comfortable; the carrier company makes a lot of efforts to ensure comfort.
You can check the timetables and ticket prices in advance using the Deutsche Bahn website. In order to find tickets at the lowest and most favorable prices, you must immediately go to the “Saver fare finder” section on the main page. Since the destination station is located outside Germany, you will need to select a country in this section, namely Netherlands, by clicking on the inscription, as shown in the picture below.
Next, you need to indicate the station of departure and arrival of the train, in our case KÖLN - Amsterdam Centraal, the date of travel, as well as the age of the passenger. The fields to be filled in are marked in the picture.
After filling in the necessary information, the site will give you the train schedule and the cost of each of the flights. You can also book a train ticket here. To do this, you will need to click on the required flight and click on the inscription To book.
The train from Köln Hbf Station to Amsterdam Centraal Station can be reached in the morning, afternoon and evening. The interval between trains is two hours. The earliest flight leaves Cologne at 6.46, and the latest at 20.42. The journey takes on average 2 hours and 40 minutes.
The cost of an adult ticket varies from € 19.90 to € 44.90. The price of a railway ticket for a child aged 6 to 14 is 40-50% less. If it was not possible to buy a ticket in advance, then you can buy it directly at the station at the box office or in a special machine.
Getting there by bus
You can get from Germany to the Netherlands using the services of bus carriers. In this case, the duration of the trip is 4 to 7 hours. It is recommended to use the services of the carrier Eurolines or Flixbus. Traveling on the buses of these companies is comfortable and pleasant, which is explained by the successful transport planning and high-quality service.
Eurolines
Eurolines offers daily flights to the desired destination. Buses leave from the following locations Köln, Köln / Bonn Airport, and Fernbusbahnhof at 14.30 and 18.30, and arrive at the Stationsplein 3 Duivendrecht stop at 20.20 and 00.20, respectively.
Travel time is 5 hours 50 minutes. The price of an adult ticket is 28 euros. The cost of the travel card for infants and children under 3 years old is 11.20 €. You can book or buy a ticket online on the carrier's website.
Flixbus
The Flixbus carrier has a much larger number of flights on a given route. Depending on the travel time you choose, it will take from 3 hours 55 minutes to 6 hours 40 minutes.
Flights from Cologne depart primarily from Cologne-Bonn Airport. During the day at 11.00 and 11.30 there are a couple of buses that leave from Cologne East, Refrath and Leverkusen train stations.
The first bus leaves at 3.15 am, followed by several buses at 6.15 and 6.40. From 9 o'clock to 12 o'clock, flights run every hour, the last ones depart at 14.55 and 16.10. Arrival takes place at the Sloterdijk station.
The cost of both an adult and a child's travel card is from 18.90 to 22.90 euros. You can buy a ticket or book a seat on the carrier's website, which also has a Russian-language version.
Cologne to Amsterdam by car
A trip to Amsterdam from Cologne by your own car will be pleasant and short-lived. Depending on which main highway is chosen, it will be necessary to cover from 263 to 281 kilometers.
The fastest route is via the A3 road, along the route are Duisburg, Arnhem and Amersfoort. A slightly longer version of the trip along the A57 road, followed by an exit to the A73 highway.
Following this route, you can visit Düsseldorf, Nijmegen and Utrecht. You can also get on the B55 and A61 roads, with an exit to the A73 highway, as in the above option.
The advantage of traveling with your own car is the ability to include other cities in the route and make excursions around them.
The duration of the trip, excluding stops, is a maximum of 3 hours 10 minutes. With an average fuel consumption of 9 liters per 100 kilometers, you will need 25 liters of gasoline.
The price of gasoline in Germany for September 2021 is 1.39 € per 1 liter. In total, you will need to spend 35 euros.
With a rented car
To travel from Cologne to Amsterdam, you can rent a car, but this pleasure will be expensive. You can rent a car yourself in advance on the website of companies, for example, Hertz or Budget.
Depending on the model and type of car, the rental price starts from 233 euros per day, which is a significant amount. When a company of 4 or 5 people is recruited, renting a car can be more profitable, since everyone will need to spend 50-60 euros.
Get there by fellow traveler
The most popular travel companion service Blablacar offers travel offers from Cologne to Amsterdam. This option assumes that you can get there as comfortably and quickly as possible, because the journey will take place by car.
Most often, the most accurate information appears a couple of days before the trip, therefore it is important to track the site, periodically checking the required or desired date. Traveling with a travel companion can be quite cheap, besides, there are different options, and the price for one seat will vary from 13 to 20 euros.
Flight from Cologne to Amsterdam
Of course, it is possible to get from Cologne to Amsterdam by plane, but this method of travel has several serious drawbacks. Firstly, the flight will probably not be very cheap, and, secondly, you can only get there with a transfer, since there are no direct flights.
Even low-cost airlines offer quite expensive tickets. The plane journey takes 3 to 7 hours. In this case, the transfer takes place in Munich, Frankfurt, Zurich or Hamburg. Lufthansa has many flights.
Mostly flights are made in the morning and afternoon. The first connecting flight leaves Cologne-Bonn Airport at 5.55 am and arrives in Schiphol at 9.20 am. The very last one falls at 4:35 pm, and after 4 hours and 15 minutes it arrives at Amsterdam airport.
The air ticket price varies from 218 to 700 euros.
Germany's second low-cost airline, Eurowings, offers fewer connecting flights.
The choice is not rich: there are only three flights - at 12.00, 2.35 and 3.45. The travel time for the first two flights is from 6 to 7 hours, for the last one - 3 hours and 10 minutes. Tickets cost from 99 to 419 €.
To get to Cologne-Bonn Airport from the city, you can take the S13 train for 2.60 euros, as well as the Airport Express Bus buses numbered 670 and 161, which cost 2.20 euros.
Upon arrival at the Dutch airport Schiphol, the city center can be reached by train, which leaves every 15 minutes. To do this, you need to find a train that goes to Amsterdam Centraal station. A special feature is that regional trains do not have numbers, and tickets are not time-bound, so you should choose the train you want and get to the center during the day. The ticket price is 5.30 euros.
You can also get from the airport to the center by bus number 397, the fare is 6 euros. The most expensive option is a taxi ride, which will cost 40-50 euros.
Conclusion
You can get from Cologne to Amsterdam by almost all possible means of transport: train, bus, car or plane. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Air travel is expensive and impractical with connections. Another expensive and therefore unprofitable option is to rent a car.
Travel by bus and train are optimal options in terms of time and price, their indisputable advantage is a clear schedule and the ability to book a seat in advance.
If you have your own car, then you can make the trip yourself, because it is very fast and profitable. For young people and sociable people, searching for fellow travelers will be an excellent option, and its additional advantage is its low cost.
Having studied all the details in detail, you can deliberately choose the most suitable mode of transport to get from Cologne to Amsterdam.
