So, I have my travel arrangements nailed down. We land in Amsterdam at 7:20 am and will take the train, using our rail passes to get to Ghent. In looking over the trains and departure times, I see that they all seem to involve a Thalys train which I understand needs a reservation. How far in advance do I need to make a reservation since I don’t know if our flight will land on time. Thanks, Warren
Warren, while I have never traveled with a rail pass, I have traveled from Schipol to Ghent many times. For whatever reason, Google Maps often fails to show intercity trains from Schipol to Ghent. Try here (https://www.nsinternational.nl/en/traintickets#/NLSHL/BEGNT/ob/20180321) or other sites that do show additional trains that don’t include Thalys. The IC trains leave every 45 mins or so and I would recommend taking those trains instead of reserving a Thalys. I would not reserve a Thalys train in your situation as you cannot possibly know when, exactly, you will land. When you land, go through passport control, grab your bags and hop on the next train to Ghent-no need to prebook. You will likely transfer at Antwerpen Central. If you have a few hours, stash your bag, marvel at Antwerpen Central station and head to Antwerpen city center for a few hours. I will say that when I return from Ghent to either Amsterdam or Schipol, I do sometimes pre-book with Thalys-as I can pick a set day/time to return and the journey on Thalys, while more expensive usually (unless you prebook far in advance), the journey is about 55 minutes quicker. I would hope some regulars on here will be able to chime in on the rail pass portion of your question.
Another way is to look up the schedule at www.bahn.com. Under further options, click on "means of transportation" and uncheck "ICE" and then "search" and you will see train schedules without using the Thalys.
They will be all unreserved IC trains you can use with a validated rail pass.
Jay,
Thanks for the input.i’ll check out that site. When I planned this, I don’t remember all trains being Thalys.i can’t believe I would have to take one.. I’ll check tomorrow with the rail pass people as well but was hoping someone has navigated this before.thanks again.
Thanks Sam