Greetings to all!

Planning 11 day trip in January 2005 to visit these cities and was wondering what method of transportation would be best at this time of year? Would love any suggestion.

klj

These cities are not far apart and once you get to the city you probably don't want the hassel of a car. You might think of taking the train between cities then if you want to get out into the countryside rent a car for a day or two and do a little wandering.

Thank you for the advice. I wasn't sure if renting a car would be a good idea given the cold weather but wasn't sure if the train would be more of a hassle. I will look into train schedules. Thank you again for your help!

We travelled in April 2003 through Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg and utilized the BeNeLux rail pass. We were very pleased with the ease of rail travel and the overall cost. You can check rail schedules at:

NETHERLANDS
www.ns.nl

BELGIUM
www.b-rail.be

Enjoy your trip. Peace. >-

Robyn

Thanks Robyn for the valuable input! I will research these websites and book our tickets. Did you book them on line before your trip or at the station?
Kindly,
Vanessa

vanenechy -

We purchased the 5 day (2nd class) BeNeLux Tourrail Pass from Rail Europe before we left the U.S. The cost in 2003 was $254.00 for 2 tickets ($168.00 for a single). We activated our pass at the international counter at Centraal Station as soon as we arrived in Amsterdam.

However, you might do better just purchasing point-to-point tickets, insted of the rail pass. There is a website that allows you to put in your itinerary and then recommends the most economical means of rail travel (pass vs. p-t-p). Check out this site -

http://railsaver.com/

Hope this helps in your planning. >-

Robyn

Will do and thanks again!!!!

Having a car in Amsterdam is a liability. You will find it difficult to park and it is best to tour using your feet or public transportation.

Brugge offers more parking but the historic center is small and you will wind up walking and, pehaps, boating everywhere you explore in this beautiful city.

Antwerp is drivable but complex and not particularly tourist friendly. Unles you have a specific reason for visiting Antwerp, you might want to visit Brussels instead.

For information on driving in the Netherlands, visit our website at http://www.thereareplaces.com/Guidebook/pdest/nlti.htm where we have a section on driving in the Nethelands. You might want to take a quick look at our Destination Guides as we feature expanded coverage of Amsterdam, Brugge, and Brussels in our country guides on the Nethelands and Belgium.

We just returned from a two week tour of the Benelux for our website and took the train everywhere. It was relaxing and convenient.

As suggested in another post, if your travels are going to be limited, you might do better buying point to point tickets.

Finally, be sure to buy a good quality guidebook of this area that reflects your interests and travel tastes.

I hope that your travels are enjopyable.