Reservations on THA (Thalys) trains

Thalys reservation have different prices depending on quotas, but I doubt you will ever find a cheaper reservation on the eve of your trip. Thalys reservations are expensive and, more often than not, reservation alone costs more than an advanced-purchased maxium-discount one-way fare.

Am I correct in that a reservation is REQUIRED for Thalys trains? What are the alternatives to Thalys then? When I checked the Bahn website, it only listed Thalys trains for Brussels to Paris.

The word "reservation" has been improperly attached to a pass holder ticket on a Thalys train. Unlike a few decades ago, when a Eurail pass assured you of virtually unlimited travel on European trains, European rail lines have now create a whole class of "premium" trains for which the Eurail pass itself does not apply. Travel on these trains requires payment of an additional fee, called a surcharge or Aufpries. This is why a rail pass is no longer the bargain it once was. Since full fare tickets on these trains includes a reserved seat, with the surcharge you get a seat reservation, hence the term, but the "reservation" is much more than that. I don't know if Thalys sells reservations online, but 40-60 Euro sound about like what you would pay at the counter. You could find much better prices for point to point tickets from the Thalys website. Charge it up to experience and, the next time, figure out how to get point-point tickets in Europe.

"When I checked the Bahn website, it only listed Thalys trains for Brussels to Paris." Sorry, but no offense, but I don't think you know what you are doing. The Bahn website defaults to the fastest connections, which will show you Thalys. However, it you click the "All without ICE" radio button, you will find a lot of non-Thalys connections, which should be covered by your rail pass. They will not be as fast (that's what Thalys does), but they will be covered.

I had unchecked "prefer fast connections" thinking that it would give me all of the available options, but it looks like that selecting the radio button for "All without ICE" brings up more options. I appreciate the advice. However, I do take offense because I do not think that failing to select the proper radio button for one option puts me in the category of "I do not know what I am doing". I think I am doing a pretty good job planning a Europe trip for the first time :)

For anyone reading this thread looking for alternatives to the Thalys train from Brussels to Paris using a Eurail pass... I would suggest taking the TGV train from Brussels to the Paris airport for a 5 euro reservation fee rather than the additional 40 to 60 euros to take Thalys to downtown Paris. Then, take a train from the airport into the city center with a "voucher" you should be able to get at the airport train station ticket counter. I can't verify the voucher thing, but I am told that they'll give you one with the pass. This adds about an hour to the trip.