S-EBTM 2013 Rotterdam: Who will come and who will not

[Elmo]

For the Fyra train you buy the regular ticket (€11,20 for a single journey) and a supplement between Schiphol and Rotterdam (€2,30). That makes a total of €13,50. The cheapest way to buy the tickets is with the machines, but beware, they only accept coins and Dutch debit cards. You may as well buy a ticket at the counter, but they'll charge you an extra €0,50 for each ticket.

[MDeen]

It is said that the ticketmachines at Schiphol (and Amsterdam Centraal, or maybe only some of them) accept creditcards.
Maybe someone can check that?

[Elmo]

That's true indeed, but I believe they charge an extra fee...

[Miles66]

...You may as well buy a ticket at the counter, but they'll charge you an extra €0,50 for each ticket.

But the best way to get some bills back

[Crazy Bob]

Once upon a time, I wrote the following, which may be of interest to those wishing to come to the meeting:

Getting there (and away)

Where
Rotterdam is situated in the west of The Netherlands, roughly halfway between Amsterdam and Antwerp (Belgium).

Car
Please refer to Google Maps, or your other favourite map provider. Parking in the city is possible at a fee. See http://www.rotterdam.nl/parking" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, which also lists the free parking options (requiring public transport travel to your final destination).

Train
Rotterdam is easily reachable by train from Belgium and France (direct line with Thalys high speed trains, and other slow trains), and from Germany via Utrecht or via Venlo (and/or Eindhoven). Train information (also for those arriving by airplane; see hereafter) may be found on the Netherlands Railways website: http://www.ns.nl" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Airplane
Rotterdam Airport (RTM) is linked to airports in Spain, France and Austria (among others) by Transavia Airlines. Lufthansa links RTM with Munich, and both British Airways and KLM / Air France fly from various London airports to RTM. Connection from the airport to the city is provided by RET buses (bus number 33); the journey takes some 25 minutes. A 1 hour RET Pass costs 3 euros, and may be bought from the bus driver. A 1 day pass (for unlimited RET travel, but excluding the metro / underground to The Hague) costs 7 euros, a 2 day pass costs 10,50 euros, and a three day pass costs 14 euros. These passes can only be bought at a ticket machine; do note, however, that these machines are not available at the airport itself. See http://www.ret.nl" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for more information.
Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport (AMS) is fairly closeby, and is The Netherlands’ primary international airport, linked with most (if not all) major cities in Europe. The high-speed train to Rotterdam departs at least two times per hour from AMS, and takes about 25 minutes. Regular trains (which are cheaper) depart three to six times per hour (sometimes requiring a transfer at Leiden Centraal), and take 50 to 60 minutes.
Eindhoven Airport (EIN) is the primary budget option, as it is served by Ryanair. A bus (number 401) links EIN with Eindhoven’s railway station (3,50 euros, about 20 minutes), and from there, trains depart twice per hour to Rotterdam Centraal, the train journey taking some 70 minutes.
More in the distance are the airports of Brussels (BRU) and Charleroi (also euphemistically named “Brussels South” by Ryanair; CRL), Maastricht-Aachen Airport (MST) and Groningen (GRQ). Travel times to and from those airports are at least two-and-a-half hours, if not more, so these are only for the more adventurous travellers.

[Klaas Klever]

Please switch me from Maybe to I´ll be there

[wisi]

Gulocka and I (plus our one year old daughter) are planning to come, thus we will perhaps be there.

[rlaurenssen]

I might join the meeting, since I'm moving near Rotterdam in 2 weeks. I'm not sure yet, it will depend on my working situation at that moment.
It would be nice to meet you all again the last time was Frankfurt last year.

[MuenzMuc]

Nothing booked yet - but I will come!
I think, I'll arrive on Friday evening by train.

The last time I visited the Netherlands I paid with "Gulden". It's time to pay with Euros...

[MDeen]

Google Maps now offers public transport schedules while searching on the map. If you use Google Maps, use the second transport type (public transport).
For instance, from Schiphol to hotel van Walsum (which appears to be popular).

[Fons]

I'll be there

[bhoeyb]

90% sure I will join so put me on the maybe list, plz.

[skathalder]

I will be there both days (Saterday and Sunday).

Hope to see you all.

skathâlder

[UdoWeb]

Count me in!

[eddydevries]

We have a question for you:

For planning and making reservations, it would be nice if we know how many people will be there.
At this moment we don't have to know it exactly, but if we know (for example) there won't be anyone at Sunday-evening, we don't have to make a reservation for dinner.

For some items we might want to know it more exactly, but we'll ask you this at that time.

So please, if you know something for arrival/leave: tell us (if possible also morning/afternoon/evening). We'll list this in this topic.