How to get to Nijmegen

Depending on how you arrive in the Netherlands, this is how you can find the city of Nijmegen:

By air
If you come to the Netherlands by air, you can take a train from Schiphol Airport to Utrecht (there are trains every thirty minutes), where you change trains. From Utrecht you can take direct trains to Nijmegen Central Station every thirty minutes. The journey will take an hour and a half in total.

By train
If you are travelling by train (possibly preceded by a boat journey) from your own country, one of the following situations will apply:

  • Coming from the south (from Paris, Brussels, etc.), you will have to change trains at the first station in the Netherlands, Roosendaal. You take the inter-city train to Zwolle, and get off in Nijmegen. There is a train every thirty minutes, and the journey will take about an hour and a half.

  • Coming by boat from overseas (England, Ireland), you will probably arrive in Hoek van Holland. At Hoek van Holland you should take the train to Rotterdam Central Station, where you change trains for Breda. In Breda, board the train to Nijmegen. The train journey takes between 2 and a half and 3 hours.

  • Coming from the southeast (Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, etc.), the train will take you through Germany along the Rhine until you arrive in Arnhem. Trains between Arnhem and Nijmegen run every 10-15 minutes. It only takes a quarter of an hour to get from Arnhem to Nijmegen.

  • Coming from the east (northern Germany, Denmark, boat-trains from Scandinavia, Poland, the New Independent States, etc.), the trains’ itinerary will include cities such as Hanover in Germany. Hengelo is the first station in the Netherlands. Do not get off there, but continue for half an hour until you get to Zutphen, where you change trains for Nijmegen. You should arrive in Nijmegen after approximately 40 minutes.


When travelling by train, keep three things in mind:

  • Always check to verify that the travel information mentioned above is still correct (See www.ns.nl).

  • In the Netherlands, trains do not run all night. If you arrive on a very late international train, it is possible that you will not make it to Nijmegen that day.

The latest possible arrival time ranges between 0.30 A.M. and 1.30 A.M.

  • Do not buy a ticket every time you change trains. Just buy a ticket to Nijmegen at the first station in the Netherlands you enter, regardless of how many times you may have to change trains. This will save you much time (and money).


Where can you buy train tickets?
There are NS ticket machines or NS ticket vending machines with touch screen on every station. More information about these ticket machines can be found at www.ns.nl, the website of the Dutch Railway Company.
Medium-sized stations also have a small shop, Wizzl or Kiosk, where tickets can be bought.
The bigger stations (including Schiphol Airport) have ticket offices.

You cannot buy a ticket on the train
As of 1 october 2005 a fine of 35 euro is added to the fare if you do not have a valid ticket on boarding the train.
We advise you to buy a ticket before boarding.