Groningen Transportation

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Sadly this was a very poor experience. There was no form of refreshment service on the train; the journey was some 2.5 hours from Schipol to Groningen.

The up side was that first class seats were sold for the same as second class - sadly they did not appear to be any different, and the compartment I was in did not have it's heating working.

Punctual service at least.

A Publicexpress bus service runs daily from Oldenburg or Bremen to Groningen and back. I would recommend checking timetables before travel to ensure you return the same day if you wish to. I did not travel by bus but I know people who did and they encountered no problems and found it cheaper than the train. Discounts may apply for university students with valid student and national ID.

Up to October 1st roadworks are taking place on the A28, the road to and from the city of Groningen (Groningen - Assen and vice versa).
One better be prepared for it for on almost any hour of the day one will be delayed.

The way I used to get around in Groningen is by bicylce. And as you can see.... I am not the only one!!! Everywhere in the city you see people on bicycles, parking places for bikes, or bikes just put where ever they like. This is a picture of the "bicycle parking garage" at the central train station.

The center of the city is quite compact (1 or 2 sq. km)
Everything is within walking distance, and you get to spot more hidden secrets that way.

It's by walking around that the same-sex and red light district locations were pointed out to me (not that I ever seemed to see anything interesting so far)

The bus is a good way to get around in the city. I am not so sure if it is the best way to get into the city, as they don't tend to go that often during the evening and weekends. I would prefer taking the train to go to Groningen.

All the busses depart from the central station and most of them have a stop on the "Grote Markt" and "Zuiderdiep" which both are in downtown Groningen.

But you don't need to take a bus to go from the Central Station to downtown. It is is an easy walk to the city center from here. When you get out of the train station, walk to the right along the canal and cross the bridge (alternatively take the first small bridge at the Groninger Museum). Go straight ahead and you are in the city center in a few minutes.

Arriving after dark, we weren’t sure we were going to find a hotel. We must have done the square with those 2 big roundabouts a dozen times. In and out of the city centre, passing the train station again and again.

When you enter the centre, it seems like you can’t drive anywhere, or so if you don’t quite understand the signs, so you follow the route and ends up leading right back out of town LOL. Until eventually we started following other cars that seemed to go where we thought we were not allowed and landed right in front of the Best Western Cityhotel. There we stayed for the night.

Now looking at this map looks like hotels surrounded us. Hehhehee serves us right for arriving at night.

From the Groningen bus station, next to the train station the following Arriva Busses are available:

City of Groningen:
-1 -Station Noord
-2 -Coendersborg/MZk
-3 -Lewnborg & Vinkhuizen
-4 -Oosterpark & Hoogkerk
-5 -de Wijert & Paddepoel-Selwerd
-6 -Beijum & MZs - Hoornsemeer
-7 -Vinkhuizen
-8 -Hoogkerk
-9 -Driebond
-11 -Station Noord - Zernike
-12 -de Wijert
-15 -Paddepoel - Zernike
-18 -de Held -Gravenburg
-19 -Arriva/Sontweg

Groningen City Parking Busses:
-22 -P+R Citybus: Grote Markt - Sontweg
-23 -P+R Citybus: Grote Markt-Zaanstraat

Intercity:
-33 -Surhuisterveen
-35 -Oldenhove
-37 -Grijpskerk
-39 -Surhuisterveen
-40 -Delfzijl
-42 -Loppersum
-47 -Groningen/Kardinge - Ten Boer
-50 -Assen
-51 -Assen
-52 -De Punt
-53 -De Punt
-54 -Haren
-55 -Assen
-57 -Annen
-58 -Annen - Assen
-59 -Emmen
-61 -Uithuizen
-63 -Lauwersoog
-73 -Emmen
-74 -Stadskanaal
-76 -Hoogezand
-78 -Appingedam
-79 -Winschoten
-81 -Leek
-82 -Nieuw Roden
-85 -Leek - Oosterwolde
-86 -Oosterwolde
-88 -Marum
-89 -Drachten
-100 -Heerenveen
-134 -Holwerd - Ameland Express
-135 -Oldehove
-137 -Groningen Zernike - Zuidhorn NS
-140 -Delfzijl
-142 -Loppersum
-150 -Assen
-155 -Delfzijl
-161 -Middelstum
-167 -Hornhuizen
-171 -Veendam
-173 -Stadskanaal
-174 -Veendam
-176 -Hoogezand
-178 -Appingedam
-179 -Winschoten
-300 -Emmen (QLINER)
-301 -Veendam (QLINER)
-307 -Bedum (QLINER)
-314 -Drachten (QLINER)
-315 -Heerenveen-Joure-Lelystad (QLINER)
-316 -Leek (QLINER)
-317 -Roden (QLINER)
-318 -Annen (QLINER)
-319 -Assen (QLINER)