I am having a great deal of trouble trying to book tickets from Paris to Brussels/Brugge. The Thalys site is hard to work with. Are the tickets prices the same? HELP!
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
Patty....just use the SNCF website at http://www.voyages-sncf.com if you're having trouble with the Thalys website. Thalys is a Belgian-based rail company that's majority-owned by SNCF, with minority positions held by Belgian and German railways. Advance prices (no changes, no refunds) can be as low as 25 Euro. Select "no" when it asks if you want insurance, and you'll be able to print out the ticket at home. If you select "Yes" to insurance, it'll ask for your address; and it won't allow North American addresses (since we're supposed to be buying from Rail Europe, another rail subsidiary of which SNCF is a major partner). For Brussels-Bruges, no reservations are possible, so just buy them at the Brussels station you leave from; four trains/hour, journey time, an hour. Don't forget that you can only book your tickets 3 months in advance.
Posted by
OP
richmond, b.c., canada
54 posts
Thanks for your help. One more question-because I'm unsure of my times at this point, is it worth it to get cancellation insurance for the 25 euro fare? Does the insurance cover these cheapie tickets? I have a Paris address since my daughter will be going to school there.