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Bargain Travel Europe guide to Europe on a budget for vacation destinations, travel ideas
and secret spots missed by travel tours.




Benelux-Germany-Czech Republic Pass icon


BENELUX BY RAIL PASS
Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg

Liege Rail Stationj Benelux photoWhat is a Benelux, anyway? It sounds like a vacuum cleaner, or a maybe a nutritious vitamin energy drink. Is it a country? Never mind politics, as a visitor you’re pretty much only likely to encounter Benelux if traveling by rail around Europe with a Rail Pass. Benelux is actually an economic union of three countries - Belgium, the Netherlands (aka Holland) and Luxembourg whose initials form the name. These three joined together at the end of World War II, in what became rather the model of the later European Union, from which we get the Euro. The national rail networks of each of the countries join together as well to make train travel a convenient way to get around and form one unit in the rail pass system of Eurail.

Belgian Rail Ticket Office Brussels Midi photoMuch of the Benelux countries where historically the lands belonging to the Dukes of Burgundy until the beginning of the 100 years war. It was here that Napoleon met his Waterloo. The Dutch language is predominant in Holland and the parts of Belgium that were the historic lowlands of Flanders. French is the prominent language in southern and eastern Belgium, called Wallonia, and in Luxembourg, though small parts of the east edge of Belgium speak German, but throughout much of the modern Benelux, you’ll easily find English spoken. There are no borders you’ll notice, though the language of signs might change.

Benelux - Belgium-Netherlands-Luxemburg Pass icon

Rental Bikes at Brussels Midi photoThe countries of Benelux feature some of the most beautiful medieval cities of Europe, with vibrant night life of bars and music, market squares of sidewalk restaurants, canals, fascinating museums and ornate architecture - flowers and windmills of Holland and sweet chocolates of Belgium. Some cities you might want to visit include Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp, Brussels, Bruges, Ghent, Liege, The Hague, the battlefields of World War I in Flanders and of World War II in the Ardennes Forest. Most of the main cities have rail stations right in the heart of town, some of them underground like Brussels and Luxembourg (see Luxembourg) and some of them gorgeous gems of sleek modern architecture as art (see Liege Guillemins Station). You can see the cities on foot, by bicycles - easy to rent often right at the station (see Bike Touring Holland).

Rail Passes

A Benelux Pass on its own allows unlimited train travel on the national rail networks thoughout Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. 5 days (24 hours) of unlimited train travel during a 1 month period which can be traveled consecutively or non-consecutively. Benelux can be chosen as a country in a multi-country Select Rail Pass when combined with neighboring Germany or France. Rail Passes which include Benelux can be either second class or first class (see How Rail Passes Work).

ICE - TGV – Thalys - Eurostar

If traveling by high speed rail from Germany to France, Cologne to Paris, the German ICE trains go to Brussels and meet the French TGV (see TGV France Passes) and Thalys at the Brussels Midi Station (see Thalys High Speed Paris Brussels). The TGV and ICE can be taken with just a rail pass, though a seat reservation is necessary. It’s not that the trains are full, they just want them to be orderly. If you don’t know exactly when you want to travel and don’t make a reservation when you purchase your pass, it is easy to make a reservation at the rail station ticket office. You can even do this when connecting trains if you allow about 15 minutes between connections. The Thalys which travels from Amsterdam or Cologne through Brussels to Paris requires a separate ticket (see Europe High Speed Trains). The Eurostar (see Eurostar Chunnel Train) also goes to London from Brussels, but requires a separate ticket, with a reduced price if you have some version of a Rail Pass. © Bargain Travel Europe


Thalys High Speed Ticketing
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These articles are copyrighted and the sole property of Bargain Travel Europe and WLPV, LLC. and may not be copied or reprinted without permission.

See Also:

BELGIUM BEER ROUTES TOURING

SWITZERLAND SCENIC TRAINS

TRAVELING EUROPE ON A BUDGET

RENTING A CAR IN EUROPE

SELECT PASS WITHOUT FRANCE

BUDGET FAMILY TRAVEL WITH A RAIL PASS