 Taking your bike on Eurostar... You can take your bike on Eurostar in the luggage compartment for £30 each way (pre-booking required). Full details in the text... |
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 Taking a bike beyond Paris, Brussels or Amsterdam: City Night Line sleeper trains are particularly bike-friendly, as they have bicycle compartments and take bikes for €10-€15 per journey. Routes include Paris to Berlin, Paris to Munich, Amsterdam & Cologne to Copenhagen, Dresden, Prague, Zurich, Munich. Book online at www.bahn.de or by phone from DB's UK office, 08718 80 80 66. More details info in the text... |
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Cycle compartments: This is the cycle compartment in the City Night Line sleeper train from Amsterdam to Prague... |
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 Bike bags: In an ideal world you'd always find a train that takes bikes in the luggage van or special bicycle compartment. However, on many routes packing your bike into a zip-up bike bag is the only option, with pedals & wheels removed and handlebars turned. Bags cost £50-£100, this recommended dhb one is about £75. See www.wiggle.co.uk. Unfortunately, Eurostar no longer allows any bike bags over 85cm in any one dimension. Photo courtesy of Wiggle Online Cycle Shop. |
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On this page...
...you'll find advice on how to take you bike with you by train from the UK to countries all over Europe. You can take your bicycle with you on many European trains, though the arrangements vary on different services and in different countries. If you have any feedback on taking bikes to Europe by train that might help fellow cyclists, please let me know. Think of your journey as a 3-stage process:
Step
1, taking your bike on British trains from your local
station to London
Step 2, taking your bike from London to Paris, Brussels
or Amsterdam
Step 3, taking your bike on trains beyond Paris, Brussels
or Amsterdam
How to take your bike by train from the UK to...
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Reports & advice from fellow cyclists...
Folding bikes, tandems, motorbikes...
OK, lets deal with these first. The rest of this page will deal with normal one-person non-folding bikes.
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Small folding bikes (for example, Bromptons) count as normal luggage, so are no problem on any UK train or on Eurostar or any European train, although it's best to put them in a cover. On Eurostar, the maximum dimension must not exceed 85cm.
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Tandems are often not carried on trains at all, even ones that take regular bikes. In the UK, only 5 or 6 out of over 20 train companies will carry tandems, including Virgin, East Coast, First Great Western InterCity and selected Greater Anglia routes including the ones linking London, Ipswich & Norwich to Harwich for the ferry to Holland, see www.tandem-club.org.uk/_tandemsontrains.htm for details.
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Motorbikes are not carried on any regular European passenger trains at all, only on special car-carrying motorail trains which run on certain dates on a few key holiday routes, so for motorcycle transport see the Motorail page.
Step 1, taking your bike on British trains...
You can take your bike on almost all British trains, as long as you avoid Monday-Friday peak hours around London & other big cities. Sometimes bikes go free on a turn-up-&-hop-on basis, on other trains there are only a limited number of bike spaces so you must make a reservation for your bike and sometimes pay a small fee. The arrangements vary on each UK train operator, but they are explained on these recommended websites:
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www.atob.org.uk/Bike_Rail.html - the A to B Bike/Rail page, a truly excellent summary of arrangements on each UK train operator.
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www.nationalrail.co.uk/passenger_services/cyclists.html - the cycle page on the official National Rail website.
Step 2, getting your bike to Paris, Brussels or Amsterdam...
The next step is to get your bike to Paris, Lille or Brussels on Eurostar, or to the Netherlands by Dutch Flyer train & ferry.
Taking bikes to Paris or Brussels by Eurostar...
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Option 1: Take it with you for £30 using one of the special bike spaces on board Eurostar: You can pre-book one of the bike spaces on the same Eurostar as you for £30 each way - assuming other cyclists haven't already booked up all the available bike spaces, of course. First buy your own Eurostar tickets in the normal way, then call Eurostar's baggage line on 0844 822 5822 to book a bike space on the same train as you (call +870 5 850 850 from outside the UK). You will need to quote your Eurostar booking reference. This is service started in April 2008, a huge improvement over the previous system set out in option 3 below, and it proved very successful, with a 300% increase in bikes carried. For details, see the Eurostar website bicycle information page or call the Eurostar registered baggage line on 0844 822 5822 (from outside the UK call +44 207843 7554). To protect your bike whilst in transit, you can buy a polythene protector bag for about £4 from www.ctcshop.com. You drop off the bike at the luggage office at St Pancras (a 5 min walk from the departure gates, it's well signposted) and pick it up at the luggage office at Paris Nord or Brussels Midi. Allow time to do this as well as check in yourself. Note that you can only take a bike on Eurostar to or from London, not to or from Ebbsfleet or Ashford.
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Option 2, send it as registered baggage for £30 each way: You can send your bicycle on Eurostar from London to Paris or Brussels as registered baggage for a fee of around £30 each way. You will need to show your Eurostar ticket or booking reference to qualify for this service. In around 80% of cases, if it's checked in at the baggage office an hour before departure, it will travel on the next train, but all Eurostar will 100% guarantee is that your bike will be available for collection at your destination within 24 hours of checking it in. The advantage of this service is that (a) you can send your bike a day or two ahead, it doesn't have to travel on the same Eurostar as you, and (b) you can just turn up on the day, pay your £30 and check it in, without pre-booking. For details, see the Eurostar website bicycle information page or call the Eurostar registered baggage line on 0844 822 5822 (from outside the UK call +44 207843 7554). To protect your bike whilst in transit, you can buy a polythene protector bag for about £4 from www.ctcshop.com.
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Option 3, put your bike in a bike bag and send it as registered luggage for £10/€15 each way: This is a cheaper version of option 2. You can send a bike as registered luggage for £10/€15 each way if you place it in a special zip-up bike bag with the wheels, pedals & saddle removed and handlebars turned to reduce bulk, so that the dimensions did not exceed 120cm x 90cm. No pre-booking is necessary, just hand it in at the Eurostar registered baggage office at least an hour before departure. On the down side, they cannot 100% guarantee it will travel on the same train as you, all they will guarantee is that you can collect it within 24 hours at the Eurostar's destination, so this option isn't suitable if you want to make same-day onward connections in Paris or Brussels to destinations further afield. Until recently, Eurostar allowed you to take a bike in a bike bag up to 120cm free of charge as normal luggage, stowed in the normal luggage racks the end of each coach, but unfortunately Eurostar changed its policy in late 2012 and now only allows luggage of any sort if it doesn't exceed 85cm in any one dimension. This rules out any free-of-charge bikes in bags other than Brompton-style folding bikes or children's bikes. However, in May 2013 Eurostar made a further change, and now allows bikes in bike bags up to 120cm to travel as registered baggage as above. See Eurostar website bicycle information page.
Taking bikes from London to Amsterdam by Dutch Flyer...
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What is the Dutch Flyer? The Dutch Flyer is a bike-friendly train-ferry-train service between London and Amsterdam, in fact between any rail station on the Greater Anglia network and any station in the Netherlands, with some great cheap fares available. One ticket covers your train to Harwich, the Stena Line ferry to Hoek van Holland, and an onward train to Amsterdam. There's a time-effective overnight service leaving London Liverpool Street station every day at 19:32, you sleep on the luxurious Stena Line superferry from Harwich to Hoek van Holland a private cabin with en suite shower & toilet, satellite TV and free WiFi 21:00-07:45, and arrive in Amsterdam by connecting train around 10:00 next morning. Highly recommended! For full details of the timetable, fares, cabin types, and how it all works, see the Netherlands page.
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Taking bikes on the train from London to Harwich: In the outward direction, you can take bikes from London to Harwich free of charge, with no reservation necessary if it's a direct train to Harwich, although a bike reservation is needed if you use an InterCity service between London and Manningtree. So no problem using the recommended 19:32 direct train from London which connects nicely with the overnight ferry, nor with the direct morning trains from London which connect with the daytime ferry, except on Saturday mornings when you have to change at Manningtree, so will need to make a free bike reservation by calling Greater Anglia. Just be aware that you can't take bikes on any trains leaving London 16:30-18:30 Mondays-Fridays. In the inwards direction, you cannot take bikes on trains arriving in London between 07:45 & 09:45 on Mondays-Fridays, which means that if you arrive at Harwich on the overnight ferry from Hoek on a weekday, you'll have to wait an hour or so and catch a later train to London than you would have done as a foot passenger, so you arrive in London after 09:45.
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Taking bikes on the ferry from Harwich to Hoek van Holland: When your train arrives at Harwich International, as you're a cyclist not a foot passenger you need to go up onto the footbridge (a lift is available) and out of the main station entrance, then cycle round to the motorists' ferry terminal so you can check in as a road user and ride your bike onto the ferry's car deck. Park the bike on board the ferry where you're shown and head upstairs to the cabins & passenger accommodations. While you are on the ferry, buy a Dutch Railways bicycle ticket from the information desk on deck 9 - the announcement that tickets for the Dutch railways are on sale at the information desk will remind you to do this! On arrival at Hoek van Holland, the ferry terminal is right next to the station.
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Taking bikes on Dutch trains from Hoek van Holland to Amsterdam: You can take bikes on any Dutch domestic train if you buy a bike ticket for around €6, except during peak hours when bikes are banned. Peak hours are defined as 06:30-09:00 & 16:30-18:00 Mondays-Fridays. So if you arrive at Hoek van Holland on the overnight ferry at 07:45 on a weekday, you'll need to wait an hour or so and catch the first train to Rotterdam after 09:00, changing at Rotterdam to arrive in Amsterdam around 11:30. But don't worry, Hoek van Holland is a nice little town, with a good supermarket and places for a coffee. In the return direction, the recommended trains from Amsterdam to Hoek to connect with both daytime and overnight ferries all leave outside peak times, so no problem.
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How to buy tickets: Fares from London to Amsterdam start at around £39 plus the cost of a cabin, cabins start at £30 for a single-berth or £43 per cabin for a 2-berth if there's 2 of you. Bikes go for an extra £4 or so each way! You can buy Dutch Flyer tickets from London (or any station on Greater Anglia) to Amsterdam online at www.dutchflyer.co.uk and simply add a bike during the booking process at the stage where you choose your cabin type and add dinner or breakfast in the restaurant. Remember that you'll still need to buy a Dutch Railways bicycle ticket at the information desk on deck 9 when you are on board the Stena Line ferry.
Other ferry options...
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London-Paris by train+ferry: It takes a lot longer than Eurostar and usually costs more, but you can take your bike with you from London to Paris by train+ferry+train if you prefer, see the London to Paris by train+ferry page for times & costs. Bikes are carried free of charge between London and Dover in the bike area on all trains except those arriving in London before 10:00 Monday-Friday, or leaving London between 16:00 and 19:00 on Monday-Friday. Bikes are then carried free between Dover and Calais on the ferries. Once in Calais, bikes are carried free on both the local trains from Calais to Boulogne, and the connecting express trains from Boulogne to Paris. On the Boulogne to Paris trains, cycles are carried in the special bicycle compartment which is normally in coach 14, marked with a bicycle logo.
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Newcastle or Hull to Holland: If you live in the North of England or Scotland, DFDS Seaways www.dfds.co.uk sail overnight from Newcastle to IJmuiden near Amsterdam, ideal if you live in the north of England or Scotland. P&O www.poferries.com sail from Hull to Rotterdam Europoort. Although these ferries have bus connections to Rotterdam/Amsterdam for foot passengers, the buses can't take bikes so some cycling will be necessary from the port. IJmuiden to Amsterdam is 27km (17 miles), 1 hours 30 by bike. Rotterdam Europoort to Rotterdam Centraal station is 37km (23 miles) and takes around 2 hours by bike.
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UK-Spain by ferry: Bike-friendly cruise ferries sail from Portsmouth to Bilbao & Plymouth or Portsmouth to Santander, a truly excellent way to reach Spain, see www.brittanyferries.co.uk.
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Other ferries: From the West Country & South Coast there are ferries to France then trains to Paris, see www.brittanyferries.co.uk (from Plymouth, Poole & Portsmouth) or www.ldlines.co.uk (from Portsmouth or Newhaven) then see the advice on taking bikes on trains in France. If you live in Ireland, direct ferries link Ireland (Rosslare or Cork) with France, www.irishferries.com.
Step 3, bikes on trains beyond Paris, Brussels or Amsterdam...
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Option 1: In a bike bag as carry-on luggage, semi-dismantled, free of charge: In practice (meaning sometimes officially, sometimes unofficially), you can take a bicycle with you as carry-on luggage free of charge on just about any train, national or international, if you put it in a zip-up bike bag, with wheels and pedals removed and handlebars turned. Aim for dimensions not exceeding 120cm x 90cm. Bike bags are available from most cycle shops, for example www.wiggle.co.uk. Just remember that it will be a fairly anti-social piece of luggage which may not endear you to your fellow-passengers in a crowded 6-berth couchette compartment on a night train. So if there's two of you, booking your own 2-bed sleeper would be better, for example. Lugging a bike bag around can be hard work, and so is dismantling and reassembling the bike each time it goes in and out of the bag. On the plus side, this option allows you to keep your bike with you, you can take it on almost all trains across Europe, and you can look after it, unlike flying. On a journey deep into eastern Europe, for example from the UK to Istanbul or Sofia or Moscow, this is the only option.
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Option 2: Take it with you in the baggage van or bicycle compartment: Many European trains allow you to carry bikes a special bicycle compartment, sometimes free, sometimes for a small fee. If a fee is charged, it's typically about €5-€15 per journey. But first let's manage your expectations: Bikes are generally allowed on local & regional trains in most countries, at least outside peak hours. Many inter-city trains also take bikes, although notably not in Spain, and in France only a few French TGVs take bikes that aren't in a bike bag. International trains are the biggest problem: On the plus side, City Night Line sleeper trains take bikes for a small fee in a special bike compartment on routes such as Paris-Berlin, Paris-Munich, Amsterdam-Prague, Amsterdam-Copenhagen, Amsterdam-Munich, Amsterdam-Zurich. Some TGV-Lyria trains between Paris & Switzerland now also take bikes. But the Paris-Madrid & Paris-Barcelona trainhotels only take bikes if they're in a bike bag (and you & your travelling companions have sole occupancy of a sleeper compartment). The overnight Thello sleeper trains & daytime TGV trains between Paris & Italy don't take bikes at all, even (if you ask them) when they're in bike bags. Thalys trains linking Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam & Cologne don't take bikes except in bike bags, and long-distance trains into eastern Europe such as Cologne-Moscow, Bucharest-Istanbul or Budapest-Sofia don't take bikes (except unofficially in bike bags) simply because these trains don't have a baggage van, they often consist of just one or two through sleeping-cars which are shunted from train to train. The information below may help in taking bikes to specific countries.
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For specific information on travelling with your bicycle within any given country, visit the website of the relevant national train operator, the useful links page has a list of all European railway websites. Admittedly it often takes a while to find the bike information on many sites, the site map is often the best place to start. Remember that Google language tools can translate webpages from other languages, as you'll often find only sketchy information on bike transport on the English version of some sites..
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For specific information on taking your bike from the UK to key European destinations, click on one of the links below, or simply scroll down the page...
Sponsored links...
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Taking bikes by train from the UK to France...
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Start by taking your bike on Eurostar to Lille or Paris as explained here. You'll find details of times and prices on the London to France page.
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You can officially take a bike with you semi-dismantled in a zip-up bike bag as hand luggage on any French train, including high-speed TGVs, free of charge. Dimensions should not exceed 120cm x 90cm. No separate bicycle reservation is necessary. You place it on the normal luggage racks at the end of each car.
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Many high-speed TGV trains in France will now take undismantled bikes in a special baggage area for a fee of €10 if you book a bike space in advance. You can't reserve bikes online, but you can reserve by phone by calling Rail Europe or you can book in person at a French station. This includes most TGV trains from Lille or Paris to Avignon, Marseille, Cannes, Nice. There are a maximum of 4 bike spaces per train. Obviously, it's much easier changing from Eurostar to a TGV at Lille than having to cycle across Paris, so look for a connection at Lille.
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Most Intercités de Nuit overnight trains within France take bicycles in a special bicycle compartment if you reserve space in advance and pay a small fee (about €10), while you sleep in a couchette or reclining seat. Intercités de Nuit routes include Paris to Lourdes, Cannes, Nice, Narbonne, Perpignan, Toulouse, and the Spanish frontier at Irun & Portbou. This makes an afternoon Eurostar then an overnight couchette train a good way to get your bike from the UK to southern France. You'll have to cycle across Paris, though.
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Bikes are carried free of charge in the luggage van on most local, regional and non-TGV inter-city trains, but not during the Monday-Friday peak hours on Paris commuter routes.
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For more information see the French Railways bicycle mini-website, www.velo.sncf.com (in French, but you try using Google to translate)
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To ask about or arrange bike transport on trains in France, and to buy tickets, call Rail Europe on 0844 848 5 848, lines open 09:00-19:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-18:00 Saturdays, closed Sundays. Bear in mind that you may still have to call Eurostar separately on 0844 822 5822 to book your bike on the Eurostar.
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The London to France page explains more about the best routes, train times & fares for travel from the UK to destinations all over France.
Taking bikes by train from the UK to to Belgium...
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Take Eurostar to Brussels as shown above.
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Once in Belgium, bikes can be carried on most Belgian internal trains by buying a 'bike card' for about €5 at the ticket office before boarding.
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For more information on taking bikes on trains within Belgium, see www.sncb.be.
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Don't forget that an overnight cruise ferry sails from Hull to Zeebrugge in Belgium, see www.poferries.com.
Taking bikes by train from the UK to the Netherlands...
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By Dutch Flyer train & ferry: A bike-friendly option is to take the Dutch Flyer train & ferry as shown above. This will get you from London to any station on Greater Anglia to Amsterdam or any Dutch station, and is highly recommended.
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By Eurostar: Alternatively, take Eurostar to Brussels as shown above. You pre-book your bike into one of Eurostar's bike spaces for £30 each way. Now you have a choice.
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Option 1 is to take a Thalys high-speed train from Brussels to Rotterdam or Amsterdam in just 1 hour 49 minutes, free of charge, but these require you to semi-dismantle your bike and place it in a zip-up bike bag not exceeding 90cm x 120cm, taken on board as carry-on luggage. If you choose this option, you can buy Eurostar+Thalys tickets from London to Amsterdam at www.b-europe.com, then make the phone call to book your bike onto the same Eurostar as you as shown above. Note that the new high-speed Fyra trains don't take bikes.
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Option 2 is to use the classic slow-speed route from Brussels to Amsterdam which from December 2012 means taking a half-hourly Belgian domestic InterCity train from Brussels to Antwerp, the hourly cross-border local train from Antwerp to Roosendaal, and a half-hourly Dutch domestic InterCity train to Amsterdam. This takes at least 3½ hours, on the plus side it saves you having to semi-dismantle your bike and bag it up, on the other hand you need to pay a few euros for the bike in both Belgium and the Netherlands, ask at the ticket office in Brussels a ticket for your bike. The clever way to book this is to buy a ticket from London to a destination called Any Belgian Station at www.eurostar.com, this covers Eurostar to Brussels and onward travel by Belgian domestic train to anywhere in Belgium, so it covers you all the way to Essen, the last station before the Dutch border. Then buy a ticket from Essen to Amsterdam (or your final Dutch destination) at www.b-europe.com. Just pick any journey option in the search results that involves just IC trains, not one involving Thalys or Fyra. You do not have to get off the train at Essen, that's merely where your tickets switch over.
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For more information on taking bikes on trains from Belgium to the Netherlands, see www.sncb.be. For information on taking bikes on trains in the Netherlands, see www.ns.nl.
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Direct ferries from Newcastle or Hull to Holland: If you live in the North of England or Scotland, don't forget the Newcastle-Amsterdam & Hull-Rotterdam overnight cruise ferries, both of which are bike-friendly.
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Bikes on trains within the Netherlands: Once in the Netherlands, bikes can be taken on all trains except in peak hours (06:30-09:00 & 16:30-18:00 Monday-Friday, no restriction on national holidays or in July & August). You need to buy a one-day bike ticket for around €6.
Taking bikes by train from the UK to Luxembourg...
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Take Eurostar to Brussels as shown above.
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Bicycles can be carried in the baggage van on the hourly InterCity trains from Brussels to Luxembourg on payment of a small fee of around €9 at the ticket office before travelling.
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For more information on taking bikes from Belgium to Luxembourg, see www.sncb.be.
Taking bikes by train from the UK to Switzerland...
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Bike-friendly option to Switzerland via Eurostar: It's now amazingly quick to reach Switzerland by train. London to Paris in 2 hours 20 minutes, change trains & stations, then high-speed TGV-Lyria trains link Paris with Geneva, Lausanne, Bern & Zurich in just 3 or 4 hours. You'll find full details of times & fares on the London to Switzerland page, but here are the arrangements for taking a bike with you:
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Step 1, take your bike to Paris by Eurostar as shown above, and cycle cross Paris from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de Lyon.
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Step 2, travel from Paris to Geneva, Lausanne, Bern & Zurich by high-speed TGV-Lyria train. Bikes are carried on some but not all TGV-Lyria departures in a special 4-bike compartment at the end of each TGV unit. You must pre-book a bike space and pay a small fee of around €10. To find out which departures take bikes and to buy tickets from London to Switzerland by train, call Rail Europe on 0844 848 5 848, lines open 0800-2100 Mon-Fri, 0900-1800 Saturdays.
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Alternatively, bikes can be taken on all TGV-Lyria trains between Paris & Switzerland as carry-on luggage in zip-up bike bags if no bigger than 120cm x 90cm. They go free of charge this way, and no reservation necessary for the bike. The only drawback is that as Eurostar now doesn't allow bike bags, so you'll have to semi-dismantle and bag up your bike in Paris.
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Bike-friendly option to Switzerland via Dutch Flyer train & ferry: This is another good option for cyclists, especially if you live in East Anglia:
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Step 1, travel from London to Amsterdam overnight on the integrated Dutch Flyer train+ferry+train service via Harwich-Hoek van Holland. You'd leave London around 19:32, sleep in a comfortable private cabin on the ferry, and arrive Amsterdam 10:00 to 11:30 next day. Spend the day in Amsterdam.
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Step 2, travel overnight from Amsterdam to Basel or Zurich by City Night Line sleeper train. Bikes are carried in the cycle compartment for a fee of around €15, reservation required.
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To book you and your bike this way, first book the train & ferry from London to Amsterdam online at www.dutchflyer.co.uk, you can add a bike during the booking process. Then book the sleeper train from Amsterdam to Basel or Zurich by phone with Deutsche Bahn UK on 08718 80 80 66 (as you cannot book online if you have a bike), lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 weekends. Alternatively, to have the whole trip sorted out with tickets for you and bike reservations on both the ferry and onward trains, call European Rail on 020 7619 1083 (please quote 'Seat61', lines open 08:30-18:00 Monday to Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday, £35 booking fee per transaction).
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Ferries from Newcastle or Hull: You can also reach Amsterdam via the DFDS Seaways Newcastle-Amsterdam & P&O Ferries Hull-Rotterdam overnight cruise ferries, both of which are bike-friendly.
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Bikes on trains within Switzerland: Bikes are allowed in the luggage van free of charge on almost all Swiss domestic trains, see the Swiss rail website www.sbb.ch for details (use the site map and look for 'bicycle'). There are a few trains that don't take bikes, if you use the journey planner at www.sbb.ch these will be shown with a crossed-out bike symbol. Bike spaces must be reserved in summer (March-November) when using ICN tilting trains.
Taking bikes by train from the UK to Italy...
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Unfortunately, the Thello sleeper trains from Paris to Venice, Florence or Rome don't carry bikes at all, even in bike bags, so that option is out. The route via Switzerland (details here) isn't good for bikes either, as bikes are not carried on tilting EuroCity trains between Switzerland and Milan.
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Possible bike route via Eurostar & Paris-Milan TGV: Bikes can be taken on the three daily Paris-Turin-Milan TGVs free of charge as carry-on luggage if you don't mind semi-dismantling it and putting it in a zip-up bike bag not exceeding 120cm x 90cm, as explained here. So you'd take your bike on Eurostar to Paris un-dismantled for £30 as explained here, cycle across Paris from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de Lyon, then remove handlebars, wheels and pedals and bag up your bike to take it to Turin or Milan by TGV free of charge. You'll find details of times and prices for the London-Paris-Milan journey by Eurostar & TGV on the London to Italy page, along with how to buy tickets online. You bike doesn't need a ticket or reservation on the TGV as it's in a bike bag as normal luggage, just buy tickets for yourself as shown on the London to Italy page then book your bike on the Eurostar by calling the Eurostar baggage line as explained above.
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Bike-friendly route via Eurostar & Paris-Munich sleeper train: If you don't want to dismantle your bike and bag it up, the best route for taking bikes to Italy is London-Paris-Munich-Verona, using Eurostar to Paris, a short cycle from Paris Nord to the nearby Paris Est, then the excellent City Night Line sleeper train from Paris to Munich and an equally excellent EuroCity train from Munich through the scenic Brenner Pass to Verona. One train a day continues beyond Verona to Bologna and another to Venice. See details of the route, times & fares on the London to Italy page here. See above for how to take bikes on Eurostar for £30 each way. The Paris to Munich City Night Line sleeper train takes bikes in the luggage van for a small fee of around €15, and bikes can be also be carried in the luggage van of the regular EuroCity trains from Munich via the scenic Brenner Pass to Verona for a similar fee. You cannot book bikes online, so to organise this trip with a bike call DB's UK office on 08718 80 80 66, lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 weekends. After buying London to Italy tickets and booking your bike on the German sleeper train and EuroCity train with DB, book your bike on the Eurostar by calling the Eurostar baggage line as explained above.
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Bikes on trains within Italy: Bikes can travel on any train if they are semi-dismantled and placed in zip-up bike bags, or they can travel in the luggage van on most local & regional trains for a €3.50 'bici in segito' bicycle pass (valid for 24 hours after stamping at the platform entrance). They can also travel in the bike spaces on a few InterCity & EuroCity trains for a bicycle supplement of €5, but not on high-speed Frecciarossa, Frecciargento or Frecciabianca trains. The local, regional, InterCity & EuroCity trains on which bikes can be taken are indicated with a bike symbol in the timetables (use www.trenitalia.com, make a journey enquiry, then select a train and click 'details by selection'). Bear in mind that it can take some ingenuity to get from (say) Milan to Rome by local or regional trains, often involving breaking the journey into short sections.
Taking bikes by train from the UK to Germany...
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Bike-friendly option via Eurostar to Munich, Hamburg, Berlin: One of the best options for cyclists is to take a late afternoon Eurostar to Paris with bikes carried as shown here. Cycle the 1/4 mile from Paris Nord to Paris Est. Then take the City Night Line sleeper train to Berlin, Hamburg or Munich. You'll find details of times & prices on the London to Germany page. Bicycles are carried on these City Night Line sleeper trains in a special bicycle compartment for a fee of around €15, bike reservation required. The cycle compartment is marked with a bicycle logo, see the photos at the top of this page. You cannot book a journey with a bike online, so to arrange this trip call Deutsche Bahn UK on 08718 80 80 66, lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 weekends. After buying your London to Germany tickets with DB, call the Eurostar baggage service as explained above to book your bike on the Eurostar.
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Bike-friendly option via the Harwich-Hoek ferry to Bielefeld, Osnabruck, Hanover, Berlin, Dresden: Another good option for cyclists is to take your bike with you on the integrated Dutch Flyer train+ferry+train service from London to Amsterdam via Harwich-Hoek van Holland as explained above, then catch a daytime InterCity train from Amsterdam to Osnabruck, Hannover or Berlin - you can check timetables for these at www.bahn.de. These InterCity trains carry bikes for a small fee, bike reservation required. For Dresden, you can spend a day in Amsterdam then catch the 7pm City Night Line sleeper train from Amsterdam to Dresden, these carry bikes in bike spaces for a fee of around €15. First book the train & ferry from London to Amsterdam online at www.dutchflyer.co.uk, you can add a bike during the booking process. Then book the train from Amsterdam to Germany by phone with Deutsche Bahn UK on 08718 80 80 66 (as you cannot book online if you have a bike), lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 weekends. Alternatively, to have the whole trip sorted out with tickets for you and bike reservations on both the ferry and onward trains, call European Rail on 020 7619 1083 (please quote 'Seat61', lines open 08:30-18:00 Monday to Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday, £35 booking fee per transaction).
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Bikes on trains within Germany, bicycles are carried on most InterCity (IC) trains for a small fee of about €9, , providing you make a prior reservation for your bicycle. However, bikes are not carried on high-speed ICE trains. To find a train that will take both you and you bike, simply use the online timetable at www.bahn.de, ticking the 'carriage of bicycles required' box. Within Germany, you can book a bike space and buy your ticket online this way, too.
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Other London-Germany options: Daytime travel to Germany by Eurostar via Paris or Brussels is more difficult. Bikes cannot be carried in bike bags on Eurostar, only undismantled in the baggage area for a fee, but beyond Paris & Brussels it's the other way round: Bikes cannot be carried on ICE, Thalys or TGV trains to Germany, they are only carried if they are packed in zip-up bike bags not exceeding 120cm x 90cm. This means you'll have to bag up your bike in Paris or Brussels between trains.
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Thalys & ICE trains are the only direct services between Brussels and Cologne. However, bikes are carried in the baggage area on the various local services linking stations between Brussels & Cologne, although this requires a change of train (and perhaps even two changes) and you'll need to pay a small fee (€5) to take a bike on a train in Belgium. You can find train times for these local services at http://bahn.hafas.de, using the advanced search facility with the 'no ICE/high speed trains' box ticked so it ignores Thalys and ICE trains and only finds local services.
Taking bikes by train from the UK to Austria...
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Bike-friendly option via Eurostar to Innsbruck, Salzburg, Linz, Vienna: Perhaps the easiest option for cyclists to reach Austria by train is as follows:
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Take your bike from London to Paris in the afternoon by Eurostar, as explained above.
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Take the overnight City Night Line sleeper train from Paris to Munich. Bikes are carried in the spacious bicycle compartment on the for €15 each way, bike reservation required. You'll find details of Eurostar & City Night Line times & prices from London to Munich explained on the London to Austria page.
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Although you can't take bikes on the fast Railjet trains from Munich to Salzburg, Linz or Vienna which you'd normally take as a passenger, you can take bikes on the regular slower regional trains from Munich to Salzburg and change there onto an Austrian InterCity train to Linz & Vienna which also take bikes. To find trains that will take bikes between Munich & anwhere in Austria, simply use the journey planner at www.bahn.de with 'carriage of bicycles required' box ticked. You may need to buy an international bike ticket at Munich station for about €12.
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You cannot book this journey online if you have a bike, so book by phone calling Deutsche Bahn UK on 08718 80 80 66, lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 weekends. After booking the passenger tickets London to Austria plus your bike reservations on the sleeper train all with DB, you'll need to call the Eurostar baggage service and book your bike from London to Paris as shown above.
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Bike-friendly option via Dutch Flyer train & ferry to Innsbruck, Salzburg, Linz, Vienna: Ideal if you live in East Anglia, here's the ferry alternative to Eurostar:
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Take the excellent overnight Dutch Flyer train & ferry service from London to Amsterdam as shown above, and spend a day in Amsterdam.
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Take the City Night Line sleeper from Amsterdam to Munich, on which bikes are carried in a special bicycle compartment for €15, see the photos at the top of this page.
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Once in Munich, you can take bikes on the regular regional trains from Munich to Salzburg and change there onto an Austrian InterCity train to Linz & Vienna which also take bikes (note that the direct fast Railjet trains don't carry bikes). To find trains that will take bikes between Munich & destinations in Austria, simply use the journey planner at www.bahn.de with 'carriage of bicycles required' box ticked. You may need to buy an international bike ticket at Munich station for about €12.
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To book this journey, first book from London to Amsterdam online at www.dutchflyer.co.uk, you can add a bike during the booking process. Then book the onward trains from Amsterdam to Austria by phone with Deutsche Bahn UK on 08718 80 80 66 (as you cannot book this part of the trip online if you have a bike), lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 weekends. Alternatively, to have the whole trip sorted out with tickets for you and bike reservations on both the ferry and onward trains, call European Rail on 020 7619 1083 (please quote 'Seat61', lines open 08:30-18:00 Monday to Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday, £35 booking fee per transaction).
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Ferries from Newcastle or Hull: You can also travel by overnight cruise ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam (www.dfds.co.uk) or using the Hull-Rotterdam ferry (www.poferries.com), ideal if you live in the north of England or Scotland. You can book the Dutch Flyer online as shown above, but you cannot book a bike onto the Amsterdam to Munich sleeper train online, so call Deutsche Bahn UK on 08718 80 80 66, lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 weekends.
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Bikes on trains within Austria: Bikes can be taken in the luggage van of most medium & long distance Austrian InterCity trains and some EuroCity trains. You need to buy a one-day IC/EC bike ticket, about €7. Reservations can be made for your bike on specific trains, but you can simply turn up with your bike ticket and put your bike on board if there is space available.
Taking bikes by train to Spain...
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Take your bike to Paris by Eurostar as shown above, cycle from Paris Gare du Nord to the Gare d'Austerlitz, bag up your bike and take the overnight Elipsos trainhotel sleeper trains from Paris to Barcelona or Madrid. Timetables, fares & how to buy tickets are shown on the London to to Spain page.
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Bikes are officially allowed on the Elipsos trainhotels from Paris to Madrid & Barcelona free of charge as carry-on luggage, if you (a) pack your bike in a zip-up bike bag with pedals removed and handlebars turned, and (b) occupy the whole compartment, in other words your party books all 4 beds in a 4-berth or both beds in a 2-berth sleeper, as opposed to imposing your bikes on fellow passengers in a shared compartment. The bikes will probably need to sit on the floor of your compartment, although this won't leave you much room to spare! Undismantled bikes aren't carried on these trainhotels.
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If you want to take your bike to Spain without dismantling it and having to use a bike bag, you can take your bike in the bicycle compartment of the French Intercités de Nuit overnight trains from Paris to the Spanish frontier points at Hendaye/Irun (at the northwest end of the Pyrenees) and Cerebère/Portbou (at the southeast end). You need to reserve space in advance and pay a small fee (about €10-€15), while you sleep in a couchette or reclining seat. You can book your Eurostar, couchette ticket and bicycle space by phone with Rail Europe on 0844 848 5 848.
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Don't forget the direct cruise ferries to Spain, Portsmouth to Bilbao or Plymouth/Portsmouth to Santander with www.brittanyferries.co.uk. The ferries are bike-friendly and a great way to reach Spain.
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Once in Spain, the problem begins. Bikes are not carried on any fast long-distance daytime trains ('AVE & Larga-Distancia' trains), even in bike bags. This means bikes cannot be taken at all on AVE, Altaria, Alvia, Alaris, EuroMed, Arco, or Talgo. Bikes may be taken on most regional, local and suburban trains ('Media-Distancia' and 'Cercanias' trains). Bikes may also be taken on overnight sleeper trains, if placed in a bike bag and if you occupy all the berths in a compartment. So for a trip with your bike to Granada, you could (for example) take the trenhotel Paris-Barcelona, spend a day there, then take the direct trenhotel from Barcelona to Granada, with your bike in a bike bag and you and your companions having sole occupancy of a sleeper compartment on both overnight trains. For more information on taking bikes on trains within Spain, see www.renfe.com.
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Traveller Jennie Parsons reports: "We planned to travel from Madrid to Badajoz in western Extremadura part of Spain and I researched the Renfe web site which said that bicycles were permitted on Media Distancia trains subject to space. I checked that the train I wished to use was a Media Distancia train and all seemed OK. We arrived an hour before the train was due to leave at Atocha Cercancias station - the main station in Madrid. The procedure is quite complicated and if you turned up only 5 minutes before the train went you would have no chance! I queued for the ticket - around 10 minutes - when I mentioned bicycles to the ticket seller I was told I had to go to the adjacent office and speak to the man there - I duly did and luckily the man spoke some English as my Spanish is not brilliant - he telephoned someone (?) to check that it was Ok for the bicycles and said it was - I then had to go back to original ticket seller to buy tickets - after purchase I had to take the tickets back to the man in adjacent office and he stamped them. I was then told to wait for 10 minutes after which I had to speak to someone different who wanted names and telephone numbers, gave me another piece of paper and stamped it with another authorisation. I was then told to wait for 2 more minutes, and got another stamp on the second piece of paper. That was then finished and I could go to platform and board train. All the staff were very helpful but it took around 45 minutes in total. The train was a 3 carriage train which had space for 2 bicycles on each carriage, so I think we would have been refused if there were more than 6 bicycles wanting to travel on that train."
Taking bikes to Denmark, Norway, Sweden...
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Bike-friendly option by direct DFDS Seaways ferry to Denmark: The easiest way is by ferry direct from the UK. DFDS (www.dfds.co.uk) sail 3 times a week from Harwich in Essex to Esbjerg in Denmark, see the Denmark page. There are no longer any direct ferries to Norway or Sweden.
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Bike-friendly option to Copenhagen via Dutch Flyer train & ferry: This is another good option for cyclists, especially if you live in East Anglia:
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Step 1, travel from London to Amsterdam overnight on the integrated Dutch Flyer train+ferry+train service via Harwich-Hoek van Holland. You'd leave London around 19:32, sleep in a comfortable private cabin on the ferry, and arrive Amsterdam 10:00 to 11:30 next day. Spend the day in Amsterdam.
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Step 2, travel overnight from Amsterdam to Copenhagen by City Night Line sleeper train. Bikes are carried in the cycle compartment for a fee of around €15, reservation required.
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To book you and your bike this way, first book the train & ferry from London to Amsterdam online at www.dutchflyer.co.uk, you can add a bike during the booking process. Then book the sleeper train from Amsterdam to Copenhagen by phone with Deutsche Bahn UK on 08718 80 80 66 (as you cannot book online if you have a bike), lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 weekends. Alternatively, to have the whole trip sorted out with tickets for you and bike reservations on both the ferry and onward trains, call European Rail on 020 7619 1083 (please quote 'Seat61', lines open 08:30-18:00 Monday to Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday, £35 booking fee per transaction).
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Onward trains from Copenhagen to Sweden: There are a limited number of bike spaces available on the Öresund Link trains from Copenhagen to Malmö & Gothenburg in Sweden. However bikes are not carried on inter-city trains within Sweden, including the Copenhagen-Stockholm X2000 trains, or the sleeper trains to northern Sweden, so getting to Stockholm could be problematical. You could try using a bike bag and arguing that it was normal luggage. Feedback would be appreciated!
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Onwards from Copenhagen to Norway: Bikes can be taken on the overnight cruise ferry from Copenhagen to Oslo in Norway, see www.dfds.co.uk for timetable, fares & online booking.
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Bike on trains within Denmark: Bikes are carried in the luggage van of all Danish InterCity and some regional trains. You'll need a bike ticket, valid all day, for 60 Kr (£7.50). Between May & August, you need to reserve a space for a bike on all InterCity trains, so contact Danish Railways (DSB) through their website www.dsb.dk to ask about this.
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Ferries from Newcastle or Hull: You can also reach Amsterdam via the DFDS Seaways Newcastle-Amsterdam & P&O Ferries Hull-Rotterdam overnight cruise ferries, both of which are bike-friendly.
Taking bikes by train to Central & Eastern Europe...
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Bike-friendly option to Prague or Warsaw via Dutch Flyer train & ferry: This is a good option for cyclists, especially if you live in East Anglia:
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Step 1, travel from London to Amsterdam overnight on the Dutch Flyer train+ferryservice via Harwich-Hoek van Holland as explained above. You'd leave London around 19:32, sleep in a comfortable private cabin on the ferry, and arrive Amsterdam 10:00 to 11:30 next day. Spend the day in Amsterdam.
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Step 2, travel overnight on the Amsterdam to Prague City Night Line sleeper train or Amsterdam to Warsaw Jan Kiepura sleeper train. Bikes are carried in the cycle compartment for a fee of around €15, reservation required.
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To book you and your bike this way, first book the train & ferry from London to Amsterdam online at www.dutchflyer.co.uk, you can add a bike during the booking process. Then book the sleeper train from Amsterdam to Prague or Warsaw by phone with Deutsche Bahn UK on 08718 80 80 66 (as you cannot book online if you have a bike), lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 weekends. Alternatively, to have the whole trip sorted out with tickets for you and bike reservations on both the ferry and onward trains, call European Rail on 020 7619 1083 (please quote 'Seat61', lines open 08:30-18:00 Monday to Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday, £35 booking fee per transaction).
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If you live in the north of England or Scotland, DFDS Seaways (www.dfds.co.uk) sail overnight from Newcastle to Amsterdam, P&O (www.poferries.com) sail from Hull to Rotterdam.
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Onwards to Bratislava or Budapest: Bikes are carried on the EuroCity trains between Prague and Budapest. You can find times using the online timetable at www.bahn.de with 'carriage of bicycles required' ticked. Yes, this is a lot longer than going via Munich, but as Railjet trains between Munich and Budapest won't take bikes other than in bike bags, this at least lets you take a bike undismantled.
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Other destinations: To most other destinations, putting your bike in a bike bag is likely to be your best option. To places such as Moscow, Athens, Sofia or Istanbul it will be pretty much the only option.
Travellers' reports...
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For an account of taking bikes by train from London to Istanbul via Paris, Munich, Budapest & Bucharest, see http://onelittlewheel.com/2010/07/28/tracks-across-europe-with-alexander-the-best-paris-to-istanbul/.
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Traveller Robin Bevis cycled all the way from the Channel to the Black Sea, then returned to the UK by train with his bike: "Two of us travelled back to the UK last year from Romania by train with our two touring bicycles, having cycled to Constanta from St Nazarre at the mouth of the Loire to the Black Sea - this is the Eurovelo 6 Two Rivers route. Constanta to Bucharest: No problem, just put your bikes (with panniers removed) in the van on the reasonably regular regional trains - though at the time we travelled these were very very slow due to line improvements. Bucharest to Budapest: We booked our rail tickets through the Deutsche Bahn UK office. They are very good, but they said that they could not get Romanian Railways to book our two bicycles. We double checked at Bucharesti Nord the day before, and on the day all seemed well - we were assured that (a) our cycles could be carried, and (b) that there was no booking necessary. On departure the platform manager said put them in the guard's van but there wasn't one, so he and a train guard said put them in an unoccupied sleeping compartment, which we did. We went to ours two coaches along. About an hour into the journey two 'aggressive' train guards arrived at our compartment and said we had to get off the train as our bikes could not be carried, that it was illegal etc etc. At that moment it wasn't clear what we could or should do or that it was probably a ruse to bribe us, as eventually they did settle for cash (€50 was what they threateningly haggled for). It was an unpleasant and worrying 15 minutes with armed train guards but at least they then left us alone and in fact both left the train a few stops on and we arrived in Budapest keleti pu in time for our onward booked DB train to Berlin! Budapest to Berlin: This is an excellent 'four capitals' train ride on a German EuroCity train that runs 3 times daily between Hamburg and Budapest. Bicycles are carried for a small fee based on distance travelled, in a specially converted carriage either at the front or the rear of the train and you sit near them in the other half of the carriage. Just great! Berlin to Paris: Bikes carried in guard's van, no problems, no need to book, no charge. Paris to Calais via Boulogne (two trains): Cycles are carried in a small but just adequate converted compartment on the first train to Boulogne and then in more modern unit in a decent bike space to Calais. Again no problem, no booking and no charge. It took two days but was actually pretty easy (the Romanian guards excepted) and the 12 hour trip on the DB train from Budapest to Berlin was wonderful and scenic especially alongside the river Elbe and through parts of the Czech lands south of Praha, as was the trip through Transylvania the day before."
More information...
Further feedback, photos or reports about taking bikes by train into Europe are always welcome!