Prague, Berlin, Amsterdam

Hi, i am planning to go to Prague in early June and end up in Amsterdam via Berlin.........I plan to spend a week maximum maybe less in Prague and Berlin, then spend about 10 days in Amsterdam........Would anybody be able to give me any information on the train times and prices from Prague to Berlin then Berlin to Amsterdam?

Also i have a hostel sorted for Prague but if anybody had any recommendations for any nice budjet hostels in Berlin and Amsterdsam.....plus any other advice

many thanks

Hello Carpet,

I'm actually doing the opposite, going from Amsterdam to Prague, which Prague hostel are you staying in? I haven't booked one yet.

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/e

this is a great site for train times and prices in Europe, the English language option is at the top.

I've heard good things about the Circus Hostel in Berlin and Flying Pig Downtown in Amsterdam, although the pig was booked for the days when I'm there so I'll be staying at St Christopher's - The Winston.

Thanks for the reply faldor......ll be staying at aparthouse 20 in Prague.....i couldnt recommend it enough its right i the middle of wenceslas square, i stayed there for a few nights in December.

Prague-Berlin is about 45 EUR regular fare and Berlin-Amsterdam is about 120 EUR regular fare.

But if you book online in advance through www.bahn.de you can get special offers - 19/29 EUR for Prague-Berlin and 39/49/59/69/79 EUR for Berlin-Amsterdam.

Alternatively you can also use special discounted train tickets that allow you unlimited travel on regional trains (Laenderticket or happy-weekend-ticket). With this method it will be 37 EUR from Berlin to the Dutch border and about 30 EUR from the Dutch border to Amsterdam.

For Berlin-Amsterdam you can also look at budget flights and for Prague-Berlin at bus transport.

http://www.skyscanner.net
http://czech-transport.com/index.php?id=351

Recommended stops enroute:

Dresden, halfway between Prague and Berlin - leave Prague early in the morning, visit Dresden and continue later in the day to Berlin. Around Dresden the Koenigsstein Fortress is really worth seeing. To get there get off the EC train at Bad Schandau and take the S-Bahn (small local train) to Königstein.

Spreewald, a unique area of irrigation channels just south of Berlin. The "capital" of the area is Lübben. Both Lübben and the smaller Lübbenau can be reached by train from Berlin and from Dresden. Rent a bicycle or a canoe and explore the area that way.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spreewald
spreewald map, pdf file

Quedlinburg - a great old city with a completely preserved medievial inner city. The place is about 3 hours away from Berlin and 1 hour south of Magdeburg. Leave Berlin very early in the morning and visit Quedlinburg, then either stay there for the night or catch a late-night connection to Hannover and then Amsterdam.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quedlinburg

[ Edit: Edited on 21-May-2009, at 11:23 by t_maia ]

thanks for the info t_maia.....they sound like great places to visit, ill try and get to as many as possible

hi carpet, i am currently in edinburgh, may i kow roughly how muhc r u going to spend for this trip? i am thinking.... if possible i can join u... coz i m nothing to do at the moment.... i am guy, and u?

but are u going alone or u have friend to go with, most importantly is u mind to let pp join u?

Heya,
Sounds like an awesome trip lined up there! I'm not sure if you've booked your accommodation in Berlin yet, but a really cool hostel to check out is: Circus Hostel - it's right in the heart of things with clean well appointed rooms and best of all its nice and close to the metro. A pretty cool travel site that has a bit of info on each of the places you mentioned is: www.urwurld.com - it lists the highlights of the cities and their mapped locations.
Bon Voyage!

There are some excellent hostels in The Red Light of Amsterdam. Check out 'Hostel Meeting Point' and 'Old Quarter'. HM Point is quite a bit cheaper out of the two and offers 10 in a room dorms for around €18 a night including a very nice breakfast. OQ has single rooms for around €35 a night - again, including an excellent breakfast.
As a point of my previous experiences of travelling The European Mainland - I would suggest a little less than 10 days in Amsterdam - and maybe do another city for awhile too. I can suggest a few if you're interested.
Sounds like a great trip ahead.

Some great hostels in Amsterdam :

Flying Pig Downtown
Winstons (St Christophers)
Bulldog in Red Light District

I have stayed in loads of hostels in Amsterdam, and although the ones I have mentioned may not be the cheapest, they are the best I have stayed at in terms of cleanliness, friendly staff, great bar areas and location. They are probably the 3 most well known hostels in Amsterdam and they seem to have got their name about because they do offer a good service. Of course there are a few cheaper options (like the Meeting Point) but they are nowhere near as nice. In fact the Meeting Point is the only hostel I have ever walked out of because it was so bad.

Post#9#.... What was so bad about the Hostel Meeting Point when you walked in and then out?? I've been staying there (along with tens of thousands of other backpackers) for years - and have never had a problem. It's cheap and spotlessly clean whenever I've stayed there. What's gone wrong??