Advance Reservations for Thalys needed?
 

Hi, Two of us are planning to travel from Amsterdam to Brugge at the end of Sept. I'd like to leave my options open on what time I leave Amsterdam, but am worried about availability and a reasonable price on the tickets. I know that you do better in the UK and on Eurostar if you reserve early but don't know about Thalys. Is it foolish to wait until the day I want to travel to buy tickets? THanks for the help.

Hi Pete...We did the same trip in July. We purchased our tickets at the station a couple of days before we needed them, but there was no need to do that except for my compulsive/obsessive need to have things done early. So, wait until you get there, the train leaves fairly frequently throughout the day. Happy travels...Sue

For a paris-amsterdam trip, we got tickets day-of in March.

Awesome train ride (but I did it from Paris to Amsterdam) -- don't worry, buy them the night before. The Amsterdam train station is very easy to use, and it's a nice walk too.

I ride the Thalys about once a month, sometimes more often, and I say YES get your tickets as soon as you can. Reasons: you will be able to find the best prices. The second class "mini" ticket sells out fast. First class "loisirs" (leisure) ticket also sells out, but not as fast. If you are traveling on a week-day, I recommend the first class loisirs rate if possible. <BR>You can wait until the day of travel, but you are taking a risk. My cousin did that last year and could only get seats in the smoking car. She spent all her time standing in the bar car to get away from the smoke. Maybe you'll be as lucky as the other posters here, but maybe you won't. By the way, except for the mini ticket, you can change your departure time with the other tickets (some rates only allow one change, though, so no endless dithering). I have changed my departure or return time on a few occasions. <BR>BTilke (Brussels)

Last year on an Amsterdam-Brussels trip to catch the EuroStar to London, I paid a supplement to ride the Thalys even though my EurailPass would've given me a 'free' 1st class ride on a regular express train. Thought the Thalys would be so special it would be worth the supplement. It wasn't. There was no discernible difference, and it was no faster. (I think it's faster on the Brussels-Paris segment, but not on the Amsterdam-Belgium-French border segment.) <BR> <BR>Next time, I'll forget the Thalys and use my 1st class EurailPass on a regular express train.

Thanks for all the replies, I think I'll try to get flexible tickets before I leave the US so that we're sure to get a seat on the train for the day we need it, but have the ability to change around. Also, I noticed that the timetables are very similar for the Thalys and the regular daytrains from Amsterdam to Brussels. I guess the advantage is on the Brussels-Paris route.