Taking the train in the Netherlands

You can travel with your bike on the railways internally in the Netherlands (NS ) (www.ns.nl) on most trains during non-peak hours. You have to buy a ticket and your bike needs one as well (6 Euro a day). You cannot travel on inland trains with your bike during the weekday morning and evening rush hours: (6:30 to 9 am and 4:30 to 6 pm), except during July and August when the some of the Dutch migrate to other countries. There is a list of international trains offering bike places on the international section of the web site. Some of these like the trains from Venlo to Cologne or Heerlen to Aachen are local commuter trains that cross borders, but there are also trains to faraway places such as Berlin, Munich and Zurich. Putting your bike on an international train will cost you 12 Euro for a single ticket and 24 Euro for a return ticket at the time of writing. The web site is clear and easy to use in English and also in Dutch (I assume, though my Dutch is limited to "Let Op!" - beware!).