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Belgium and Netherlands: seriously what tickets do I need to buy in advance?

Belgium and Netherlands: seriously what tickets do I need to buy in advance?

Old May 6th, 2022, 03:48 PM
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Belgium and Netherlands: seriously what tickets do I need to buy in advance?

We’re spending 9 days in Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, Delft, and Amsterdam later this month with two teens. I am aware I need advance tickets for Anne Frank (already got them), Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. We’re traveling with teens, so going *very* light on churches and museums, but want to see some historical sights, breweries, delftware factory, etc. Everyone is selling tickets in advance, do I need to purchase in advance or can we wait until we are there? I would prefer not to plan every single moment, but as I look at availability, it seems like there are many limited entries. For example I was browsing the availability for the castle in Ghent and grabbed tickets because there were only a few time slots left. Do they have a limited amount before hand? Do I need to purchase all entries in advance, including breweries? Thank you for sharing your experiences?
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Old May 8th, 2022, 03:32 PM
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I can't really answer your question about museum tickets (maybe different museums operate by different rules?), but when it comes to train tickets in Belgium, if this is relevant to you, there is no advantage to buying regional tickets in advance as seats are not able to be reserved, nor do they ever sell out, so this will apply to your trips to Bruges and Ghent. I have however had to stand on some very crowded weekend trains! If a train is too crowded there are lots (expect a service Bruges - Brussels every half-hour) so you could in theory wait for the next train.

Lavandula

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Old May 9th, 2022, 06:56 AM
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Originally Posted by lavandula
I can't really answer your question about museum tickets (maybe different museums operate by different rules?), but when it comes to train tickets in Belgium, if this is relevant to you, there is no advantage to buying regional tickets in advance as seats are not able to be reserved, nor do they ever sell out, so this will apply to your trips to Bruges and Ghent. I have however had to stand on some very crowded weekend trains! If a train is too crowded there are lots (expect a service Bruges - Brussels every half-hour) so you could in theory wait for the next train.

Lavandula
Thank you! I did wonder about trains too and appreciate the input! I had read that there is no advantage to purchasing regional tickets in advance. What about IC trains from Amsterdam Schiphol to Bruges (connecting in Antwerp and Ghent)? We're not going to take the pricy Thalys.
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Old May 9th, 2022, 08:05 AM
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Originally Posted by Mariarosa
Thank you! I did wonder about trains too and appreciate the input! I had read that there is no advantage to purchasing regional tickets in advance. What about IC trains from Amsterdam Schiphol to Bruges (connecting in Antwerp and Ghent)? We're not going to take the pricy Thalys.
You can buy at the station before getting on. You can buy tickets to Belgian destinations from the yellow NS ticket machines. You lose all online booking discounts, but that's a difference of a couple of euros, certainly not a double digit amount.
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Old May 9th, 2022, 10:51 AM
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For travel between the Netherlands and Belgium there is a considerable price difference nowadays. Schiphol-Brugge tomorrow would be 57 euro. In a week's time its 29 euro. First class it's 91 euro tomorrow, 41 euro next week.
So buy your IC tickets at least a week in advance. They are valid for any train that day, you don't have a booked seat.
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Old May 10th, 2022, 04:18 AM
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Originally Posted by Tulips
For travel between the Netherlands and Belgium there is a considerable price difference nowadays. Schiphol-Brugge tomorrow would be 57 euro. In a week's time its 29 euro. First class it's 91 euro tomorrow, 41 euro next week.
So buy your IC tickets at least a week in advance. They are valid for any train that day, you don't have a booked seat.
Wow, so at the ticket machine, it would be dynamic pricing? That is very good to know!
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