Check before you go Routes checked 9 Oct 2026. Trains, fares and borders change: confirm every leg with its operator before you book. Why
Field notes
The changes that would make you plan differently, newest first, each with the place we read it. Checked 9 October 2026.
While the usual line is rebuilt (until December 2027), four ICEs a day run directly between Amsterdam and Hamburg-Harburg — not the Hauptbahnhof. The usual route, with a change at Osnabrück, takes about 5 hours 15 minutes.
Source: NS International
The line was closed for rebuilding from 1 August 2025. Since 14 June 2026 ICEs run between Berlin and Hamburg every half hour again, in about 1 hour 47 minutes.
Source: Deutsche Bahn press release
The EU agreed to open talks on bringing the Western Balkans into 'roam like at home'. Until they finish — 2027 at the earliest — EU phone plans still charge for roaming in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro.
Source: European Commission
Buses replace trains between Vigo and Valença until 7 April 2027. It matters if you go from Spain to Porto by rail rather than by the coach on the Atlantycki.
Source: Seat61, Portugal
Elron's direct train links Tartu and Rīga in about 3 hours 45 minutes: one a day each way, €19 online or €22 on board at launch. It is why the Bałtycki is now rail all the way to Tallinn.
Source: Vivi (Latvian railways)
The lev was replaced by the euro at 1.95583 to one; since 1 February 2026 only euro is legal tender. Old guidebook prices in leva are about double the euro figure.
Source: European Commission
The EU's Entry/Exit System registers non-EU visitors' fingerprints and a photo on their first entry, replacing passport stamps. ETIAS, the paid online authorisation, has no confirmed start date as of October 2026: check before you go.
Source: EU travel information
Land border checks between them and the rest of the Schengen area ended, which is why the Karpacki's Danube crossing at Giurgiu–Ruse no longer stops for passports.
Source: European Commission