LapLap

Am looking for insider tips to make the transfer from an inbound Eurostar train to BRU as economical as possible. I'll be travelling with a 7 year old, the flight is late part of October

Aim is to connect to a feeder flight for a trip to the Far East from MAD. Experience has taught me that staying awake the night before and giving in to exhaustion on the flight itself eradicates the otherwise inevitable jet lag. Only concern is that the child will (or may not) zonk out at at some point and will need to be carried.

The idea is to get the Eurostar from London on a Thursday, probably the last one which arrives just before 11pm. Tickets are yet to go on sale.

What I'm not too clear on is
1) Where we disembark from the Eurostar (is it Brussels Zuid? Brussels Midi?). 2) And from this station, what are the options for getting to BRU airport? Particularly, what are the cheapest options that are still running at the time. If there is a bus, is it far from the station or difficult to locate?

Initial flight departs at 7:55am so we'd need to get to the airport by 6am (although I'd rather be there for 5:30am at the very latest, one of the reasons I'm not that keen on getting accommodation; I'd just worry all night about not waking up in time).

Am not that familiar with Brussels and have never been to BRU so would appreciate an insider's view.

barneyg_

Not really an insider, but

1) Brussels-Zuid and Brussels-Midi are the same thing, that's where the Eurostar goes. The station is south of downtown.

2) You can get from the train station to the airport in 20-25 minutes. Trains run regularly (less than 10 euros per person, kids save about 1 euro), but the last train is around 23:30 and the first is between 4:00 and 5:00 depending on the day. Buses will be much slower and will involve connections, and from playing around in Google Maps it seems night service to the airport isn't very good.

If you haven't been to Brussels, why not get try to get there earlier during the day, visit the Grand-Place/Manneken-Pis/etc, get a cheap eat in the early evening, and then take the train to the airport around 9-10 PM?

LapLap

I have plenty of time, only thing I'm trying to avoid is actually moving around too much (the munchkin might fall asleep and I'll have to haul her, her luggage and my own) and spending too much money. 19Euros is quite a bit (it all adds up!), bus doesn't sound so bad to me.

Have been to Brussels a few times, but it's been a while. Am picking up my kid from school in London that day, making sure she's fed and then heading over to Brussels with our onigiri and sandwiches - it really isn't an opportunity for sightseeing.

LapLap

according to this:
http://www.belgianrail.be/en/travel-...ket-child.aspx
child rail ticket for an accompanied 7 year old should be free

So the train ticket to the airport for both of us is 8.60euros - is that right?

Gagravarr

If you want to do it on the cheap, the #12 bus (daytime) / #21 bus (nighttime) runs from nearish Brussels South (Brussels Zuid / Brussels Midi) station, where the Eurostar comes into. Local transport tickets are €2.10 for an adult, and include transfers for up to an hour, so it'd only cost that to get to the Airport

In the day it's this, #12, while in the evening it's this, #21. Last bus is after midnight. Take the #2 or #6 metro to Arts Loi, change for the #1 or #5 metro to Schuman, then bus from there to the airport. Brussels metro + bus + tram map is here

LapLap

Brilliant! Was going nuts trying to find this information for myself. Thanks very much Gargravarr..

If the kid is active (which she almost certainly will be), we'll try the metro+bus option.

If she starts to droop, we'll get the airport train. That's direct from Brussels Zuid, isn't it?

One more question (now I've had a chance to look at the map you posted). What is the 27 line? Doesn't that go between Brussels Zuid and Luxembourg station/Froissart? Is it more expensive?

malmostoso

27 uses tiny rattly buses which might be very unpleasant to ride on and transfer from. I'd stick to the metro.

LapLap

But it's just getting on and getting off without having to navigate stairs and escalators and getting off and on platforms with a kid and two sets of luggage, isn't it?
Tiny and rattly doesn't seem so bad to me (and you get to see the city lights).

So how does it work? Where does one buy a 2.10EUR bus ticket from?

malmostoso

There are vending machine at all stops but to go to the airport you need an airport ticket which costs 6€. Not sure what's the deal with kids going to the airport. Check out the STIB website, they have an English version.

LapLap

Frankly, I don't understand the STIB website at all, in French or English. One of those websites that takes your familiarity with the transport system and local geography for granted - I'm sure it's easy enough to use if you already know what you're looking for.

If you hadn't assured me that the #21 bus goes to the airport I'd still be none the wiser. Looking at the stops I'm clueless as to which one is BRU (Bourget???). This is information I'm taking on as faith.


Only information about kids I've seen in the STIB website is what I posted in post #4; that up to 4 under 12s accompanied by a paying adult ride free - airport rides weren't listed as a exception.

So the #21 bus ride is €6 then?

If the airport train is €8.50 from Brussels Zuid, then that's looking more and more compelling.
No Easybus type options or locally known cheaper routes?

malmostoso

The stop at the airport is called, unsurprisingly, Brussels Airport

Fair enough, maybe the STIB website makes sense to me because I what it goes on about.

Honestly from Zuid I wouldn't even think about taking the bus. I respect your need to travel on the cheap, but seriously it's an unnecessary hassle for a tiny saving.

I was trying to think whether overnighting at BRU is possible at all but I'm really not sure whether you can camp it out in the check-in halls so I don't want to give you wrong information.

So either direct train from Zuid to the airport, or metro to Arts-Loi, change to the metro to Schuman, change to bus 21. The stop for bus 21 is in Rue Archimede, opposite a bar called Tiago.

LapLap

Was confused before, now I'm REALLY confused.

http://m.stib.be/line.php?lang=fr&line=21&iti=2
Bus route #21

How am I missing the stop called, unsurprisingly, Brussels Airport?

Sleeping in airports website is pretty clear that overnighting at the airport is possible.

Anyway - to finish this off (price differential between direct train €8.50 and metro or bus + airport bus at €6 makes it idiotic to go the bus route), can you confirm the train route between Brussels Zuid and the airport? I can see from the main map that the same logo is visible at the Brussels Zuid stop and the Airport stop but I can't make out what that logo is/ what the name of the train line is.

malmostoso

The page you link shows all the stops of line 21, and the header shows the terminal stop, i.e. Brussels Airport. Please note that bus 21 only runs to the airport on weekends and weekdays before 8 and after 20. Weekdays 8-20 it's bus 12, which only has a few stops.

A number of direct trains links Zuid to the airport. Just show up at the station and buy a ticket for the first available one. The Belgian railway website has all the info and you can buy tickets in advance.

LapLap

Thanks very much for holding my hand and walking me through this query. I really appreciate your help! ^

Palal

So wait, you're taking the Eurostar from London to Brussels, to catch BRU-MAD-Far East the next morning, correct? What time is BRU-MAD?
Are you flying Cathay, AirChina or Korean?