Hello there,

Would appreciate if anyone could share their experience with me on trains from Brussles to Amsterdam in end September 2010.

I found a Thalys ticket, departing Brussels at 8.50pm, 29th September, costing Euro38 on a Class 2 seat.

Im wondering if theres a slighty cheaper train ticket that I can obtain? Ive tried the Dutch Railways and SNCB, but the websites are impossible to navigate. I prefer to depart Brussels probably at night, reaching Amsterdam by midnight.

Looking forward to hear from you.

The Intercity train from Brussels costs €37.80 and takes longer than Thalys does. It leaves at 21.18 and gets in six minutes after midnight.
You can buy a ticket for that on the day of travel, and take any Intercity, you are not restricted to that one. You could for instance take the 20.18 if it was better for you.
Thalys is quicker, and not much more expensive if you book it now, but you are restricted to that time of departure.

Thanks!! Looks like Thalys seems to be the best option. However, Thalys only accepts online purchase using credit cards issued by EU countries, or Amex holders. Have never encountered a website that cites the above reasons! Gotta scramble to look for someone with an AMex card now!

Really? Others have successfully booked Thalys tickets from the US.

Am not sure why.I wrote to Thalys, and the above reasons were what they cited.Tough!

If all else fails,Im actually contemplating of taking the Euroline bus. Only 7euro, but its definetly less comfortable and the journey is about 3.5hours?

RailEurope is offering some kind of Half-Fare sale on Thalys trains so check them out if you cannot book - but in any case the IC train at about the same price can be booked anytime - right up until the train IME - at the same 37.80 euros and yes it takes a bit longer - about an hour but you need not go thru all the hoops to book those elusive and sold in very limited number cheaper Thalys tickets. For info about booking in U.S. and Half-Off fare (if it applies in Sept?) i always recommend for any RailEurope product the helpful folks at www.budgeteuropetravel.com - whom i've bought railpasses from for years and attest to their great service - but if i were you i'd try to book the cheap Thalys ticket online (unless the RailEurope special was as cheap) or just bag it and easily buy the IC ticket Brussels to Amsterdam that can be used on any of the hourly Brussels to Amsterdam IC trains - there are not even seat reservations possible if you want them - with a ticket in hand just hop on any of the hourly trains - simplifies everything IMO

Perhaps the reason your American credit card is rejected is because you have not contacted your local cc issuer to inform them ahead of time of a foreign transcation coming in and thus they automatically block it for security reasons?