My husband, college age son and I plan to meet another college-age son in Maastricht, Netherlands. We have plane tix in/out of Brussels(July) and nothing else. My husband wants to rent a car (feels it would be less expensive than train tix (x4). What is the best way to go? Car or individual train passes or select pass? We will only be traveling Brussels, Bruge, maybe Paris, Maastrict, possibly Germany for 8 days only. If we do car, what area outside of Paris should we book so we can take bus into city?
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23265 posts
I think it is more of a function of where you want to go. Obviously a car has an advantage visiting more remote areas outside of large cities. But a car is nearly useless in any large city. In addition to the car expenses you need to account for parking which can be very expensive and inconvenient. And to add some extra expense for the traffic ticket for unknowingly driving through a restricted zone. You are absolutely crazy to have a car in Paris. But the way to know would be to price your point to point tickets so that you know what you are comparing. Eight days is not a lot of time.
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
Consider doing Paris last (except for your flying out of Brussels), so that you can turn in the car before Paris. Having a car in Paris really really detracts from the joy of Paris--being able to sleep where you want, without having to hassle with where to garage the car, is a biggie.
Posted by
OP
Royersford
3 posts
Ok, sounds like the train is the better way to go. Now, which train pass do we get? We will be starting in Brussels, and plan to go to Brugge, Paris, and Maastricht, Netherlands for sure...possibly a spot in Germany or Amsterdam. Roughly 4 countries and 5+ cities = 8 days total. Should we get consecutive, flexi or can we wing it and buy a ticket at each station as we go? Will we have problems getting a seat or ticket every day at the local station?