We will be visiting Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg for 9 days as part of a trip in October. I am not a rail novice (Italy, Ireland, Japan) but far from an expert. We will be taking a relatively small number of trips - primarily, Brussels - Brugge - Amsterdam - Luxembourg - Brussels. The plan is 3 nights in Brugge, 4 in Amsterdam and 2 back in Brussels, with a day trip to Luxembourg. We are flying in and out of Brussels from Madrid. From reading the site, it sounds like second class point to point tickets is the right answer. Not sure, though. Also, I can not tell if advance purchase tickets makes a difference. Thanks, Dan
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
The only route for which advance purchase will give you a discount is on Thalys trains between Amsterdam and Brussels. The standard 2nd class fare is 64 EUR. Booked well in advance (up to 90 days) at www.thalys.com, you can get a Smoove fare as low as 25 EUR; but that ticket is for a specific departure date and time and is non-refundable and non-exchangeable.
The standard fare for IC trains between Amsterdam and Brussels is 37.80 EUR and your ticket is good on any train.
The standard 2nd class fare for Brussels-Luxembourg is 34.60 EUR each way. However, you can buy Escapade 1 same day return (roundtrip) tickets for 20.50 EUR each way.
With the current exchange rate between euro and dollars, if you stick to IC trains for all your rides and get Escapade 1 tickets for Brussels-Luxembourg and return, you will spend less than the cost of even a Saver Benelux railpass.
Bruxelles-Brugge: 12.90 EUR
Brugge-Amsterdam: 45.40 EUR
Amsterdam-Bruxelles: 37.80 EUR
Bruxelles-Luxembourg (Escapade 1): 20.50 EUR each way
Posted by
OP
Las Cruces, NM, United States
136 posts
Thanks very much, Tim. I just figured out the Thalys part on some old posts. The Luxembourg is very helpful.