Place to Stay near the Charleroi Airport
 

I'll be getting in on a late RyanAir flight to Charleroi and I'm traveling alone (female). I am getting in on Monday and leaving Thursday. Can anyone recommend a place close the airport to stay that's inexpensive, safe and easy to get to later at night (pref by taxi)? The following day, I want to explore Bruges and Ghent so it should be relatively convenient to get to those. Would anyone recommend staying in a hostel in Brussels or Bruge? Anyone with info would be very appreciated. Thanks!

Hi jess104,

Charleroi is one of the most depressing and horrible cities in Belgium. Crime rates are also high due to unemployment, so I definitely wouldn't recommend staying there.

No matter how late, there's always a Ryanair bus going to Bruxelles-Midi railway station. If you tell me your arrival hour, I can tell you if you could get to Brussels and/or Brugge by train (which is cheaper than the Ryanair bus).

If you get to Brussels, find a hostel near Bruxelles-Midi, and then in the morning hop on a train to Ghent (30 minutes) or Brugge (50 minutes). In Ghent and Brugge both railway stations are a bit outside the center, so it could be a bit more difficult to get to a hostel late at night. That's why I'd recommend Brussels.

Can't recommend any specific hostels though, as I'm Belgian so I never stay there, but I guess you know where to look.

Justine Henin holds her charity tennis exhibition in Charleroi every December

Thanks for responding. I'm getting in on a Monday night at 10pm at Charleroi. Is it safe for a female to travel on the bus and train late at night? I live in NYC and I wouldn't but that's my NYer mentality. I don't want to be transfering bus to train in the middle of the night alone since I could get lost. How much are taxi's to Brussels? I guess I could book a hostel i advance or just take my chances.

If you're arriving at 10 pm I wouldn't advise you to go to the Charleroi train station on your own. It would also be risky to catch the last train if your flight has a delay. The train itself is safe, it's just the Charleroi railway station I don't completely trust.

The Ryanair coach leaves in front of the airport about 30 minutes after every flight (they wait, also if your plane is late). It's perfectly safe. They'll drop you off at the Bruxelles-Midi station, the biggest and most modern one in Brussels. You can get a taxi to your hostel in Brussels from there if you want.

This seems by far the best and safest option to me.

That seems like a great idea! Thank you so much! So I should catch the Ryan Air shuttle bus (how much is that approx?), then at the train station, catch a taxi to Brussels and I should find a hostel beforehand, I should think. From Brussels, is it easy enough to see Ghent and Bruges, that's where I really want to be but have to be back at the Charleroi airport on Thursday night. What's the best option there? I REALLY appreciate your help. I dont think the websites on Brussels mention that Charleroi isn't safe. I'm glad you told me beforehand.

To be honest with you: I've never been to Charleroi myself, so all I know is from general knowledge and what is said and shown in the media. I guess nobody every mentions this, because nobody ever goes to Charleroi anyway ;-)

Brussels Midi station is quite centrally located, and there are plenty of trains to Ghent and Brugge (at least 2 per hour and often more). Check www.b-rail.be for schedules. I have studied in Ghent and it's by far my favourite city in Belgium, so definitely a good choice that you're going there! Anyway, to go from Charleroi to Brugge or Ghent you'd have to pass by Brussels anyway, so it's not like it's a detour.

As for getting back: either you take the train back to Bruxelles-Midi and again a shuttle to Charleroi Airport, or you take a train to Charleroi and then local bus 68 (the sign says 'airport' on the bus station right next to the train station). During the day this should be ok for you, I've done it myself a couple of times (female, 26). Brugge - Charleroi takes about 2 hrs.

There used to be information on the Ryanair website about shuttles and prices, but can't find it back right now. My guess is that the fare will be around 10€ one way.

They do warn you that at the Brussels railway stations obscure taxi-drivers are trying to convince people that the shuttle is out of service and that they should take a taxi, but that's a scam. Don't say you weren't warned!

I tried to find some hotels right next to the railway station, but most of them seem a bit tacky. Some that do look ok are:
http://www.hotelcontinental.be/
http://www.aubergeautrichienne.be/

Have fun!

Me again: if you want to look for more hotels, do like this:

Go to http://www.map24.com
Look for an address: say "Avenue Fonsny" in Brussels (that's where the Midi station is)
Then you can choose "find nearest" and you click "hotel". Then comes a list with all hotels closeby, ordered by distance. Good luck!

Wow, thank you so much! I am also 26 so I definitely will go by what you say about safety and whatnot. So you think I should stay in Brussels Midi (take the shuttle from the airport) and then the next day, travel to Ghent and Brugges?

You're welcome. And yes, that's exactly what I ment (hmmm, perhaps it wasn't so clear, my head can be a bit of a mess sometimes :-)). When exactly are you planning to come? I'm extremely occupied right now, but if it's like in a month or so and you feel like it, perhaps you could even get a personal tour of Ghent :-)

that would be great but i'm coming in a week and a half! You are clear, I just get confused myself, haha. I'm going to be in Ireland the rest of my trip in Clare. Any ideas there? You have been so helpful, by the way!

Hmmm, well in a week and a half we could perhaps go for a drink in Ghent one night (provided that you're staying in Ghent). Email me at michele.dewaele (at) gmail.com.

You wouldn't tell from all my posts that I'm so busy, huhm ;-)