Hi, I am trying to plan a trip for this June with my 29 year old daughter. If we land in Brussels,spend a few days there and travel on to Brugge for 2 more. It seems train travel would be the best for this part of the trip. We would like to go over to to the Mosel Valley spend a few days in Cochem and then on to Alsace for the last 3 days of our trip. I can not come to any decision on whether a rental car or trains would be the best and the most economical way to go for these 2 legs of the trip. HELP! if anyone has any information or opinions about this, I would love you to share them. Thanks so much,
Barbara
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32355 posts
Barbara, Given the area you're covering, travel by train (high speed when possible) would be the best method and the most efficient use of your holiday time. You can research each of your journeys using the bahn.de website. If you want to pre-purchase tickets, use the websites for the railways in each country. You can also easily buy tickets when you arrive in Europe. For a home base in the Alsace, I would highly recommend staying in Colmar. It's a beautiful smaller town, with lots of nice restaurants. Be sure to visit the wonderful Unterlinden Museum. It's small but very interesting. Happy travels!
Posted by
OP
Closter, NJ, USA
2 posts
Hi Vernon, Thanks so much the research continues! Thanks again and happy travels!
Barbara
Posted by
Gettysburg, PA
1589 posts
Barb, Brugges is a straight train shot from Brussles- under 1 hour. To really wander around the A-L area, a rental from Colmar for a day or 2 might be considered.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
For the domestic rail service in Belgium, there's no advantage in buying tickets in advanced. Just purchase the tickets on your day of travel. For the portion of your trip from Brugge to the Mosel... well, it depends on which route you take and what time of day. If you route through Luxembourg and Trier, you would ride mostly Belgian rail and German regional trains. Generally, there are no advanced purchase discounts. If you routed through Brussels and Köln, you could take various combinations of the high-speed Thalys service and German Intercity Express (ICE), plus regional trains. You can save a significant amount of money by purchasing Thalys and ICE tickets in advanced. Note, however, that the ICE/Thaylys route is only about an hour faster than going through Luxembourg. I'll let someone else comment on Cochem to Alsace.