bruce80

I would book Bruxelles-Brugge at the counter in Bruxelles, especially if you want to take the Thalys. Mixed fares with Thalys segments are always a problem (or at least, they have been in the past) and I believe that you'll end up cheaper that way (as trains in Belgium are really much cheaper than in Germany, you could even get a cross-country ride for any (non-highspeed) train in first class for as little as about 11 EUR, but only if you buy a "RailPass" for 10 journeys which is then valid for one year).

But there's an exception which I will explain to you (sorry if this gets a bit complicated): The DB restricted fare offers "Sparpreis Europa" are flat fares which are not calculated for the actual distance you travel but only depend on the trains you take. So, if, let's say, a EUR29 fare is available on a train between Cologne and Bruxelles, and if it's also available for the Train between Bruxelles and Brugge, then you can buy a ticket from Cologne to Brugge for the same price, EUR 29. You could even buy the ticket to Oostende, or wherever you want to go in Belgium, all for the same price (which might really be an option for you, keeps you flexible). The same holds true for any other discounted european ticket, so if you wanted to go from Utrecht to Cologne, you will pay the same price as from Amsterdam to Cologne. But be aware that this is only true for discounted tickets that display the fare "Sparpreis Europa", not for any other fares.

So, you might buy your ticket from Cologne to Brugge, stop over in Bruxelles, and if you miss your train to Brugge (maybe you want to stay longer in Bruxelles), just buy an additional ticket in Bruxelles (which won't be that expensive). I hope that hasn't been too complicated.

WC_EEND

@Bruce80: He'd be better off buying a railpass for second class. First class really isn't worth the price difference. The only difference between first and second is that first has 3-abreast seating (2+1) and 2nd has 4 abreast seating (2+2). Oh, and slightly more comfortable seats (the ones in 2nd class aren't bad) and slightly more legroom in first. Other than that, it's exactly the same.

Also OP, if you need more info about rail travel within Belgium, feel free to PM me.

lsquare

I just used B-Europe's website to book a ticket from Cologne to Brugges. It came out to 29 EUR. The problem is that my ticket only says that I'll be going from Cologne to Brussels. I don't want to spend another 11 EUR when my ticket is suppose to take me there. The ticket is in French and I don't understand it.

Here are the details:
It does say Sparpreis. I got this information from the confirmation page. The actual ticket that was e-mailed to my account just say ICE Sparpreis.

Does that mean I can take the following train to Brugges?

lsquare

Let's discuss it in this thread in case other people have questions about it.

Let's say I want to spend the night in Brussels, but the day in Ghent, where can I possibly leave my luggage in Ghent? I'm thinking of taking the morning train to Ghent and then sometime in the evening head to Brussels. How much will the fares be? How should I structure the ticket to get the lowest fare?

Thanks!

stut

www.b-rail.be has all the information.

There is manned and automated left luggage at Gent Sint Pieters station, costing from €3, depending on size.

Fares in Belgium are really cheap. You can do all sorts of schemes, but a basic day return from Brussels to Ghent is €17. Walk-up, no need to reserve.

WC_EEND

There are luggage lockers in the station itself. As for the fares, how much train journeys are you planning to do within Belgium? If the answer is "a fair amount", you'd be better off getting a rail pass which is valid for 10 journeys between any 2 Belgian stations. If the answer on the other hand is "not a lot", you'd be better off just buying a return ticket in the ticket office (ticket machines in the stations only take Belgian debit cards). Also bear in mind that Belgian trains (except the high-speed international ones) do not have seat reservations, so even though you have a ticket, it does not guarantee a seat on the train. When buying the ticket, ask the chap behind the counter when the direct train to Ghent leaves (should take about 30min as opposed to the ones stopping in between, which can take between 1h and 1h30).

as for your post just above the previous one, "sparpreis" is German for "saver fare" and no, that ticket doesn't include the Brussels-Bruges segment unless it has "EBS" written on it somewhere ("EBS" stands for "Elk Belgisch Station", which means "Any Belgian Station")

Edit: if you need any info about Gent, it's been my home town for the past 18 years, so I know it like the back of my hand

lsquare

I'm only planning to make 3 trips in Belgium so it's not really worth it for me to get a pass.

How much is it to rent a locker? Is it big enough to fit a 24" suitcase?

I don't see EBS mentioned anywhere. So after making the purchase, I got an email from B-Europe. The e-mail contained a zip file, which have a HTML file inside. Inside contains the following:

Notice at the bottom it says it's valid to any Belgian station? However, this isn't the ticket. After I click to download the ticket, I don't see it mentioned in English that I can go to any Belgian station. The weird part is that when I was booking the ticket, I did picked Cologne to Brugges. There is 1 transfer at Brussels. What can I do now?

lsquare

There are no discounts for booking early?

WC_EEND

i don't know actually, I've never used them. However I live within walking distance from the station, so I'll pass by later today

If you booked Cologne to Bruges, then it should be valid to any Belgian station beyond Brussels.

And yes, there is no discount for booking in advance since the national trains don't have reserved seats.

edit: The luggage lockers should fit a 24" suitcase (I have a 24" PC monitor and used those dimensions for reference). Price-wise, I haven"t got a clue, because the person of staff responsible from them called in sick today.
http://hari.b-holding.be/infsta/Info...Styles/int.css This is the station info site, it also mentions (all the way at the bottom) when the staffed lockers are accessible.

lsquare

The thing is that no where in my ticket does it say Brugges. What can I do right now to settle the matter once and for all? I'm a little worried at the moment.

stut

Can you scan the ticket, blanking out any personal details?

lsquare

It's a PDF file so I'm not sure how I'll blank out my personal information.

They also used French in the ticket.

What else should I be looking for just to know for sure that I can go to Bruges with this fare?

WC_EEND

Open it in your pdf-reading program (usually acrobat reader, but others will do fine as well), hit the "printscreen" key on your keyboard and paste into MS Paint. delete all the windows bits and put a thick black line over your personal details. Save image and upload to your favourite image host (imageschack, photobucket, imgur, etc) Embed image in post here using the img bb-code tags and you're done.
If necessary, I'll print it out, take it to my local station (Gent-sint-Pieters) and ask there. It's only a 10min walk from my home anyway.

SmilingBoy

Even better, hit ALT+Print Screen so that only a screenshot of the active window is taken and copied.

WC_EEND

Thanks for that tip, I had no idea it existed ^