indy_dad

Appreciate all the patience from the train die-hards and casual fans. It's certainly a common topic and is confusing to the uninitiated (like me).

Early days for planning a potential family trip to Belgium and the Netherlands for 7-8 days next April (starting on Good Friday). I'm starting from Derby/East Midlands and would like to take the Eurostar as part of the experience. I've dabbled on www.seat61.com, www.b-rail.be/main/E/, and www.nshispeed.nl/en but still have a few questions.

Family of 4 with kids age 12 & 9. Assume for now that we'll spend some time in Brussels, Bruges and Amsterdam.

Outbound: Derby - St Pancras - Brussels
Middle-1: Brussels - Bruges
Middle-2: Bruges - Amsterdam (perhaps via Brussels)
Inbound: AMS - East Midlands (BMI flight rather than backtracking on train)

Questions:

1) Since I will be traveling on a bank holiday (Good Friday), I plan to buy the Eurostar ticket 120 days out and then add the Derby - St Pancras bit later. I'm assuming the Eurostar cheap fares will get gobbled up and I'll just have to risk the separate tickets. Reasonable logic?

2) For travel within Belgium, it appears that the tickets are fixed price so no need to pre-book. Correct?

3) Also, there seems to be a "large family" discount that applies to parents. And kids are free? (I can't tell which side of the fence the 12 y.o. will be on).

4) Given the discount above, there doesn't seem to be much of a price difference between the "any Belgian station" add on and my flexible ticket. As a result, we could do Brussels then Bruges or vice versa. Right?

5) At first glance, it appears that the Brussels-Amsterdam tickets are cheaper and easier (direct) compared to the Bruges-Amsterdam. Based on that, it would make sense to carry on to Bruges on arrival and then "do" Brussels next before then going to Amsterdam. This also opens up the option for the high-speed option from Brussels to Amsterdam (though that's not much of a big deal). Right?

6) For the "slow" trains, is there any need to pre-book the Belgium to Amsterdam trains?

7) Any family discounts for the Belgium-Amsterdam option? If pre-booking, what's the best site for that?

Thanks for reading this far and again, your patience. The itinerary and where to stay, what to do questions will come later.

annhig

hi indydad,

I like the basic plan, but have a few suggestions:

as an alternative flight, you can fly KLM from amsterdam to b'ham.

do look at buying your Derby to St. Pancras tickets at the same time as the eurostar ones, using the eurostar website. this is because you will then benefit from the standard european terms and conditions which mean that if you are delayed, they are obliged to put you on the next available train. this does not apply if you buy the tickets separately.

that also applies to any onward services, like the Brussels-Bruges one you re thinking about.

can't help with the rest, but good luck!

indy_dad

<i>do look at buying your Derby to St. Pancras tickets at the same time as the eurostar ones, using the eurostar website.</i>

I think the Eurostar tickets will be available 120 days out whereas the UK portion is only 90 (?). I fear that if I wait until 90 days to buy them on the same ticket then the cheap Eurostar prices will be gone given the Easter holidays. . .

Dilemma.

Thanks for the KLM suggestion. I'll keep that in mind. I won't have a car at the airport with this plan so I'll need some form of public transportation back (and East Midlands is closer). BHX has some options too though.

annhig

mmm - yes you are right.

i tried to book from Derby to Paris on 17th sept but it said i had to wait until 23rd Oct - ie 90 days away, whereas, if I just wanted St. P to Paris i could do it now.

so I think that you will just have to book the two bits separately, though you might try to go back onto the eurostar website at the beginning of the 90 day period and see if you can amend your booking.

ref using B'ham airport, is there a direct train from Derby? one of the attractions for us is that we can get a train straight from Coventry [where my mum lives; she is coming with us] into B'ham international. i can see that it would be less attractive if that's not an option. but there are several flights a day from Schipol into B'ham which may be more convenient than the BMI flight into East midlands.

BTW, how is living in Derby working out?

you are certainly getting away from it a lot!

alanRow

"Since I will be traveling on a bank holiday (Good Friday), I plan to buy the Eurostar ticket 120 days out and then add the Derby - St Pancras bit later."

I wouldn't want to guarantee what trains would run on that day as that's the sort of weekend when they like to dig up tracks. You might want to consider reversing your trip and start with the flight

BTW cheap UK train tickets are available a MAXIMUM of 12 weeks in advance, for that weekend I would expect it to be far less.

Man_in_seat_61

1) Yes, but look for a special ticket from Derby to 'London International (CIV)' which is the same price as a normal ticket but (a) has fewer or no time restrictions, making it far cheaper if you need to leave in the Monday-Friday morning peak and (b) has CIV international conditions of carriage, guaranteeing your connection with a later Eurostar if your UK train happens to be late. See advice on this well-kept scret of a ticket at www.seat61.com/UKconnections.htm

2) Yes, correct.

3) Haven't come up against this one, but see any terms and conditions at www.b-europe.com

4) Remember that with an 'Any Belgian station' Eurostar ticket you can only stop off in Brussels for up to 24 hours, not longer.

5) You'll have to play around with www.b-europe.com to check fares.

6) No need to book. You can't even if you wanted to. Thalys will be faster and as cheap if you pre-book, but far more expensive if you buy tickets on the day.