Hello everyone, I want to travel these three cities this May. I will be leaving the US on a Thrsday night to get there Friday. I noticed hotels are cheaper in Brussels onthe weekends. I was thinking to do Brussels - Amsterdam - Paris because of this instead of Amsterdam - Brussels - Paris although that route seems easier. I wanted to know what your opinions are on this. Also I wanted to know how much it would be on the train to buy the one way trips, Brussels - Amsterdam, then Amsterdam - Paris. Or will it be cheaper to do Amsterdam - Brussels, then Brussels - Paris. I am really pushing going to brussels first for 2 nights and save on the hotel. I really weant to know how much the rail would be and if I should buy it online or there concidering I am american and want to guarentee a spot. Do these trains get really packed? And will my luggage be a problem? Also, will it be a problem to get from the train to the hotels if they are in city center, could we walk or will the taxis try to take advantage of us. Please let me know, I really want to do this. Approx, 2 nights Brussels, 2 Nights Amsterdam, 3 nights Paris. Thanks.
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1. have you already bought plane tickets? If yes, into where and out of where?
2. when you get to Paris you are going to be sorry you spent time in Brussels that you could have added to Paris
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Hello, no i have not bought the tickets, thinking this week, well i was thinking of staying in brussels in the weekend because it is so much cheaper, i was thinking maybe, flying in and getting in ams thurs and stay there thurs, fri nights, then brussels, sat and sun night, then paris mon tues wed night. although i wanted to spend another night in ams.... i think three nights in ams and paris is good, what do you think?
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Why not simplify your proposed travel itinerary with an %26#39;..open-jawed..%26#39; flight itinerary--arriving at Amsterdam and departing from Paris (or the reverse) ??.....making your way Amsterdam-Brussels-Paris (or the reverse) using high-speed THALYS trains for the inter-city connections ??...and not wasting any time back-tracking along the way??
THALYS Train Info--
http://www.thalys.com/fr/en/
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IQ
I think in May, unless you%26#39;re traveling on a holiday weekend, you shouldn%26#39;t have any trouble getting a seat on a train. I%26#39;ve never had any problem and I don%26#39;t book ahead unless I%26#39;m taking an overnight train and want sleeping accommodation. Even then I usually only book a few days in advance.
I don%26#39;t know if your luggage will be a problem. How much are you planning to take?
I have no idea if the taxis will take advantage of you. They never have done to me.
If you want to arrange the trip the way you say, I see no reason why you shouldn%26#39;t do it that way. I wouldn%26#39;t, but I%26#39;m not paying your expenses, so it%26#39;s entirely up to you.
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Well I think I might go and arrive in ams thurs and stay until sat around 5ish and then go to brussels cause the hotels are cheaper and spend sat and sun night in bru, then go to paris mon morning until wed or fri. thurs is not an option because I am going to spain after and the flight to where im going are on wed and fri, Im so confused, i dunno if i can handel it, I mean i am going to be away for 2 and a half weeks so i need my luggage. I just dont want to have a problem with it onthe train and then getting off the train i want to try and get hotels near by. I just like to plan waaaay in advance because i get paranoid, especially since i ahve never been there.
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How much luggage? One person should be able to handle a small rolling bag (21-22 inches) and one tote bag with that. You need to be able to lift and carry, possibly some stairs... if you don%26#39;t want to leave your bag at the end of the car in the luggage storage, you can put the smaller suitcases on the overhead shelf, but you need to be able to lift it (packed) over your head.
In Amsterdam, you can take a tram with your luggage to Centraal Station or a taxi for around 10-15 euro.
A taxi from the Brussels Gare Midi (Zuid) station to the center of Brussels is around 10-12 Euro. A taxi from Paris Gare du Nord to central hotels is around 10-15 euro, or you can take the metro system.
The train between Brussels-Paris is the Thalys and your ticket/price includes a reserved seat so there is no problem finding a seat. There are many trains per day - the ride is only about 1.25 hours. Because it is a high-speed train, the one-way ticket costs about 98€. You can possibly buy a discounted round-trip ticket (you only use the first part) for 76€ if you buy online just inside 90 days from your departure. The ticket is nonrefundable and nonchangeable so you have to be sure.
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Well if it saves us money we could take the train if it is easy from the stations to the hotels or center city. My luggage is going to be full size because I am going away for 2 and a half weeks. 21 inches is not going to cut it, but i don ot think i wil feel comfortable leaving it in a luggage compartment. Well I heard the taxis are a lot more to get to center city, people had been telling me close to 50 Euros,,,, if its only 10 then two of us should take a cab, but liek i asid maybe train is better. We are spending alot of money on hotels because the dollar is so low so we have to cut fares otherwise. Are there not discounted fares for americans? I heard there were..
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%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;Are there not discounted fares for americans? I heard there were%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
There are NO special discounted fares for Americans...though if you are considering one of the RailEurope Eurail transportation pass products, this pass MUST be purchased before you depart the US.
Evidently, your total proposed travel itineray includes onward travel to somewhere in Spain. Bear in mind that there is daily, over-0night train service between Paris and cities in Spain....so flying is not your only option...and overnight train might save precious time in getting to and from airports at either end of the journey...as well as offset the cost of a hotel room for the night in either Paris or Spain.
As an alternative to point-to-point, inter-city train fare and airfare, you should also investigate and compare the cost of one of the multi-day Eurail train passes.
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IQ --
I%26#39;m afraid you%26#39;ll really have a problem moving from anywhere to anywhere if you think you need a lot of luggage for two and a half weeks. I%26#39;m pretty normal for an experienced traveller, and I take a carry on sized rolly plus a Le Sac duffel. There are so many restrictions on carry on these days, that I check one bag just as a matter of course.
I take exactly the same luggage no matter how long I%26#39;m staying overseas, because I pack exactly the same things. I was in Greece a year ago in the fall, with the same luggage. I was there for a little over 6 weeks and in Italy for 10 days before going to Greece.
I must be able to handle my own luggage, even if I start the trip with my husband. Because he is on call 24/7 x 365, I have no assurance that I will be able to finish the trip with him, even when the trip is for business.
If you carry more luggage than I, I can pretty much guarantee that you%26#39;ll have to take taxis rather than use the Metro or even the RER. Because of the limited number of escalators and elevators, there are just too many stairs for managing large amounts of luggage.
I%26#39;m sure everyone is really tired of my listing what I pack, so I%26#39;ll leave it to someone else who travels as much as I to advise you in that regard. You might want to start a new thread with a question about what to pack.
Bon voyage.
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I am going to Ams Thurs afternoon and staying till sat evening where I am working my way to Brussels. I was told there are plenty of train to buy tickets same day. I am then staying sat and sunday nights in brus, leaving Monday afternoon to Paris on thalys, getting my ticket before i leave, staying there until thurs, then going thursday to london until an undecided date on speed train also getting my ticket before i leave. and staying there a few days. We are doing all this by train. We are then flying to spain where I am staying with family so no hotel or taxi costs there. Does this sound like a good itinerary, I think it is suffice. How much are trains from ams-bru, bru-paris, and par-lon.... I found the Paris - london for 98$ online, is that right? Ok lots of questions here ,,, your help means alot. We are going last week in May. We willeach have a medium luggage and backpack. And we will try to get centralized hotels.
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