Transportation to and in Utrecht

As Utrecht is the main hub for both car and railway transport, navigating towards the city is no problem. However, congestion is quite in common, and so we advice you to come by public transport. The address is as follows:

Educatorium Building
Leuvenlaan 19
3584 CE Utrecht
Netherlands

Going by public transport

By train first

Bus 11 to the Uithof. Photo courtesy by Shirley de Jong. Creative Commons CC-BY-SA-2.5 Almost all trains are calling at Utrecht Centraal, the city's main railway station. From Schiphol Airport, every 15 minutes an intercity service will run towards Utrecht Centraal (with final destination Nijmegen or Eindhoven-Heerlen, platforms 1 or 2), with a journey time of approximately 30 minutes. From Utrecht Centraal, all major cities in the Netherlands can be directly reached: a trip to Amsterdam Centraal is just 27 minutes away, wheras Arnhem, The Hague and Rotterdam are 36-38 minutes away.

At Schiphol Plaza, Train tickets can be bought from the yellow ticket machines or at the ticket office boxes. A single, full-fare, one-way, second class ticket costs €8.10 (as of January 1st, 2013). At the moment (March 2013) only the ticket machines at Schiphol Airport and at Amsterdam Central station accepts credit cards. At other railway stations, one has to go to the ticket office boxes if your debit card is not accepted, or make sure you have enough coins with you (as most cash operated machines only accepts coins and the machines do not accept bank notes). To the bottom of the screen, you can switch language and opt for either a paper ticket with fixed destination, or a pre-paid ov-chipkaart (see below for more information), which you need to top up, and touch on/off (check in/out) as you go. For paper tickets, tap you don't have a OV-Chipcard, then select type of ticket (Single, return or other), then tap your destination, discounts (if possible, otherwise full fare), select 1st of 2nd class and payment method.

For more information, including planning your train journey, please consult the website of the Dutch Railways (ns.nl, opens in new window). If you have mobile internet, you can check m.ns.nl.

For your convenience, we have listed some of the most used connections below.

Click to show time table

From left to right: hourly departure time - service type - platform - final destination - ^note

From/To	Schiphol	Amsterdam Centraal	Utrecht Centraal
Schiphol	-	~~05 FYRA 1-2 Amsterdam Centraal~~¹ 13 IC 1-2 Amsterdam Centraal-Lelystad C² 21 FYRA 1-2 Amsterdam Centraal 28 SPR 3 Amsterdam Centraal-Amersfoort (Vathorst) 43 IC 1-2 Amsterdam Centraal-Lelystad C² 51 FYRA 1-2 Amsterdam Centraal 58 SPR 3 Amsterdam Centraal-Amersfoort (Vathorst)	00 IC 1-2 Nijmegen³ 16 IC 1-2 Eindhoven-Heerlen⁴ 30 IC 1-2 Nijmegen³ 46 IC 1-2 Eindhoven-Heerlen⁴
Amsterdam Centraal	14 SPR 14a Schiphol-Hoofddorp 25 FYRA 15a Breda 29 IC 14a Vlissingen ~~41 FYRA 13a Brussels Midi~~¹ 44 SPR 14a Schiphol-Hoofddorp 55 FYRA 15a Breda 59 IC 14a Vlissingen	-	08 IC 5 Maastricht 23 IC 5 Nijmegen 38 IC 5 Maastricht 53 IC 5 Nijmegen
Utrecht Centraal	13 IC 7 Schiphol 28 IC 5 Schiphol³ 43 IC 7 Schiphol 58 IC 5 Schiphol³	10 IC 5 Den Helder 25 IC 7 Amsterdam C-Alkmaar⁵ 40 IC 5 Den Helder 55 IC 7 Amsterdam C-Alkmaar⁵	-
Notes: IC = Intercity (can be boarded any time / no supplements required) SPR = Sprinter/Local Train FYRA = Fyra NS Hispeed Trains (see below) • For domestic voyages with ICE (Amsterdam-Utrecht-Arnhem-Germany) and Fyra (Schiphol-Rotterdam-Breda/Brussels) a supplement is required on top of your ticket. As of January 1st 2013, a supplement ticket is no longer required between Amsterdam Centraal and Schiphol, however supplements are still required on the Schiphol-Rotterdam-Breda legs of your (domestic) journey. Domestic voyages with Thalys trains are not really an option, since a reservation is compulsory. • Departure times and platform numbers listed above are default throughout the day. At certain days and times (usually in the early morning or late at night), departure times and platforms may differ. Always consult the departure time tables, the displays above the platforms, or m.ns.nl for the most up-to-date information. 1) Currently (March 16th, 2013), Fyra services from/to Brussels has been pulled out of service due to many technical failures in its V-250 rolling stock. It is unknown yet when this service will be continued. Passengers for Belgium are advised to travel to Roosendaal station (from Amsterdam or Schiphol either via direct IC train to Vlissingen, or via the domestic Fyra services to Breda and change at Rotterdam Centraal). Every two hours, from approximately 8:00 (am) to 20:00/8:00 pm a direct service between The Hague HS and Brussels (in weekends til Antwerp) will run, with calls in Rotterdam Centraal, Dordrecht, Roosendaal, Antwerpen-Centraal, Mechelen and Brussel-Centraal. 2) Some early and late trains will continue to Leeuwarden or Groningen as final destination. Do not confuse these with the regular trains to Leeuwarden/Groningen from Schiphol Airport, as they will not call at Amsterdam Centraal. 3) Runs until approximately 21:00/9:00 pm. 4) After approximately 18:00/6:00 pm train terminates at Eindhoven, after 21:00/9:00 pm train terminates at Utrecht Centraal. 5) After approximately 19:30/7:30 pm and Sundays, train terminates at Amsterdam Centraal; In peak hours train continues to Schagen. • Regular trains between Schiphol and Amsterdam Centraal usually calls at Amsterdam Lelylaan and Amsterdam Sloterdijk (Fyra doesn't call in-between stations). • Regular trains between Schiphol and Utrecht Centraal usually calls at Amsterdam Zuid and Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA. • Regular trains between Amsterdam Centraal and Utrecht Centraal usually calls at Amsterdam Amstel (ICE doesn't call in-between stations). • Also check NS.nl, Holland by Train (deeplink PDF, in English, Spanish, French, Italian and German) or m.ns.nl (mobile version).

Continuing in the City of Utrecht

From Utrecht Central Station, the Uithof campus can be easily reached by bus. Every two or three minutes, bus 11, 12 or 12s departs to the Uithof. Bus 11 (destination Uithof-WKZ) departs from the northern tip of the southern platform ("busstation zuid"), and bus 12(s) (destination Uithof-UMC/AZU) departs from the southern tip of the northern platform ("busstation noord"). Do note these buses can be very crowded during the peak hours. The nearest bus stop to the venue is the bus stop Heidelberglaan. All buses are equipped with dynamic route information.

The buses for the lines 11, 12 and 12s are about 25-30 metres long, and therefore easily recognizable. You can board the bus from any of the four doors, unlike all other city buses, where you have to board the bus at the bus drivers' door.

Bus 11 to the Uithof. Photo courtesy of Tim Swart
Photo courtesy of Tim Swart

OV Chipkaart/Smartcard Check In/Check Out Terminal As of November 2011, the "Strippenkaart"-system has been abolished. One can only travel by a smartcard called the "OV-Chipkaart" (lit: public transport smartcard) and is similar to the Oyster card in London for example. Touch on as you board the bus and touch off when you disembark. You can still buy a ticket at the driver. More information about this can be found here (opens in a new window). It is not known yet whether an agreement will be made with GVU (the city's bus transport operator) regarding special travel passes.

Planning your trip by public transport can be done easily via the 9292ov-website (click here, opens in new window). The address of the venue is listed on the top of this page.

Going by car

There are various routes to University campus De Uithof, depending on the direction you drive from. De Uithof is easily accessible by car and there are plenty of parking facilities.

From Amsterdam (and Schiphol Airport):
Take the A2 motorway to Utrecht (from Schiphol, first use the A9 motorway to Amstelveen and Utrecht). Approaching the city, take the Utrecht Noord exit onto the N230.
Follow the N230 and take the A27 exit.
On the A27 motorway, follow the 'De Uithof' sign at the 'Rijnsweerd' interchange; this takes you onto the A28 motorway.
On the A28, take the first exit marked ‘De Uithof’.

From The Hague / Rotterdam or Arnhem (Germany):
Take the A12 motorway to Utrecht. On the A12, take the ‘Amersfoort’ exit onto the A27 motorway at the ‘Lunetten’ interchange.
On the A27, follow the ‘De Uithof’ sign at the ‘Rijnsweerd’ interchange.
On the A28, take the first exit to ‘De Uithof’.

From Hilversum or Breda:
Take the A27 motorway to Utrecht. On the A27, take the ‘De Uithof’ exit onto the A28 at the ‘Rijnsweerd’ interchange.
On the A28, take the first exit to ‘De Uithof’.

From Amersfoort and Zwolle:
Take the A28 motorway to Utrecht. On the A28, take the ‘De Uithof’ exit (after the Zeist / Den Dolder exit).

From Den Bosch and Eindhoven:
Take the A2 motorway to Utrecht. On the A2, take the ‘Amersfoort’ exit to the A27 at the ‘Oudenrijn’ interchange.
On the A27, take the ‘Amersfoort’ exit to the A28 at the ‘Lunetten’ interchange.
On the A28, take the first exit to ‘De Uithof’.

You will enter De Uithof from the north via the ‘Universiteitsweg’ (University Road). On the campus, the various buildings are clearly sign-posted. Parking places can be found all over the campus.

Warning
Do note that the city centre of Utrecht itself is quite unsuitable to cars, resulting in thick congestion in and around the city everyday. We recommend you park your car at the Uithof car parks, and continue travelling by bus if you are heading to the city centre.