There are 2 of us and spending 12 nights in Germany and the last 4 in Brussels. I was thinking of buying an 8 day Benelux-Germany Saver Pass. This will work well for our city to city and some day trips around Germany and also cover some day trips in Belgium. I am wondering though if this is best deal.
One of my days would cover the Thalys train from Cologne to Brussels (of course I still have to pay a supplement but it seems a better deal than paying the full fare on Thalys). I also thought of using one day of the pass going from Brussels to Bruges and then stopping at Ghent on the way back (1/2 day in each). The last day of the pass would be to go to Antwerp from Brussels for the day.
I guess I%26#39;m just looking to see anyone%26#39;s comments if they know of less expensive ways. I think the Antwerp roundtrip on Sunday for 2 persons would be about 39 euros and the Bruges about 76 euros on a Monday if I bought tickets separately insted of using my pass.
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When I travelled from Brussels to Cologne using my Benelux-Germany pass, I only had to pay for the reservation (which was almost 10 euros).
With the passes, sometimes you spend a day of the pass where you might not get full value. But the convenience of the pass makes up for such a day. Besides, think of the journeys where you saved a bundle.
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I sugest you drop the Gent trip and stay the whole day in Brugge. It%26#39;s really not do-able to do Brugge in half a day, far too lovely! If really nescesary you would do better trying Antwerpen and Gent in one day...
Your prices for the train seem rather expensive. I don%26#39;t travel by train so don%26#39;t know for sure about prices, but I think you could get it less expensive. Have you searched the site of our train company? NMBS
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Just checked it out on the site of our train company. A trip from Brussel to Brugge, both ways and 2 persons will cost you 49,20 euro. Similar for weekdays or holidays.
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Contrary to what is said above, while an ordinary return ticket from Brussels to Brugge on a weekday costs €24.60 (so indeed €49.20 for 2) it is hardly SIMILAR on weekends, but only €13 (so €26 for 2). Bear in mind that you must ask for a VIA ticket to be able to stop off in Ghent: it doesn%26#39;t cost any more but if you don%26#39;t specify, you aren%26#39;t allowed to get off (or rather, if you do, you can be charged again for the trip between Ghent and Brussels).
Antwerp costs €12.60 (so €25.20, not €39) on a weekday, €7 (€14 for 2) on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday.
I cannot for the life of me see how you could get enough out of the Benelux part of this pass! You won%26#39;t be touching the Netherlands or Luxembourg, and are making only 2 trips in Belgium, so I would advise you to look into the cost of a Germany only pass plus point-to-point fares in Belgium.
I would have said €49.20 plus €25.20 plus the cost of the Thalys train to Cologne (are you sure you need Thalys? There are some good deals on InterCity): I just checked for tomorrow (a Monday) and you could go for €24.80 one way with 2 changes (Liège and Aachen), or €43.30 direct from Gare du Nord or Gare du Midi (ICE doesn%26#39;t stop at Gare centrale).
For fares within Belgium use: sefora.b-rail.be/sefora/Sefora/berekenen.do
For fares to/within Germany, use http://bahn.hafas.de/bin/query.exe/en (although I don%26#39;t think it shows Thalys fares).
If you do get a pass just for Germany, then if you had to change in Aachen you would of course buy a ticket only to there and not to Cologne.
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