Train journey with bikes, trailer and young child to Germany - madness?

[TPMB12]

Is it madness or possible to take bikes, trailer and young child from the ferry terminal in Netherlands to Germany by train?

With a return journey at the end of 2 weeks.

[Karla]

In 2014 a friend and I finished our tour at Berlin, caught the train to Amsterdam, connected to Ijmuiden and caught the ferry to Newcastle.  The Berlin-Amsterdam train had an entire car for bikes, with plenty of space for a trailer - someone might have had one for all I remember.  By that route, it would be eminently possible. 

[Wowbagger]

Mrs. Wow and I took a tandem with a trailer to the Netherlands a few years ago. We took the Greater Anglia train to the Hook, cycled to the Amsterdam area, watched our nephew get married and then cycle to Utrecht before catching trains back to the Hook of Holland and home to Southend. The only hitch we encountered was the one that attached the trailer to the bike.

[Rod Marton]

It's a few years since I've done anything like this, but it should be possible.

From the Hook it's a local train to Rotterdam, won't be a problem. From there it depends. Deutsche Bahn run three types of long-distance train: IC, EC and ICE. IC and EC accept bikes, ICE don't.

It's worth checking the DB website: https://www.bahn.de/p/view/service/fahrrad/07rad_fahrradzuege.shtml (in German I'm afraid). The penultimate paragraph is probably most appropriate for you: For reasons of capacity particular types of bicycle (e.g. tandem, recumbent) are not permitted on all long distance trains, on which we offer cycle carriage. For these bicycle types you must book special places before embarking on your journey.

So it should be possible, but get in touch with Deutsche Bahn to check.

[TPMB12]

Sounds like we will have no major problems. Helps to have a German speaker for a partner. I'll point her in the direction of the German website.

We were thinking of 2 wks in France taking the car and bikes. The German idea came about because we here Germany is so bike friendly. I've been pointed at a few areas. One was black forest area. My partner has knowledge of parts of Germany having lived there before now. She has another couple of areas that's worth going to. I thought Bavaria but she said that's quite hilly and down south = longer to get to.

The good thing is trains are a possibility.

[Veloman]

The challenge I have found with a tandem is the need to change platforms or cross bridges at stations.

Hopefully a lift is available and the Bike Friday tandem we use for travel abroad is shorter that large wheel tandems which makes fitting in lifts easier.

Also, we caught one train in Holland last year that only accepted single bikes or folding tandems.  We said our tandem was folding and would break-apart to form 2 bike lengths.  Fortunately, it just fit in the space owing to the small wheels reducing overall length.

I took 26" wheel tandem and trailer abroad once and it was a challenging as the overall length was 4m or approximately the length of an old Vauxhall Cavalier Estate.  Quite a beast!  Had we needed to use a lift, or transit stairs, we would have had to do separate journey for tandem and trailer.

Challenges are not insurmountable, but they may be there; forewarned is forearmed!  Sounds like a great adventure!

[trekker12]

We are currently planning something similar. We live near to Harwich (Well in Ipswich but the river between the two isn't huge and there is a ferry from felixstowe) so are planning to cross to Hook on the night ferry then spend a leisurely day on the trains with plenty of time between changes to Dusseldorf where we intend to board the night sleeper to Munich. Ride from Munich to Venice and then a train back by a similar route.

The night sleeper (which unfortunately no longer goes from Amsterdam, hence Dusseldorf) saves a night in a hotel and allows hopefully stress free travel to Southern Germany or Austria. It's run by Austrian railways (OBB) if you want to look at their website.

[yorkie]

Please be aware that from April there are no trains between Hoek van Holland and Schiedam Centrum (- Rotterdam) as the line is being converted to an extension of the Rotterdam Metro. I am lead to believe that once the line reopens in 2018 that bikes will be restricted to certain times of day - in line with the rest of the Rotterdam metro.

[Wowbagger]

It is, however, a lovely ride from the Hook to The Hague. In my view it is at its best in May, when pretty well every bush has a nightingale singing. Wonderful sound.

[trekker12]

Thanks for the heads up. We will cycle it anyway. We have plenty of time to get to Rotterdam and one less train to load a heavy touring bike onto- It will be July so there may be less nightingales

[TPMB12]

Google maps has just given me a cycle route from hoek van Holland to Bavaria, Germany that's 823 km and the time taken is2 days! More precisely 1 day and 20 hours. Is that even feasible for humans touring fully loaded?

[TPMB12]

At that rate i believe you would need to cycle at about 25mph consistently for 12 hours a day without stopping. Beyond my abilities.