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Belgium-Netherlands-Germany 12 days in Sept

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Belgium-Netherlands-Germany 12 days in Sept

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Old Sep 1st, 2011 | 07:44 AM
  #41  
 
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CastlesandFalls - bahn.de does not sell this pass - only sold abroad I believe - these prices from from the budget europe travel site mentioned above - prices are always universal, set by the Eurail committee so price, which can fluctuate due to currency exchange corrrections, should be the same wherever you buy it - though shipping fees can be tacked on so check on that as many agents have none.

Benelux* & Germany Flexipass Prices

Choose 5, 6, 8 or 10 days of unlimited rail travel to be used anytime within a 2-month period on the national railroads of Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands (Holland).

* Benelux is an acronym for Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
Validity
(in 2 months)
1ST CLASS P.P. SAVERPASS
5 days $359
6 days $388
8 days $458
10 days $523

2ND CLASS P.P.L SAVERPASS

5 days $285
6 days $310
8 days $366
10 days $425

You are traveling by train a lot of days so say a 10 day pass would be about $43/day in 2nd class and that would be about 28 euros a day for unlimited days out of a 2-month period - hop any train anytime - fully flexible and that to me at least in priceless to have few or nearly no restrictions (Thalys trains exception but you do not have to take those.)

saverpass is two or more, max of 5, people traveling on one pass - p.p. - one person can use the pass by thesmelves say on one day the other don't want to budge but you obviously cannot take separate trains. solo passes are about 20% more expensive.
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Old Sep 1st, 2011 | 10:13 AM
  #42  
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Thank you for the rail information. I've got 11 days of travel if I train to Frankfort the night before our morning flight home (or 12 if we stay outside Frankfort). Should I use a bus between Mosel or Rhine towns on 2 of the days so that I would only need 10 rail pass days?
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Old Sep 1st, 2011 | 01:01 PM
  #43  
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I find those rail passes extremely expensive. For travel in Belgium you'd better buy a Rail Pass (only valid in Belgium) at 74 euro (2nd class or 113 euro 1st class) for 10 single journeys (can be used by the two of you) anywhere in Belgium.
I'm sure Holland and Germany have something similar.
You're probably not yet a 'senior' (65+) but if you are you can travel at 5,20 euro roundtrip (!) all over Belgium (12 euro 1st class).
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Old Sep 2nd, 2011 | 07:22 AM
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No Holland and Germany do not have the same thing TMK and thus if traveling 10 days the Germany-Benelux Pass is a real bargain - in Belgium there are great deals but there are not such cheap ones in other countries. If travel was all in Belgium a pass would be a waste of money - but in Germany it also depends on whether or not you want flexibility to hop any train anytime - this the pass offers as I presume the Belgium passes offer too - but in Germany full fare fully flexible tickets cost a fortune, especially in first class which I highly recommend in all these countries, even Belgium - I always always have lots of empty seats in my first-class car in these countries but 2nd class can be SRO as these are basically commuter trains in Benelux that can be really crowded at rush hours. an Amterdam to aachen or Cologne full fare ticket could well cost $100 in itself in 2nd class. No the Germany-Benelux Pass for lots of days of travel is an aboslute bargain and also priceless in its complete flexibility. If you were only going in Belgium it would be a different story.
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Old Sep 2nd, 2011 | 02:04 PM
  #45  
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I still need to look closer at the train travel situation I guess. Well, I have waited too long to book the first stay of my trip in Bruges. After 20 B&Bs reply "full" for next weekend, I'll have to stay in a hotel. I'm looking at Hotel Castillion $461, Grand Casselbergh $515 and Martin's Brugge $398 and all include breakfast. I find good & bad reviews of all three. Can anyone give advice here?
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Old Sep 2nd, 2011 | 07:01 PM
  #46  
 
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when are you going to Bruges - those cheapest you say prices are outrageous - there are plenty of proper hotels much cheaper than that. Contact the Bruges Tourist Office and have them book you a safe and clean and much cheaper alternative than those extremely high=priced places.
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Old Sep 2nd, 2011 | 08:28 PM
  #47  
 
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Those prices are obscene. Ditto PalenQ. I stayed in a dormitory, squeeky clean and dirty cheap.
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Old Sep 3rd, 2011 | 04:45 AM
  #48  
 
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Bruges, official website of the city
www.brugge.be/internet/en/index.htm - CachedSimilar
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The information in the English version of the Bruges website contains the sections tourism and seminars and museums (see navigation on the left). ...

Sightseeing - Sights - Tourism & seminars - Practical info

check this out and even give them a call to save a few hundred bucks I would think over the cheapest you have found.
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Old Sep 3rd, 2011 | 07:45 AM
  #49  
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We are going next week. We'll be in Bruges this Saturday and Sunday night.(11th and 12th) I want a romantic place for these 2 nights only but we're not really "Luxury" hotel shopping, although the prices look that way. The amounts I listed above are for 2 nights, 2 people. I wish I would have booked a nice B&B sooner, before they were all full. I found the 3 hotels I'm considering on the bruge.be website. So the Bruges Tourist Office can book them for me for less than booking.com and the like? Thanks again for your help.
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Old Sep 3rd, 2011 | 09:33 AM
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<i>castlesANDfalls on Sep 3, 11 at 11:45am
The amounts I listed above are for 2 nights, 2 people. I wish I would have booked a nice B&B sooner, before they were all full.
</i>
The hotel prices are still over the top. I doubt that ALL of the B&Bs are full, only those which have an Internet presence through an agency. Scroll down a few pages in Google, Yahoo, and Bing to find B&Bs which have their own web site. The cheap ones and often the best ones do not make the top of the list. Competition is fierce. IMO Yahoo is the best search engine for B&Bs.
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Old Sep 4th, 2011 | 05:44 AM
  #51  
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castlesANDfalls, I wonder where you found those outrageous prices of Brugge Hotels. On www.booking.com you can have G.H Casselbergh for 'as little' as 356 euro for two nights, breakfast included. 'Gueshouse 17', a boutique hotel, for only 234 euro for two nights, breakfast included. Or 'B&B Casa Romantico' in a grand luxe room for 330 euro for two nights, breakfast included.
Check it out!
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Old Sep 4th, 2011 | 07:09 AM
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MyriamC, with the conversion rate at 1:1.42, the Casselbergh is over $500 for 2 nights. Guesthouse 17 & Casa Romantico are lovely but have no rooms for my 2 nights available. I am about to book at Hotel Ter Brughe for 140 euro per night. I hope it's as nice as the photos on their site.
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Old Sep 4th, 2011 | 07:33 AM
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Wow, I had no idea the exchange rate was so bad! Sorry to hear that.
The Ter Brughe looks very nice. If you want an excellent dinner in a typical small and romantic Bruges restaurant, go to Tom's Diner. It's at West Gistelhof (very close to your hotel).
http://www.tomsdiner.be/info.cfm
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Old Sep 4th, 2011 | 07:36 AM
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Wanted to add that as per booking.com Guesthouse 17 and Casa Romantico do have rooms available on the 11th and 12th September.
That being said, I do like the location of the Ter Brughe better.
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Old Sep 4th, 2011 | 08:13 AM
  #55  
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Thanks again. Our 1st 2 nights are Sept 10 & 11, sorry for any confusion. I've got Ter Brughe for 2 nts in Bruges, Panamarenko B&B in Antwerp for 2 nts and now, need to find lodging for 3 nights in The Netherlands. So is Amsterdam the best base to see Amsterdam, The Hague, Haarlem and Zaanse Schans? We will train from Antwerp Wednesday morning. Any suggestions on the route/order to visit these areas?
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Old Sep 4th, 2011 | 08:33 AM
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Yes, Amsterdam is an excellent base to visit the other towns mentioned. There's a direct train connection from Antwerp Central to Amsterdam Central (Intercity, no reservations required).

Do you have a hotel in Amsterdam already? We recently stayed at the brandnew Casa 400, a trendy designhotel. It's not in the very centre but only 5 min. walk to Amsterdam Amstel train station and metro. From Amstel to Centraal is 7 min. by train.

Hotel Estheréa should be excellent, too. Excellent, central location. Unfortunately a different price category than the Casa 400.

If you go to Zaanse Schans, the restaurant at the entrance, called "De Hoop op d'Swarte Walvis" is really very good. Not at all touristy!
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Old Sep 4th, 2011 | 08:33 AM
  #57  
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go to Tom's Diner: That looks great and they're open late, prices look reasonable. Do you think I need a reservation for a Saturday or Sunday night?
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Old Sep 4th, 2011 | 12:15 PM
  #58  
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Thank you MyriamC. Hotel Estherea is booked for 14/9-17/9, but Casa 400 is a consideration at $243 a night. I know PalenQ likes a certain B&B in Haarlem to base from. Wish I knew which one that is so I could check that out.
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Old Sep 4th, 2011 | 01:11 PM
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Tom's Diner: yes, you will certainly need a reservation!

I'm sure PalenQ will check in with the name of the B&B.

IMO $243 per night at Casa 400 is too much. We paid around 100€ in March of this year. It's a decent hotel, but not extremely luxurious.
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Old Sep 5th, 2011 | 03:36 AM
  #60  
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I tried to make a reservation for Tom's Diner;they are closed for that week! What awful luck I'm having.Plus, out of the 12 hotels I've tried to reserve in Amsterdam, they're either full or are over $240 per night for just a room in a mid-range hotel. I hope the Germany portion is not this difficult to arrange.
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