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Amsterdam Tips > Utrecht Guide > Travel to Utrecht
How to Get to Utrecht, Netherlands
Utrecht lies in the centre of the Netherlands about 45km south of Amsterdam and is very easy to get to. Utrecht Central Station is the main domestic railway hub of the country with direct rail services from many major cities in Netherlands. There are also some international trains and coaches serving Utrecht. |
Getting to Utrecht from Amsterdam Schiphol airport - There is a regular rail service from Schiphol to Utrecht Central which makes stops at Amsterdam Zuid and Amsterdam Bijlmer. The train continues south to Eindhoven and Maastricht / Heerlen. The journey takes 33 minutes and costs €7.90 (2nd class) and €13.40 (1st class).
A taxi from Schiphol to Utrecht would cost around €90 on the meter though you may be able to negotiate a lower fixed fare with some companies.
Getting to Utrecht from Amsterdam Central - Services run every 15 minutes also stopping at Amsterdam Amstel - the journey takes 27 minutes. One-way tickets costs €6.80 (2nd class) and €11.60 (1st class).
Getting to Utrecht from Rotterdam - There is a 4x hourly service from Rotterdam which goes to Utrecht, via Rotterdam Alexander and Gouda. This 38 minute trip costs €9.30 (2nd class) or €15.80 (1st class).
If you are heading to Utrecht and travelling on either the Thalys train (which runs from Paris/Brussels/Antwerp to Amsterdam) or the Brussels-Amsterdam Intercity train - and this could also include connecting passengers from the London Eurostar - then you should change in Rotterdam, not Amsterdam.
Randstad night train service - Note there are hourly night trains running from both Utrecht and Rotterdam on the following route: Rotterdam-Delft-Den Haag HS-Leiden-Schiphol-Amsterdam-Utrecht.
Getting to Utrecht from Eindhoven - An intercity service runs from Eindhoven to Utrecht via Den Bosch 4x hourly. The 50 minute trip costs €12.90 (2nd class) and €21.90 (1st class). More info here for those arriving at Eindhoven airport. Note, there are no night train services. |
International train services to/from Utrecht - The regular ICE train between Frankfurt/Cologne/Dusseldorf and Amsterdam makes a stop at Utrecht central. There is also a daily service to/from Basel in Switzerland. In addition, all the night train "sleeper" services to/from Amsterdam (Basel/Zurich/Munich/Berlin/Copenhagen/Prague/Warsaw) make a stop in Utrecht.
On arrival at Utrecht central station head upstairs from the platform to the main hall. The station contains a NSHispeed international rail ticket counter, ATM machines, a bureau-de-change, a number of cafes and fast food outlets, Albert Heijn To Go mini supermarkets, an Etos chemist and a newsagent.
The station and surrounds are concrete monstrosities built in the 1960s and a major renovation project is underway to improve the area. To leave the station head through to the connected Hoog Catharijne shopping centre whose exit(s) will take you towards the centre.
Eurolines Coach Services - There is a 2x daily coach service to London (a day service and an overnight service). There are also direct Eurolines services from Utrecht to Brussels, Paris, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Cologne, Frankfurt, Prague and Barcelona. Connections are possible all over Europe.
The Eurolines bus station is at Jaarbeursplein at the western side of central station. The Eurolines office is located in the walkway to the main station hall (at Stationsplein 57).
Brabant Liner - This is a domestic intercity bus (services 400/401 run by Veolia) that travels between Breda and Utrecht. The journey takes about 90 minutes.
Driving - We don't recommend visitors drive if they only need to visit the city centre, as parking rates are expensive. Utrecht is a central motorway hub surrounded by the following roads - the A2, the major north-south artery linking Amsterdam to Maastricht; the A12 linking Arnhem and Den Haag; the A27 which connects Almere to Breda and the A28 which goes to Groningen via Amersfoort and Zwolle.
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