christinakortright38

Help traveling in Europe in October, we want to go to kortijg Belgium, Prague then to Budapest. Looking at driving, is it easier to rent a car in Budapest then brussels? Any other information would be great haven't been in Europe since the 80's

Jean

Were you anticipating picking up the car in one country and dropping it in another?? You should investigate the cost of doing this. Also, even if you return/drop the car in Belgium, some car rental companies charge a fee for each border crossing.

It might be more economical to rent/return 3 times... one car in each country... and train in between.

BTW, what is "kortijg"? Google didn't know...

christinakortright38

Town in Belgium, looked into trains but only allow one bag and a carry on, will not allow second bag per website

Jean

Which website mentioned the luggage limit on trains?

https://www.seat61.com/luggage-on-european-trains.htm

christinakortright38

Sleeper train is what I found, I do appreciate you responding to my questions thank you

mjs

There used to be issues with renting a car and driving it to the eastern block countries like Czechoslovakia. Am not sure this is still the case. Drop off charges will make this rental expensive. The simplest thing to do is to travel with one bag and a carryon and use the train. The bag can be pretty large. As a general rule it is best to travel light unless you have a specific reason for traveling with a lot of luggage internationally.

christinakortright38

One month trip no way one bag 2 suitcases one small one large best I think I need to call some car companies

Jean

Which sleeper train has a 1-bag-plus-1-carryon luggage limit?

Would you need to specifically take sleeper trains?

hetismij2

Do you mean Kortrijk in Belgium?

hetismij2

The European Sleeper from Brussels to Prague requests you have no more than one suitcase and a small carry on. Space is tight on sleeper trains.
You could take day trains of course. As long as you can manage your luggage yourself.

I don't understand why you need two suitcases just because you are away for a month. You can wash your clothes, or have them washed.

It pains me to say this, really pains me, but why not fly? OK you will pay extra for all the baggage you say you need but it will be cheaper and faster than the train or by car. Or look into long distances buses like Flixbus.
A one was rental would be almost impossible to afford, if it is allowed, and to fit all that luggage in you will need a bigger car. Fuel in Europe is not cheap, and is getting more expensive, plus you should not drive those distances in one go - you would need at least one hotel or B&B along the way. It is by far the most expensive option,

bilboburgler

we have had washing machines in Europe for a longtime now. Travel light and just wash stuff. We normally travel for 3 to 4 weeks and take 10kg of luggage.

Jean

Beyond the luggage issue, the European Sleeper from Brussels to Prague wouldn't involve Sleep for me. Narrow bed. Seventeen stops between Brussels and Prague. Fourteen hours. (Kortrijk to Brussels would add 5-6 more stops and 1+ hour.) Apparently, no dining car...

Madam397

It has been a few years since we had planned to rent a car in one country and return it in another country but when we did so, the issue that made it very costly to do so was Euro vs. Non-Euro countries.

Moderator1

Welcome to Fodors. We cleaned up your title removing the Trip Report flag and editing so Budapest displays. We also added the country tags.

janisj

Sure you can do a month with a small suitcase. Don't think of it as a month. Pack for 4 or 5 days and re-wear things and do laundry now and then. If you color coordinate your wardrobe everything will go with just about everything else so you can get a LOT of different outfits out of a relatively few garments. A big suitcase will be a pain lugging around Europe no matter the mode of transport.

Whether a trip is 3 days, 3 weeks, or 3 months I use the same 21 inch rollaboard and never check a suitcase - except on some commuter-type planes where everything is gate checked. But I've been traveling this way for 20+ years so its sort of second nature to me. If that seems too difficult, a 24 inch suitcase does have to be checked but it is small enough to get on off trains, buses etc and is PLENTY large enough for a month long trip.

lavandula

The sleeper train between Brussels and Prague is brand new ... there won't be much feedback about it yet. I too would be tempted to fly, it's such a long way by train.

You don't actually need a car to get to Kortrijk, it is well-linked by rail to Brussels. However, if you prefer to drive, rent a car directly from the airport rather than a train station like Brussels-Midi, as it's easier to get out on the road (otherwise you have to navigate the suburbs to get out of the city). This particularly makes sense if you fly into Brussels. Then if you fly to Prague, just return your car to the airport again. Fly open-jaw out of Budapest back home.

Lavandula