Taking the train from Brussels to Amsterdam
 

We are planning a trip to Brussels, London, and Amsterdam in September. We currently have Eurostar travel booked r/t from Brussels to London and back, but are not sure about getting from Brussels to Amsterdam. I have heard that the Thayles high speed train is really not high speed and may not be our best bet. What are our other options? Do they require advance ticket purchase? Do they require a station change after we depart the Eurostar in Brussels? Does anyone have any website info? Thanks

Even though I just did this about two months ago (and I asked here as well, and it's a question that comes up very frequently), I'm still a bit confused about the whole thing.

People here have planned that the Thalys is slightly more expensive. Check the website at thalys.com for prices. I think that the sooner you buy, the better, if you're buying the Thalys ticket. If you buy early enough, you can get a Smilys return for 32 Euros (2nd class): see

http://www.thalys.com/price/belgium/1

Alternatively you can buy tickets when you get there. I don't think that the round-trip would be more than about 50-60 Euros if you buy the last minute -- if I'm wrong someone here will correct me, no doubt. There's little time difference between the Thalys and the other trains that run on this route.

Trains to Amsterdam leave from Brussels Midi station. If you get to the right station, there should be no further changes.

Here are the sites:

http://www.thalys.com/

http://www.b-rail.be/main/index.html
(useful stuff in French only but go to English first)

I'd go for Thalys, because it takes less time and you can reserve seats. *However* Sept. is extremely busy along this business corridor (I have recently reserved Thalys tix for Paris<->A'dam, and the trains were pretty full when I booked through thalys.com). Advance purchase will be a must.

You may have to go for the slower (but cheaper) Belgian Railways trains as seats might be full up on Thalys. Check your hypothetical dates/times on their site first.

If you *do* have to go on SNCB, get to your platform early -- it's a rush for seats IME!

HTH and have a great trip. Eurostar is wonderful, too!

Hi q,

Train schedules are available at http://www.b-rail.be/main/index.html

You will have to choose the Dutch or the French language.

You want Bruxelles-Eurostar to Amsterdam Centraal.

You don't need to spend extra for the THALYS.

It is highly likely that you will be able to purchase your ticket for the train you want when you get to Burssels.

I don't know about that. Granted, my experience is limited, but I think that availability shouldn't be a problem. In any case, trains run at least hourly between Brussels and Amsterdam, if I remember correctly. In fact, I bought my tickets at the last minute at the Brussels station.

Price would be more of an issue, I think.

If you want to save money your Eurostar ticket can be used to reach any Belgian station from Brussels (ABS, all Belgian stations, fare, without any extra fee, as long as you do it the same day. Thus you could go to Antwerp. Perhaps when you buy the ticket in Brussels, NO problem, they would write you a ticket Antwerpen (or relevant border point) to Amsterdam, saving $10 or $15. Forget the Thalys train, which only is about 15 minutes faster on the Amsterdam-Brussels-Midi(Zuid) portion as the high-speed tracks are not yet finished north of Brussels- Thalys trains go up to 186mph in France but go no faster than normal trains Brussels-Amsterdam - they are marginally faster because they don't stop as much. Service is hourly Brussels-amsterdam on the regular InterCity trains. Also with Thalys you need reservations and must pay an about $12 supplement in 2nd class and about $25 in first class; first class you do get what i consider a very good meal as far as trains go, but I see no reason to go the Thalys route. You should be able to get seats as most Brussels-amsterdam trains start in Brussels. 2nd class Brussels-Adam fare should be about $35; about $50 in first class. The InterCity trains are modern comfortable trains, though they can be very crowded in second class during rush hours. InterCity trains do not require reservations - they go from Midi (Zuid) station, the same where Eurostar comes in. In a pinch you could buy your ticket on the train, but may pay a penalty fare of several bucks for doing so - the rule seems to be you should find the conductor first if you don't have a ticket before he finds and fines you.

Hi PalQ, I'm just wondering if your $35 or $50 are one-way or return fares? I assume these are round-trip fares?

Anyway, it seems from the Thalys website that Thalys round-trip fares do not drop below 32 Euros for 2nd class, so if $35 is the round-trip fare for regular trains, it's not too bad. I just can't remember how much I paid for one-way Brussels to Amsterdam -- I know it wasn't very expensive. I actually bought several point-to-point tickets as I stopped in Antwerp and also in the Hague.

My fares were based on RailEurope's fares, subtracting the $7 surcharge they put on each pt-pt ticket. They are each way fares. There amy be round-trip discounts in Brussels. I think the Thalys 32 euro fares could be their Smilys fares, sold only in round trip, 14 day advance purchase, non refundable, non-changeable and practically non-existant on many trains. But I don't know - Thalys has many promotions that come and go; for example first class fares are currently discounted 30% throught the summer according to my Thalys product sheet.

Yes, that's Smilys, I think -- it's the cheapest option. Yes, the original poster should be careful with the relevant restrictions if (s)he opts for the lowest Thalys fare.

Thanks -- I was just curious. So it sounds like the cheapest fare on the Thalys is probably the cheapest option, but as I thought, buying tickets in Brussels shouldn't be much more expensive (in terms of the regular trains).

You can also find Brussels Amsterdam train information at www.ns.nl. Click <i>international</i> and <i>english</i>.