I will be traveling from London to Brussels on Eurostar, and then from Brussels to Köln. I can buy Thalys tickets now and have them mailed to me, or I can buy them at the station when I arrive in Brussels. If I bought them now, it would be $130 for 1st class, or $89 for 2nd class. (These prices are round-trip). Would it be cheaper to buy them at the station?
Also, the tickets would be non-flexible and if Eurostar arrives late, I am concerned that I will miss my train to Köln and will have lost that money. (The last time I was on Eurostar, we were stopped at the entrance of the tunnel for almost 2 hours).
I have traveled by train several times in Europe, but this time I’m having difficulty. Thanks for any help!
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The cheaper Thalys tickets are only available for purchase some considerable time in advance, and in addition, Thalys trains require reservations which mean that you must always buy these in advance, even if only by a few hours. Therefore, while it is not impossible that there would be seats on the Thalys to Cologne an hour or two before departure, if you wait you would definitely have to pay the full (Librys) price, see www.thalys.com - and pretend you want the ticket delivered in Belgium, which I believe is possible anyway if you pick up the ticket at the Gare du Midi. But if you are paying the full price, these tickets are fully flexible (i.e. you can change trains) so you might just as well select the Librys option and buy in advance so as not to lose out if Eurostar is late!
On the other hand, you are in no way obliged to take Thalys between Brussels and Cologne, there are also InterCity trains on that route (direct ones at 10:22 arr. 12:45, 11:59 arr. 14:15, and 17:59 arr. 20:15, which are even a few minutes FASTER than Thalys, at 2h16; otherwise, at 24 minutes past each hour, with changes in Liège and Aachen, total travelling time 3h18). You can buy these at the station as reservations are not required - or even possible, as far as I know.
To that extent, yes if it suits your schedule, you can buy cheaper tickets by buying direct from Belgian Railways, whether through a travel agent (e.g. in London) or at Gare du Midi, and buying Intercity rather than Thalys. Cost is €41.80 single, and if you buy on the day of travel, a return ticket will cost 2x this price, i.e. €83.60: on the other hand if you buy in advance from B-Rail (for which you have to register on the website but I believe you can print out your own ticket), it costs €62.50 return for Sparpreis25 (purchased minimum 3 days in advance) and €41.80 return for Sparpreis 50 (purchased minimum 7 days in advance, and trip must include a Saturday night).
See timetable on here http://www.b-rail.be/int/E/ and you will also see an item on buying online. I can%26#39;t help you with that, though, as I always buy my tickets at one of the stations.
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Thank you so much for the information!
I am looking at arriving in Brussels from London with 1hr 22min before Thalys departs for Cologne. I am comfortable with this. However, on my return to Brussels from Cologne, I would only have 25min before Eurostar leaves for my return to London. What do you think? Is it cutting it too close? I know the trains are reliable, but it%26#39;s an expenive gamble.
I would prefer to go ahead and book on Thalys now and get the discounted ticket rather than buy ICE tickets for more at the station. However, 25min seems a little close for comfort.
If all else fails, I can fly. I would just rather travel by train. It%26#39;s something we can%26#39;t do here at home, and it%26#39;s so much more enjoyable.
THANKS!
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It%26#39;s not that the trains aren%26#39;t reliable, and the Eurostar platforms are 1 and 2 while Thalys goes from 3-5 (or 6), so it will take only a few minutes to change platforms BUT you must %26quot;check in%26quot; for Eurostar something like 30 minutes before departure. Before actually boarding Eurostar trains, you have to go through passport controls (twice: Belgian and British) and you and your luggage have to go through security checks (x-ray machine). Check on www.eurostar.com in case it is less, but you risk not catching the train you booked purely because they won%26#39;t let you %26quot;check in%26quot; after a certain time. You would then have to buy a new ticket if your Eurostar ticket is non-flexible.
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