Getting to Efteling theme park from the UK is quite easy, especially when travelling by rail. We’d recommended the Eurostar and national trains in the Netherlands as the best way to get there. You’ll have unlimited baggage and it will work out the cheapest way to get to Efteling from the UK plus taking the train is by far the most relaxing option.
Efteling from the UK by Rail
Efteling is located in the Netherlands, making it only a few hours from London on the Eurostar. There are only three legs of this journey and you can get from door to door in 4-5 hours.
- Eurostar from London St Pancras to Rotterdam (Direct) – 3:30 hrs
- Netherlands National Rail (NS) from Rotterdam to Tilburg (Direct)– 38 mins
- Local Bus from Tilburg to Efteling (Direct)– 20 mins
Tickets: Booking each part of the journey separately is the cheapest way to travel to Efteling from the UK. Rail Europe and Eurail may offer one booking for the whole rail journey but it’s still cheaper to book separately with Eurostar and Netherland Rail as shown in our guide.
1. Eurostar to Rotterdam
Travelling on the Eurostar from London St Pancras to Rotterdam takes just over 3 hours and is the quickest way to get to the Netherlands. Once you take into account the time taken to clear security and border control compared with flying you soon realise how much less stress travelling by rail and train to Efteling is than flying. The Eurostars’ main routes are to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam and with the recent acquisition of Eurostar by Thales you can now also take the Eurostar to many other destinations in Europe including Germany and the south of France.
The Eurostar is a glorious way to travel plus easy and quick. travelling at over 300km per hour you’ll be in the continent before you know it. The train has everything you need onboard including WiFi, a cafe car and onboard services from the team that will happily serve you in your seat.
You’ll need to board a Eurostar train with a final destination of Amsterdam, it’ll call at Lille, Brussels and then Rotterdam where you’ll disembark finding yourself in Rotterdam Central Station. There are no border checks in Rotterdam and it’s a perfect place to spend a day exploring if you want to break up your journey, just don’t book a tourist day in Rotterdam on Monday or Tuesday as everything is closed.
Eurostar Tickets: Book your tickets before you travel at Eurostar.com for the best price and load them onto your phone plus get any delay notifications with the Eurostar App
Adult fares
Direct one-way ticket prices to and from London based on purchasing a return ticket.
| Standard | Standard Premier | Business Premier | |
|---|---|---|---|
| London <> Rotterdam | from €44 | from €80 | from €330 |
2. National Rail from Rotterdam to Tilburg
Now you’ve arrived in the Netherlands it’s time to travel like a local onboard their National Rail Service from Rotterdam to Tilburg. Unlike the UK, their trains are a lot cheaper and usually very reliable, however they can sometimes be shorter than those you’re used to in the UK so if you choose to travel in the peak they might be quite busy. There are no seat reservations but being double decker trains they have quite alot of space.
Train services to Tilburg usually depart from Platform 6 at Rotterdam Central and the journey will take between 30-40 minutes, there is a train once an hour and more during peak hours. You’ll be looking for the Intercity train to Eindhoven Centraal. I’d highly recommend downloading the NS Rail app as this will give you updates of what platform to go to and what train to catch.
NS Rail Tickets: Once again book your tickets before you travel at NS Rail and you’ll save around 40% compared to using a ticket machine on the day. NS Rail tickets aren’t specific to a particular train and are either peak or off-peak tickets. Off peak is before 06:30, 09:00 – 16:00 and after 18:30 plus all weekend.
3. Local Bus from Tilburg to Efteling
Tilburg is a typically dutch university town around 30 minutes from Rotterdam and 20 minutes on the bus from Efteling Theme Park. This makes it a great place to stay overnight before or after your day at Efteling with easy transport links and a host of places to eat in or get a take away from. We stayed in a serviced apartment in Tilburg that we found on AirBnB and this suited us perfectly as somewhere to recharge our batteries for the day ahead at Efteling.
From Tilburg station Efteling is only 20 minutes away and there are four buses that can get you there, the 300, 301, 136 and 801. The bus stops are short walk from the train station exit, just head to Bus Stop C. We got the 301, the 301 & 300 come every 15 minutes during the day. Some of the earlier buses to Efteling might be quite busy with other visitors so expect there to be the possibility of having to wait for the next bus.
Bus Tickets to Efteling: Tickets are around €3.50 each way per person and can be bought on the 9292 app which also gives you route and timetable information and is the best app for buses in the Netherlands.
Enjoy your day at Efteling
The bus will drop you at the main entrance to Efteling where the magic begins, expect a fun and exciting day with roller coasters, fairy tales and exceptional shows and entertainment. Have a look at our Review of Efteling Theme Park to help plan your day and get the most out of your visit.
