We will be traveling from Amsterdam to London by train, and I noticed on the Eurostar website that they allow travel from any Dutch city. Which means you can use your Eurostar ticket from Amsterdam Central Station to Brussels and then on to London. Is this correct? I know we did something similar in Japan with the Shinkansen, taking the local train from Yokohama to Shin-Yokohama station and from there to Osaka. Anyone experience this? I think it's great, but am wondering if we will be able to take the Thalys from Amsterdam to Brussels, or will have to take a slower train.
Actually it's better to book AMS to London via this site: http://www.nshispeed.nl/en They sell connections to London via both the IC trains and Thalys via Brussels. Be aware that one must have a reservation to board a Thalys train.
Why? I'd rather buy a ticket directly from Eurostar.
NS High Speed is operated by Dutch Rail, and is a partnered with Eurostar. It's best to use this site because they offer a better ion of connections, and offer a one stop place to get your tickets for the entire journey. Also should you run into any problems like loosing your ticket or not being able to print it out, Dutch Rail is better able to help you out "in country" if it's purchased via NS High Speed.
Yes, you can travel with the ticket from ANY dutch city to Brussels Midi (which is brussel south) and then onwards to London. I found it easy to plan and buy the tickets here:
http://www.ns.nl/reisplanner-v2/index.shtml?language=en One thing to keep in mind though! The eurostar ticket does not allow you to use the Thalys, however the planners will often show the Thalys as an option too, which you then need to ignore. ... Happy travels!