Avoid problems and read this before your trip

If you are an exchange student then you are probably going to be doing some travelling while you are here. While travelling is an exciting experience, it can often also be tedious and confusing. Take for instance the traveller who gets on the wrong train or bus, not to mention the added difficulty of the language barrier. I hope that this article can help you with some travelling tips and if not at least let you know that you’re not the only one who has experienced a travel blunder.

The first thing you should know is; if you are going to book your flight out of Amsterdam – do not book it for 10 o’clock in the morning. That is unless you like sleeping on the cold floor of Schipol Airport. If you do book a morning flight you run the risk of not being able to get the airport in time because in some cases the first train to leave Groningen is at 6:45 am. This ultimately means that as your train was coming in to Amsterdam your plane would be somewhere overhead.

As I am sure you would like to make your flight the other option is to catch the train that leaves the night before. That unfortunately means you will undoubtable end up sleeping on the floor of Schipol Airport. Of course there is the option of booking a hostel in Amsterdam but that is another added cost and hassle. It is much easier to just book your flight for later in the day, trust me!

Following on from that is the fact that The Netherlands is not a country that stays open 24 hours seven days a week. So keep in mind when travelling that shops close early and everything is closed on Sunday, even supermarkets. If you are catching transport on Sundays it is more limited and you will most likely have to make several connections. Whether you need to catch a train to Amsterdam or a bus to Bremen, check that it is running and when the first and last service runs.

While you are busy making memories on your incredible travels and visiting all the tourist attractions remember to take your Dutch student card with you. This is especially important if you don’t come from a European Union country. Because when armed with your Dutch student card you are a EU student meaning you can get in to most tourist attractions for free or at a discounted price. For example if you are in Paris, you can visit the Louvre for free. We all know that when something is free it is enjoyed that much more. So make use of that student card.

For most tourist attractions there is a huge line to get in to the building or to get a ticket. But there is always a lesser-known entrance or ticket booth and it pays to find it. I will once again use the Louvre to demonstrate this. There is permanently a mammoth line to enter the Louvre through the pyramid. To get around this you can go in through the entrances on either side of the archway. This means you will miss out on the long and painful line and you can still walk through the pyramid on the way out. Another way to beat the curse of the line is to book tickets online. This way you don’t have to spend all of your precious holiday time waiting in queues.

When arriving back from your incredible trip to some unknown exotic location keep in mind that trains from Schipol to Groningen often split in two. There is nothing that can bring you down from your travel high quicker than getting lost on your way home. It is important to find out if the train you are catching is going to split. You don’t want to be sitting in a carriage only to find out that the train split at the last station and you are heading to Leeuwarden while the other half of the train is heading to Groningen.

They announce the carriage you need to be in over the loudspeaker but unless you speak Dutch you won’t have the slightest clue what they are saying. So to be on the safe side make sure you ask the conductor, or a Dutch person on the train, if you are in the carriage going to Groningen. While I am sure Leeuwarden is a lovely town you probably do not want to end up there with your backpack full of dirty laundry and those post holiday blues.

On a final note, travelling is full of moments where you get to the airport 25 minutes before your plane leaves because the train isn’t running to the airport that morning or you packed one pair of socks for two-weeks. But at the end of the day that doesn’t matter because it is all about what you get see, who you meet and the thrill of travelling.

By Rose Cawley

Groningen has a small airport (website), but since they only offer very little numbers of flights to Greece, Spain and Turkey, it is recommended to use the International Airport or Amsterdam, called Schiphol. All the major airlines have branches in Schiphol so this will most likely be your #1 place of arrival in the Netherlands by plane.

The Airport of Eindhoven (website) offers ryanair flights at the usual lost cost, but with travelling with luggage, the price easily increases.

The Ryanair-Airport of Bremen (website) offers various destinations within Europe at a low cost, again the extra luggage will add to that. Getting from the airport of Bremen to the city of Groningen is really simple. The bus company Public Express offers direct connections 4x a day from the airport to the bus/train station in Groningen.

There are various coach companies that operate Europe-wide and are often less expensive than flights, but also less comfortable and time-effective. For prices and timetables, please check out the following websites:
Touring.de
Eurolines.nl
Coacheurope.com