We want to travel from Amsterdam Schiphol airport to Bruges, Belgium and then return from Bruges to Amsterdam Central station a few days later. I know there will be a transfer involved (Brussels or Antwerp). My question: Should we try to purchase the tickets ahead of time using the Euro Railways website, or should we just buy the tickets at the aiport for the trip to Bruges and purchase them in Bruges for the return trip to Amsterdam Central? We are a bit concerned about ticket availability on the day of travel, and certainly want to avoid not being able to get a ticket because there is no seating available. Is that a real concern for this route? Thanks for your help.
George
Posted by
Redding, CA, USA
1568 posts
Been there done that. You will not have a problem purchasing your tickets at Schiphol to Brugge. When you arrive in Brugge and know your return date...purchase your return ticket in Brugge. You will enjoy Brugge. Personally, I would never purchase a ticket through Euro Railways....they are marked up.
Posted by
New Paltz, NY
9110 posts
If you just want to use the inter-city trains from Schipol to Bruges, "availability" isn't an issue as reservations can't be made on these type of trains. All seats are first come first serve (there will be plenty of apsce available), and your tickets will be valid for any IC train departure.
Reservations are only required on the high-speed Thalys train to Antwerp and Brussels. They use airline style pricing the sooner you book the cheaper it will be. If you want to book in advance or check schedules use this site: http://www.nshispeed.nl/en
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
Ditto on what the others wrote, but let me elaborate. Although Belgium and the Netherlands operate their own separate domestic rail services, there are different services that connect the two countries. As Michael mentioned, the fastest and more expensive option is the high speed service operated by Thalys. This train uses airline-style ticketing, meaning that your ticket buys you a specific reserved seat on a specific train. Buying early through their website will save you some money, but it isn't necessary to guarantee a seat. The train stops in Amsterdam, Schipol, Rotterdam, Antwerp, Brussels and continues on to Paris. The other option is a slightly slower, but cheaper intercity train that follows the same route through Brussels, although it has more stops. As previously mentioned, the train uses open seating with no reservations possible, and your ticket does not oblige you to travel at one specific time. Advanced purchase discounts are not available, so there is no reason to buy ahead of time. There are always plenty of seats available. Neither train services Brugge directly, so you will need to change trains at Antwerp. Whether you choose Thalys or the intercity train option, you only need to buy one ticket for the entire route. The leg between Antwerp and Brugge is on the normal domestic rail service of Belgium. Seating is open, so you are not obligated to travel at any one specific time. There's usually two or more trains between Antwerp and Brugge every hour. And as the others mentioned, don't even think about using Rail Europe or similar sites, unless you want to spend far more money than necessary.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23626 posts
We make that run last year in September with a change in Antwerp. At the time we bought the ticket there was a promotion for first class for 10E. We opted for first class and we were the only ones in first class for the whole ride to Antwerp. Every second class was only about third full. So don't worry about being sold out.