There is no longer a direct train connection between Amsterdam Schiphol airport and station ‘Hoogeveen’ from 9 December 2012!  See 'Traveling to Dwingeloo by train'.

Rules during the building process:
You are urgently requested not to park your car along the road (Hoogeveensedijk). Due to the building activities at ASTRON, heavy building traffic is using this small road. If you do park your car there, there is a risk that your car will be damaged. There are parking spaces at two spots, both at the roads to the right once you have reached ASTRON. In case these are full, please use the large parking space approx. 400 metres before (you have passed this on your way). If it is not possible for you to walk this distance because of health reasons, please contact the reception.
Thank you for your cooperation.

Temporary entrance to the ASTRON-building in Dwingeloo:

From 14 December, the new main entrance of the ASTRON building in Dwingeloo will be opened. This new entrance is located on the side of the shipping area. Because of the construction, the normal entrance will be closed from 14 December onwards until the summer of 2013. From the parking there will be signposts to the new entrance. The parking lot can be used as usual. Since the loading and unloading will continue at that side of the building, please pay attention near the temporary entrance. Near the new entrance, the new reception will be located as well.

Visiting ASTRON

ASTRON's main headquarters are located in Lhee, near Dwingeloo, the Netherlands.

Westerbork telescope

The Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope is located in Westerbork. Outreach activities about astronomy can be found on the Milky Way path near the Westerbork telescope. More information about the route to ASTRON in Dwingeloo and Westerbork is given below.

Milky way path 

It is possible for the public to visit the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescopes (WSRT) of ASTRON. You can use the Milky Way path ('Melkwegpad') to walk to the telescopes. On this path you can find a scale model of the solar system with information about the different planets. The scale is 1 to 3.700.000.000, each step you take is 2.5 million kilometres.
The start of the Milky Way path is located near the Herinneringscentrum Kamp Westerbork, address: Oosthalen 8 9414 TG Hooghalen.The path is about 2.5 km long.

For further information about outreach, please contact our PR officer: Ms. F. Boekhorst, Phone: (00) (31) (0) 521 595 204, boekhorst [at] astron [dot] nl.

Route description

Information on this page:

• Traveling to Dwingeloo by train or by car
• Traveling by bike
• Traveling to Westerbork by train or by car
• Traveling to the core of the LOFAR telescope

Addresses can be found on the Contact Information page.

ASTRON weergeven op een grotere kaart

Traveling to Dwingeloo by train

If you arrive by train, you can use the time table of the Dutch trains. On this website, there is a link to the English version. The nearest station to ASTRON is Hoogeveen (or Beilen if you come from the north).

No longer direct train connection between Amsterdam Schiphol airport and station ‘Hoogeveen’ from 9 December 2012!

Starting 9 December 2012, a new timetable will take effect at the Dutch railways. For visitors to ASTRON, this means that there is no longer a direct train from/to ‘Hoogeveen’ railway station. Departure times from Schiphol and from Hoogeveen have also changed.

Also, the route of the train is different: the train will no longer run via ‘Amersfoort’ but via ‘Almere’ and ‘Lelystad’; this is the so-called ‘Hanzelijn’.
The duration of the train trip is still a bit less than two hours (~1 hour 50 minutes).
You can plan your trip via the timetable of the Dutch trains: http://www.ns.nl/
For the English version of this trip planner, click ‘English’.
From ‘Schiphol’ – to ‘Hoogeveen’ of from ‘Hoogeveen’ to ‘Schiphol’.  

Two options:

1) Recommended: from/to Schiphol/Hoogeveen by switching trains in ‘Zwolle’. This is the connection you get without filling in ‘via station’ Meppel. Note that the arrival and departure platforms in Zwolle are not close to each other; however there is sufficient time for the transfer.

2) From/to Schiphol/Hoogeveen by switching trains in ‘Meppel’. This is the connection you get once per hour by filling in ‘via station’ Meppel. You can leave the train in Meppel and at the same platform wait for the next train to arrive (either direction Zwolle for Schiphol or direction Groningen for Hoogeveen).

From the station, you will either need a "friend" to pick you up or a taxi to take you to the institute. A taxi can be booked by ASTRON (strongly recommended). The price of the taxi ride is € 29,00 from Hoogeveen and from Beilen. If you need a taxi, the secretariat or your host who is dealing with your visit will arrange a taxi for you. The institute reception (phone 0521-595100 during office hours) can also arrange a taxi for you.
The taxi will be waiting for you outside the station: "Taxi Ellerie" is advertised on the taxi. The taxi driver will know the name of the expected guest and have a sign "ASTRON/JIVE" on view in the taxi.

If you arrive at the guesthouse outside office hours, you will get the phone number of the taxi company so you can contact them in case of a change in your arrival time. Upon arrival at the guesthouse, the taxi driver will accompany you to make sure that you can enter the guesthouse and have access to your room. Then he/she will leave. You will receive instructions on how to enter the guesthouse outside office hours from the secretariat taking care of your visit. More information about the guesthouse and its facilities can be found here or by clicking the ‘accommodation' link.

Traveling to Dwingeloo by car

How to reach ASTRON and JIVE also available in pdf-format in Dutch and English language.

Exit highway A28 using exit 29 for Spier, Dwingeloo and Wijster. Take direction Dwingeloo. After about 5 kilometers, turn left at the sign 'Lhee 1'. After entering "Lhee" take the second way to the left. Follow this way. The institute is located in the woods, at about a kilometer distance from your last turn. The ASTRON institute is surrounded by a restricted access zone. Visitors are advised to park their cars outside the zone (and walk to our buildings), or to announce their arrival in advance (call the institute reception at 0521-595 100 during office hours) because we'll need to know your car's license number. Failure to follow these procedures may result in a fine. 

You are urgently requested not to park your car along the road (Hoogeveensedijk). Due to the building activities at ASTRON, heavy building traffic is using this small road. If you do park your car there, there is a risk that your car will be damaged. There are parking spaces at two spots, both at the roads to the right once you have reached ASTRON. In case these are full, please use the large parking space approx. 400 metres before (you have passed this on your way). If it is not possible for you to walk this distance because of health reasons, please contact the reception.
Thank you for your cooperation.

Traveling by bike

If you arrive by train and want to use a bike to go to the Dwingeloo or Westerbork location, you can use the "Fietsrouteplanner provincie Drenthe" page from the Dutch Cyclists' Union. From the nearest station  you can make your own route.

From Beilen station, it is a 12 kilometre bike ride to either Westerbork or Dwingeloo. The trip from the Hoogeveen station to Dwingeloo is about 11km. Both stations of Beilen and Hoogeveen have bike rentals and "ov-fietsen".

Visiting the WSRT

The Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) is situated close to the village of Hooghalen in the area of the "Voormalig Kamp Westerbork''. From this camp, during the Second World War, people were sent to the concentration camps. From Hooghalen you can follow the signs "Voormalig Kamp Westerbork".

You can park the car at the parking place of the Herinnerings Centrum Kamp Westerbork. From there, you can carry on by foot. Please turn off your mobile phone. There are two possible routes. The first follows the asphalt road straight to the telescopes(in the summer it is mostly used by a shuttle bus service). The second is an educational route through the forest, along the so called "Melkwegpad'' (Milky Way path). The Milky Way path is a down-scale model of the solar system. You can find a short explanation for every planet. The Milky Way path ends at the first dish of the WSRT. From there, you have a nice view of 12 of the dishes.

Traveling to Westerbork by train

The Westerbork telescope is located some 30 km from Dwingeloo (near Hooghalen, between Beilen and Assen). If you get there by train the nearest station is Beilen. You must call us ahead of time to arrange transport to Westerbork, a driver from the Observatory will normally meet you at the station. Contact the reception by telephone at 0521-595 100 during office hours.

There is no guest house at the Westerbork facilities. Please contact ASTRON or JIVE to make the proper arrangements.

Traveling to Westerbork by car

How to reach ASTRON Westerbork (address: Schattenberg 1, 9433 TA Zwiggelte) also available in pdf-format in Dutch language.

To minimize the possibility of interference in ongoing observations with the radio telescope array, the ASTRON facilities are surrounded by a restricted access zone. Visitors will have to park their cars outside the zone, or announce their arrival in advance (call the institute reception at 0521-595 100 during office hours; we'll need to know your car's license number.).

Exit highway A28 using exit 31 for Westerbork. From there on, follow the signs that say 'Kamp Westerbork'. Kamp Westerbork is a World War II historical site, and is located near the ASTRON Westerbork facilities.