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Africa
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London
to China & Japan by
Trans-Siberian Railway
or silk route
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overland
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without flying
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& overseas Railpasses
Explore Europe with
InterRail
Taking your car:
Motorail
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Holidays by train
London to Paris by
Eurostar
The
end of the real Orient Express?
The luxury
Venice Simplon Orient Express
The scenic Swiss
Glacier Express
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The Overlander
NZ's most scenic train:
The TranzAlpine
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Rocky Mountaineer
Bridge over the
River Kwai
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London to Brussels by Eurostar
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Introducing
Eurostar...
Eurostar is the
high-speed passenger train from London (St Pancras station) to
central Brussels via the Channel Tunnel. There are
departures throughout the day, taking as little as 1 hour 51
minutes now that the whole UK high speed line
has opened from London to the Channel Tunnel. Eurostar trains travel at up to 186
mph (300 km/h) on the high speed lines. From central
London to central Brussels, Eurostar is faster than flying,
as well as more comfortable, more convenient and more reliable.
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A
Eurostar at St Pancras International...
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Eurostar
1st class...
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Eurostar
2nd class...
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You
can check Eurostar times & fares and buy tickets at
www.eurostar.com, or use the form below.
Fares start at £59 return 2nd class or £149 return 1st class
(non-refundable, non-changeable). This
fare is valid to any Belgian station, for example Bruges or
Antwerp, not just
Brussels. There are no Eurostar services on Christmas
Day.
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Book
Eurostar online...
Booking tips:
- This links
direct to
www.eurostar.com, with all the cheap fares available, and
no booking fees.
- Booking
opens 120 days before departure.
- Tickets can
be sent to any UK, French or Belgian address, or (if you
live overseas or are travelling at short notice)
collected at the station in London, Paris, Brussels or
Lille.
- Tickets to
Brussels are valid to any Belgian station.
- 'Business
Premier' & 'Leisure Select' = 1st class with drinks &
meals included. 'Standard' = 2nd class.
- For one-way
trips, read the advice opposite first!
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Buying connecting train tickets within the UK |
One-way fares on Eurostar...
There has always been a problem with
one-way fares for Eurostar, as if
you ask for a one-way journey you will normally only be offered an
expensive business-orientated fully-flexible one-way fare
costing
£155, even when a cheap £59 return is available on the same
train. The most usual way people get around this is to
buy a cheap return and throw away the return portion after
using the outward part. There are no practical
problems in doing this. However, Eurostar has now at
long last introduced an official £44 one-way fare if you
book in advance, at least on a trial basis on some trains. For the full story,
see the advice
on one-way Eurostar fares.
If you are only
going from London to Brussels or anywhere else in Belgium,
the best and cheapest way to book Eurostar is online at
www.eurostar.com (or use the form on the right). Tickets will be sent to
any UK address, or you can choose to pick up tickets at the
station before departure, useful if you
live outside Europe or are travelling at short notice. You can also book by calling
Eurostar on 0870 5 186
186 (+870 5 186 186 from outside the UK).
If you
are going beyond Belgium and want to book Eurostar together
with other European trains, you should book both the
Eurostar and the onward train journey
together through a specialist European ticketing agency.
For a list of agencies,
see the Europe page.
Arriving at Brussels Midi
station...
Eurostar arrives at platforms 1 &
2 at Brussels Midi station (Bruxelles Midi in French,
Brussel Zuid in Flemish, it's the same place).
Brussels Midi is any easy 20-25 minute stroll from the
famous Grand Place
(Grote Markt) in the city centre, or there are buses, taxis and metro
available. You can get a free tourist map from the
tourist information kiosk in the middle of Brussels Midi
station concourse near the exit from the Eurostar terminal.
To walk to the city centre, leave the station from the main
doors on the Eurostar terminal (platform 1/2) side of the
station, turn right, walk along the side of the
station/tracks for a few minutes and then turn left along
the Rue Stalingrad to central Brussels. Left luggage
facilities are available if you need them, open 24 hours.
When returning to London, remember the 30 minute Eurostar
check-in.
Click here for a map of Brussels.
Bus, tram &
metro information for Brussels (English button top
right).
On board Eurostar...
Eurostar trains
are very smooth and quiet, even at 186 mph. 1st class
fares include an airline-style meal and complimentary
drinks. All passengers have access to two buffet-bar
cars serving drinks and snacks. Eurostar is all
non-smoking. Since September 2005, there are two categories
of first class on Eurostar, 'business' first class with
flexible tickets, access to executive lounges in London,
Paris & Brussels and a 15 minute minimum check-in, and
'leisure select' 1st class, with much cheaper fares but no
flexibility, a 30-minute minimum check-in and no access to
lounges. For more information about Eurostar and the
Eurostar journey, see the Eurostar
page. There is a virtual tour of 1st and 2nd class
seats on
www.eurostar.com.
Eurostar + hotel: City breaks to Brussels or
Bruges...
You can find short breaks to Brussels combining Eurostar
and hotel at
www.eurostar.com and
www.lastminute.com.
Sponsored links:
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Travelling to
Bruges (Brugge), Ghent, Antwerp, Liège, Namur, Dinant..?
Eurostar tickets to Brussels
are automatically valid to any station in
Belgium. So the same £59 return fare will get you
to Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, Liege, Namur, or anywhere else in
Belgium. It will even get you to Waterloo (the
original Waterloo, south of Charleroi, site of the 1815
battle and well worth visiting!). You can use any reasonable connecting train
service from Brussels to your final destination in Belgium
as long as you complete the journey within 24 hours of the
Eurostar arriving in Brussels. Trains generally run
hourly or half-hourly between Brussels and all main Belgian
cities, no reservation necessary, you just hop on.
You can use the online timetable at
http://bahn.hafas.de or
www.nmbs.be
to check exact train times. Allow at least 25 minutes
in Brussels to make a connection on the outward journey, and
45 minutes (preferably a bit more) on the return to allow
for the necessary 30-minute Eurostar check-in.
Similarly, on the return journey you can leave any time
within 24 hours of the departure of your Eurostar from
Brussels back to London. Tickets are not valid on
high-speed Thalys or Germany ICE trains, only the normal
Belgian domestic trains including Belgian InterCity trains.
Bruges (Brugge
in Flemish) is an ideal place for a short break.
Air-conditioned InterCity trains like the one shown below
link Brussels Midi with Bruges every 30 minutes, journey
time 56 minutes. Reservation unnecessary, you just
turn up and hop on. When boarding a train for Bruges
in Brussels, it can help to know that the departure
indicators will show either 'Oostende', 'Knokke' or 'Blankenberge'
as the final destination of your train, the indicators don't
always show 'Bruges' as this is just an intermediate calling
point.
Advice on changing
trains at Brussels Midi station.
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| An air-conditioned
Belgian InterCity train, as used between Brussels &
major cities in Belgium... |
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2nd class... |
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1st class... |
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London to Brussels by train + ferry
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 There
have been no ferries at all from Dover to
Oostende for some years now.
It used to be possible to travel by
train+SeaCat from London via Dover & Calais
to Oostende, Bruges, Ghent and Brussels, with through
tickets available. Sadly,
Hoverspeed stopped operating on the Dover-Calais
route as from 7 November 2005, and it is no longer possible
to travel this way.
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Scotland & the North to Belgium
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Cruise liner or Channel ferry..? A deluxe cabin on
the Scotland-Belgium overnight ferry - see
www.superfast.com (click 'home').
Photo courtesy of Toby Sigouin |
Through tickets from UK towns
& cities to Brussels...
Eurostar offer through tickets
from over 130 UK towns & cities to Brussels or any Belgian station -
click here to see
which UK stations have through tickets to Brussels or any Belgian station by Eurostar
& to book online.
Separate UK &
Eurostar tickets...
Alternatively, you can buy
separate tickets for the UK part of your journey, see the
advice on buying
tickets to connect with Eurostar.
ScotRail offer a combined Caledonian Sleeper + Eurostar
fare.
Direct ferries
from Scotland & Hull to Belgium...
Don't forget
that you can also travel from Hull or Edinburgh to Belgium
by direct ferry.
Scotland to
Belgium: There is an excellent overnight ferry
service 3 times a week from Rosyth near Edinburgh (depart
17:00 Tues, Thurs & Sats) to Zeebrugge (arrive 11:30 next
day). It is operated by Superfast Ferries using fast modern
ships. See
www.superfast.com
for details. For onward train connections from
Zeebrugge to Bruges, Brussels, Cologne or Paris, use
http://bahn.hafas.de (English button upper right). Arriving at 11:30, you
should reach Brussels by 13:50 (change at Bruges) and Paris
by 16:35 (change at Bruges and Brussels).
Unfortunately, Superfast have announced that this ferry
service will close from 14 September 2008.
Hull to
Belgium: There is also a daily
overnight ship from Hull to Zeebrugge, departing 19:00 and
arriving 08:30, and run by P&O - visit
www.poferries.com
or call 0870 2424 999. For onward train connections from
Zeebrugge to Brussels, Cologne or Paris, use
http://bahn.hafas.de. Arriving in Zeebrugge at
08:30 you should reach Brussels by 10:50 (change at Bruges)
and Paris by 14:04 (change at Bruges and Brussels).
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The Thomas Cook European Timetable
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  The
Thomas Cook European timetable
has train & ferry times for every country in Europe, plus currency
& climate
information. Published since 1873 and costing £13.50, it's essential for any serious traveller
and an inspiration for armchair travellers. More information
on what the Thomas Cook Timetable contains. You can
buy the latest monthly edition online at
www.thomascooktimetables.com with worldwide delivery, or
buy it in person from any UK branch of Thomas Cook (ask at the
bureau de change).
Or
buy the independent traveller's edition from Amazon.co.uk:
Winter 2007/8 edition (December 2007 to June 2008) or
Summer 2008 edition (June to December 2008).
The Thomas Cook Rail Map of
Europe is the best and most comprehensive
map of train routes right across Europe, from Portugal in the
west to Istanbul, Moscow & Ukraine in the east, from Finland
in the north to Sicily & Crete in the south. High speed
&
scenic routes are highlighted. Highly recommended!
Buy online
at www.amazon.co.uk
(worldwide delivery).
See an extract from
the map.
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    You
should take a good guidebook.
For the independent traveller, I think this means either the Lonely Planet or the Rough Guide. I
personally prefer the layout of the Lonely Planet, but others prefer
the Rough Guide. Both guidebooks provide the same excellent
level of practical information and historical background.
You won't regret buying one..!
Click the images to buy at
Amazon.co.uk...
Or buy direct from the
Lonely Planet website, shipping worldwide.
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Find a hotel in Brussels, Bruges or anywhere
in Belgium...
It's easy to book hotels online to
go with your train tickets. Start with
www.laterooms.com, just use the search form below. Laterooms negotiates big discounts for hotel rooms booked within
3 months of travel, which makes it ideal for train travellers booking
tickets within the normal 90 days advance booking period (120
days for Eurostar).
When the results appear, click on the dates to sort by price.
The discounted prices will be shown in orange.
Other hotel sites worth checking...
-
 www.venere.com has a more personal approach than
Laterooms, try these direct links:
hotels in Brussels,
hotels in Bruges. The price you see is the price you pay, no
hidden extras, and you simply pay the hotel when you get
there. After you've booked, you can change or cancel
your reservation in line with the hotel's own change and
cancellation policy.
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www.tripadvisor.com is a huge resource, a good place
to browse independent travellers' reviews of the main
hotels.
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www.hotelscombined.com is a useful free search tool
which checks all the main hotel booking sites to find just
about the widest range of hotels with the cheapest rates on
the net.
Budget backpacker hostels...
.
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Travel insurance & health card
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Compare
quotes from both Direct Line & Columbus... |
Travel insurance..
Travel insurance is a boring subject, but it's a real necessity, so make sure you
budget for it. Make sure you get adequate cover -
for example, at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover,
from a reliable insurer. Remember that an annual
multi-trip policy is often cheaper than several single-trip
policies even for just two or three trips
a year. Here are some suggested insurers to try.
Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy after clicking these
links.
If you live in the UK, get quotes from
Direct Line
(whom I've used myself) and
Columbus Direct.
If
you live in
Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the EU, try
Columbus Direct Australia.
 
If you live in the USA or Canada, try
Travel Guard USA.
EU health card...
UK citizens travelling in Europe should carry a European
Health Insurance Card. This replaces the old E111 forms
as from January 2006. The EHIC card is available free
from
www.ehic.org.uk and entitles you to free or reduced rate
health care if you become ill or get injured in many European
countries, under a reciprocal arrangement with the UK's NHS.
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