Hello all, I would like some train ticket advice.
My wife and I will be leaving London on Sept. 11 by train to Brussels staying at the Marriott Hotel Grand Place for two nights. We will then be leaving on Sept. 13th by train to Bruges where will be staying until Sept. 17th. On the 17th. we will leave by train for Amsterdam until we fly home from Amsterdam on Sept. 21st.
Any suggestions on the best way to purchase the train tickets?
Thanks in advance for any help you can give.
Tom
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
London to Brussels, go to www.eurostar.com this is the company that runs the trains. Buy ahead of time on the internet to get cheap prices, and get a print-at-home ticket.
Brussels to Brugge, there is no discount for advance booking for Belgian trains, neither is there any seat reservations. Trains Brussels to Brugge are every half hour. Just buy a ticket at the station.
Brugge to Amsterdam, go to https://www.thalys.com/ again this is the company that runs to trains Brussels to Amsterdam. Again buy early on the internet.
See the "man in seat 61" website for more info, starting at this page: http://seat61.com/Belgium.htm
Posted by
OP
51 posts
Thank you Chris. My wife and I had the pleasure of visiting Basel last year. We loved it. A very beautiful city with very friendly people.
Thanks for your help.
Tom
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
126 posts
Hi Tom,
When you buy a Eurostar ticket to Brussels, it includes any train travel within Belgium – so no need to buy an additional ticket to Brugges.
From the Eurostar web site Any Belgian Station tickets are valid on Eurostar trains to Brussels, and then on any suitable connecting train service from Brussels to Belgian destinations, as long as you complete your journey within 24 hours of your Eurostar train arriving in Brussels. This doesn't include Thalys or ICE trains
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
Baz, Thomas (the original poster) said he was staying in Brussels two nights. So the option to get a ticket from London to "any station in Belgium" is not available. Belgian internal tickets are not expensive. Buying 2 tickets Brussels to Brugge should not break their budget.
Thomas, one confusing thing about finding your way around Belgium is that the Belgians are strict about posting place names only in the local language. Brussels (Bruxelles/Brussel) is bi-lingual, and the signs at the station (Bruxelles-Midi/Brussel-Zuid) will show a train going to Oostende/Ostende via Brugge/Bruges. When you get to Flemish-speaking Brugge it will only use Flemish.
The train indicators at Brugge station will only show the Flemish spelling of place names, even for places in French speaking areas.
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
126 posts
Hi Chris,
I missed that, your advice is correct.
Posted by
Mahopac, New York, USA
51 posts
Was just in Belgium in the last two weeks and traveled by train from Brussels airport to Bruges, Bruges to Antwerp, and Antwerp to Brussels.
I must say the using the automated ticket machines at each station was an absolute pleasure. Incredible easy to use and purchase tickets.
As an American, I always have a pin and chip card to use in automated machines. In never took more than 3 minutes to purchase any tickets.
Posted by
OP
51 posts
Allen, thanks so much for taking the time to respond.
I have already purchased our train tickets from Brussels to Bruges and back from Raileurope. I also purchased tickets from Brussels to Amsterdam from Raileurope. I probably paid a few dollars more booking it the way I did but I do have them in hand.
Thanks once again for your post.
Tom