11

For an upcoming flight, it's looking quite a bit cheaper to take the Eurostar to Brussels, and fly from there, rather than fly direct from the UK as I would normally do. The Eurostar bit I know well, it's the Brussels Midi <-> Brussels airport step that I'm new to.

Does anyone know what the best way is to make this transfer? Ideally something that's fairly quick, and not too expensive. For the recommended option, information on average journey time and service interval would be helpful too, so I can work out which Eurostar to aim for based on the flight.

2 Answers 2

9

By train it's 21 minutes and currently costs €7.70 (one way).

You can check the time tables, and even buy tickets online on Belgian Railways web site.

You can also directly choose Any Belgian Station option when buying Eurostar ticket, which seems to be €7.50 surcharge (for one way). How it works:

Travelling to other Belgian stations

The fares on this page all include travel from Brussels-Midi/Zuid to any Belgian station. That means you can use your Eurostar ticket to travel on any domestic Belgian service* within 24 hours of arriving at Brussels-Midi/Zuid.

Please note Any Belgian station tickets can only be booked more than 48 hours prior to travel to allow for printing at home. Otherwise they will only be available for collection from Brussels station.

*excludes Thalys and ICE services.

Thalys and ICE are international services, not really relevant when going to the Brussels airport.

2
  • 7
    You'll be better of with a standard return ticket. If you choose the "any Belgian station" option you will still have to pay a supplement to get to the airpot, the so-called Diabolo fee, which amounts to 4.44 euros each way. Jan 7, 2013 at 16:51
  • Seconding the train suggestion. It was trivial other than attempting to buy tickets through the ticket machines (they rejected our Australian credit cards).
    – dlanod
    Nov 6, 2014 at 22:51
4

Not the best way but if you want to save a couple of euros, you can.

From Gare de Midi you can catch bus 27 to Parc Leopold, where you can change to bus line 21. You're supposed to get a ticket of 4 euro for this ride because of the airport bus.

Even cheaper is using normal public transport all the way. Lines 359 or 659 are a possibility. Google Maps shows local buses. Except for lines 12 and 21 you could do with a normal ticket, which is 2 euros, or even cheaper if you get ten rides. Make sure to get a paper ticket in this case as lines 359 and 659 only accept paper (and not the Mobib chip card).

You can also travel for free to Gare Centrale and Gare du Nord. Unfortunately neither has a direct bus to the airport.

That said, the train is definitely a lot easier.

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .