Im so confused as to which rail website to use to buy train tickets.
I only need to get from Amsterdam to Brugge and then Brugge to London, any any day trips I can sort out when im there.
Anyone who can help from experience would be appreciated, thank you in advance.
First off,, you need to understand who runs the railroads. Eurorail and rail europe are travel agencies selling other train ticket so take them off you list. You need to use the national rail site for tickets and scheduling information.. I will go find it ---
Ok thanks you, also I mentioned eurorail but actually mean Eurostar.
The only ticket you need to book is Bruges (actually Brussels) to London. Book that direct on Eurostar webpage. Look if they have an ABS (any Belgian station) option, which would mean the Bruges to Brussels leg would be included. For Amsterdam to Bruges, just head to the station and buy a ticket and hop on.
Though thetrainline.com charges a fee for ticketing, sometimes I start there to explore ticket prices as the website is very user friendly. Then I go on to check out the national or regional website to compare prices once I have a handle on my dates and time. Half the time I do buy from the trainline simple for ease and to have all my trips in the app.
I just wait until I get there to purchase tickets at the train stations in person. Sometimes I buy at a ticket booth and sometimes I buy out of vending machines.
If I'm going by a train station the day before I'm going to take a train, I'll zip in and buy tickets for the next day. That simplifies the day of departure in case things get hectic.
To places like Belgium, trains are very frequent and seats usually available.
I would not wait until you are in Europe to buy your ticket for Brussels to London. Eurostar has a monopoly on that route, so if you waited until you were there to purchase, you would pay a pretty penny indeed. Much better to pre-purchase that ticket in particular.
A good rule of thumb is to buy your ticket from the national railway of the country the trip starts ins.
So buy Amsterdam - Brugge on NS International, and Brugge - London on B-Europe (NMBS/SNCB International).
(And always buy end-to-end one transaction if possible.)
That way if there is an issue you can just go to the station and talk to someone at the ticket office.
