Advice on ticketing for train travel from Hook of Holland to Basel, Switzerland

[gibbo]

Hi - thinking of getting the ferry from Harwich to Hook of Holland then training it down to Basel where I would start heading back northwards on the Eurovelo 15 along the Rhine.

My question is about ticketing - where to buy (I'm UK based) and do I need/ how to reserve my bike for said journey.

I've checked out several routes and for me the fewest amount of changes would be preferable (currently 3) so I'm assuming each change requires a bike reservation?

TIA.

[robgul]

Trainline will now do all that for you - and most services that take bikes have the details, and you can book.

[bhoot]

It's a while ago now (pre-pandemic, probably 2018) but we used Deutsche Bahn's UK office where you could speak to someone (useful for making tandem bookings!). I don't know whether it still exists, pretty sure it was in Surbiton. They managed to get us plus bike back from Berlin via one overnight train, 2 local German trains, one local Dutch train and finally a Dutch intercity...All worked well

[Auntie Helen]

There is a 9€ ticket now for all the regional trains in Germany - valid for a month! Means the trains could be very full. I assume you’d still need to buy a bike ticket.

[chrisbainbridge]

The 9€ ticket is a nightmare.    It means the trains are jam packed as I found yesterday on a local train. We had a carriage full of people plus 6 bikes.
I think it varies by region if you need a bike ticket if I understood the very helpful lady.

I would go with Deutschebahn as booking bikes across borders is not possible online.

[Ivo]

You don't need DeutscheBahn for this one. Basel has 3 railway stations, 1 Swiss, 1 German and 1 French
For the stretch to Paris there are no reservations needed:
NL:
Hoek van Holland, bike to Rotterdam (there's no trainline anymore, only a metro)
Rotterdam-Roosendaal with a Dutch ticket (online via www.ns.nl)
Roosendaal-Lille with a Belgian ticket (online via www.nmbs.be)
Lille-Paris via local trains (online ticket via the SNCF or the ticket machine)
alternatively Roosendaal-Mons, cycle 20km and then the Maubeuge-Paris train
Then Paris-Basel via the SNCF. This you can also do with local trains (TER) taking about 6 hours.
The advantage of using this connection is that there's not a single reservation involved and you don't have to disassemble your bike. It would normally need a night somewhere though.

[gibbo]

Thanks for all the responses, much appreciated.

[The Family Cyclist]

When are you doing EV15? I've got the guidebook if you want to borrow it as hopefully doing it from koln next year

[gibbo]

When are you doing EV15? I've got the guidebook if you want to borrow it as hopefully doing it from koln next year

Thanks for your very kind offer but I already have the guidebook plus the gpx routes they offer once you’ve got the book. Thinking July but tbh the train travel aspect is putting me off. Plus I can only do this trip if I don’t fly to the US. If I don’t do it this year then I’m aiming for next.

[psyclist]

tbh the train travel aspect is putting me off

I’ve found travelling around Northern Europe with the bike on a train isn’t a huge issue. Personally I use an unpadded bike bag, which covers the bike with just the wheels taken off. This enables travel on more of the fast trains. But there are still many options with an assembled bike if avoiding the fast trains that don’t take them. My bike bag rolls-up and is easy to carry stashed away on the bike when touring.

A good source of information if you’ve not already been using it is seat61, which explains the situation in each country, as well as options for travel from the UK. https://www.seat61.com/bike-by-train.htm