Thaly ticket and Brussels metro

Martine,

The 19 EUR fare I quoted you was for one adult. If you take a Thalys train, the best you can do is 57 EUR (19 EUR/person). If you take an ICE train, you can do better (38 EUR total) because the 14-year-old will ride free. Compared to the standard fare, either one is a really good deal.

Most trains that go from Brussels to Brugge terminate at Oostende on the North Sea.

I'm not 100% sure, but I don't think Thalys covers your metro ticket. There is a Metro ticket booth at Brussel-Zuid and also automated ticket machines. The machines only accept coins or chip-embedded credit or debit cards. When you get off of Thalys, follow the signs to the Metro platform.

"I would have preferred an ICE train since it is cheaper but none are departing at that time." Not sure exactly what you mean by that. Did you mean from Koln to Brussel?

I don't believe you will be able to travel on the metro with your Thalys ticket. But instead of taking the metro from Zuid to Rogier, take a train from Zuid to the Congres or Noord train stations. Both stations are about a couple of blocks away from Rogier, and your Thalys ticket will be valid for the journey. There are trains every five minutes or so.

map

Thank you both, I will make my final destination Brussels-Nord.
Tom, I meant an ICE from Köln to Brussels, if bought
92 days in advance it would be cheaper than the Thaly.
I was also looking for cheap train fares for Belgium, if purchased in
advance but I found nothing so far, do you guys known of any kind
of specials or rail pass? We are 2 adults and a 14 year old, arriving in
Brussels on a Saturday, then on to Brugge late afternoon Sunday and back to Brussel
airport early Wednesday morning. Thanks again!

Martine,

If you book well in advance (up to 92 days allowed) on the German Rail site, www.bahn.de, you can get a discount fare as low as 19 EUR for either Thalys trains or ICE trains from Koeln to Bruxelles.

"I was also looking for cheap train fares for Belgium, if purchased in advance but I found nothing so far, do you guys known of any kind of specials or rail pass?" Fairs within Belgium are pretty cheap to begin with, and there is no discount for advanced purchases. If you think you will take more than 3-4 trips by domestic rail (NMBS), you can get a pass good for 10 individual trips within the country for about 70 euro. Note that this pass can be used by more than one person. So, two people going back and forth from Brugge to Brussels would count as 4 trips of the 10. You can buy this pass at any train station in Belgium.

Tim is the 19 euro, for 2 adults and a 14 year old?
I only found a fare for the ICE at 38 euros and 58 euros
for the Thalys.
Tom exactly what i was looking for, thanks, would you know
if there is a train stop by a beach not to far from Bruges?

Here's a link with the information about the pass:

http://www.b-rail.be/nat/E/tarifs/passes/rail/index.php

Tom, after doing point to point tickets, it seems i would save a little with the pass, if we go to Oostende we would save more, it will depend on the weather. I checked on google maps and the beach in Oostende seems pretty close to the train station.
Thank you all for your help!