Thalys train From Amsterdam to Paris.

[twochutesout]

I am looking into buying Thalys train tickets form Amsterdam to Paris but have a few questions/concerns. My wife and I are flying into Amsterdam on the 29th of this month and need to get to Paris the same day. I first started looking on Thalys.com but found better prices on Thalys.nl. I also noticed on Thalys.nl that if I depart from Central Station I can opt to put in a pin number and pick my tickets up from a machine in Central Station, however if I opt to depart from Schiphol my only option is to have the tickets sent to me and it does not look like it is an option to have them sent to the US. IS my best option to travel from the air port to Central Station and then pick up my Thalys tickets and travel back through the air port on my way to Paris – or is there something I’m missing? Can I just show up in Amsterdam on the 29th and buy my tickets then? If so – I am being quoted 195 euro on Thalys.nl, would it be much more buying that day. Also if so, is there Thalys service desk or vending machine in the air port or would I need to travel to Central Station to buy tickets.

Wow that’s allot of questions – I hope I haven’t been confusing.

Thanks

two

[madamtrashheap]

two, just saw your post and realised you're leaving in a few days, so maybe the issue of having the passes sent to you is no longer on the table due to time constraints - whoops.

It does seem odd that you can't/couldn't get tickets for Schiphol departures in the machines as per Centraal Station. And yes, it would be a back-track to go the 20mins into the centre, only to turn around and cruise straight back past/through the airport. You can buy them on the day, not sure of the cost difference or if there even is one. I gather the Euro195 for both tickets? If so, that price is pretty standard, even if tickets aren't pre-bought. You don't say what time you land, but it shouldn't be a problem on a Thursday for getting seats on the train (just under 4 hour trip) as it's not the day before the weekend - I've found most people travel on Friday or very early Saturday. There are machines at Schiphol, as well as service desks. Just go to the main travel centre for tickets and they can book them there for you.

So if you decided to buy your tickets once you arrive, you should be fine, even though it's the middle of the Summer season. And if it turns out that there aren't any seats for a while, you can always wander Amsterdam for a few hours as trains are more than once a day.

Have fun! ;D