Amsterdam to København by train

My first loooong train ride was from Amsterdam, The Netherlands to København, Denmark and I absolutely loved it! Here you’ll find several of the best routes to take by train from The Netherlands to København. For all of them, you need to book tickets in advance. The first train (IC Berlin) has assigned seating, but for the other German trains it’s recommended to reserve a seat as well. This only costs a few euros extra. The overall price varies depending on the time of year and is typically lower when you book several months in advance. Of course, the route works the other way around as well.

Option 1 – 10.34 hours, 2 changes

Amsterdam > Osnabrück > Hamburg > København

This is the fastest route, which usually runs twice a day. There’s a 40 minute break in Hamburg to get some food and stretch your legs. If you want a longer break, Hamburg is a good place to stop for a few hours. There are plenty of food options in and around the station. For booking your trains, I’d recommend using Trainline, as this avoids having to book separate tickets with multiple railway operators.

Option 2 – 10.53 hours, 3 changes

Amsterdam > Osnabrück > Hamburg > Fredericia > Københaven

This option allows for stretching your legs an extra time in Denmark. I took this route once and I liked the number of stops/changes. As an alternatively to Fredericia, you could also decided to change trains in Kolding.

Travelling from elsewhere in The Netherlands

When I went to Sweden for a cycling trip, I travelled from Den Haag. This means I couldn’t take the IC Berlin to Osnabrück and changed in Enschede and Münster instead. Other routes you can take to cross the border between The Netherlands and Germany by train are via Maastricht-Aachen, Venlo-Düsseldorf and Arnhem-Duisburg. To get to Denmark, you’ll always go via Hamburg. In any case, Denmark is too close to the Netherlands to justify flying there, and I really enjoyed travelling to København by train. So grab a book, some snacks, and hop on that train!

* This post includes an affiliate link. Booking your train ticket through this link helps maintain The Sustainable Travel Guide, as I receive a small commission. I only use affiliate links for brands I personally use and support.