Brussels to Amsterdam the cheapest way

Hi All (I've also posted this under Brussels),

I'm off to Brussels in two weeks, visting a friend. I had planned to also visit another friend in Amsterdam at the same time - just going over for a night (I've been to Amsterdam a couple of times before). When I originally looked on the internet it seemed like I could get a train for around €20 each way. This seemed to be a slower train but thats fine with me. However I just looked again and I can only find the Thalys trains which seem to be about €80 return - a big difference. Can anyone help me.....is there a cheaper slower train? If so do I need to book in advance or how much is the walk on fare??

As I'm going on the 17th if I do need to book in advance time is running out - eeek!

Thanks for your help

G

actually you probably don't need to book in advance - I don't, usually just buy tickets on the day for the regular (non-Thalys) trains

but in case you want to check timetables etc then you need the hispeed site

• and tickets are 22 euro or so

There is a slow train every hour and it takes about 4 hours. The Dutch railway website is not very helpfull, because they only try to sell you the more expensive Thalys tickets . Better to look at the site of Deutsch Bahn: http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de
You can get that in English too.
Quailia is right, no reservation is required.

Thanks so much guys - its really great to get this information and to be able to relax until I get to Brussels. One last question - which station in Brussels should I aim for? It seems trains leave from a number of them so I'm not sure which is best. Thanks again!

Brussels Centraal probably - it's very close to the historic center of Brussels including the Oude Markt.

The thalys goes directly to Brussels Zuid (Brussels Midi) but you can get from there to the centre.

The other trains go to all three Brussels stations, and your ticket is valid for all three.

(and whichever train you're on the journey is a little under 3 hours)

Hi! You can take a direct train from Amsterdam Central Station to Brussels. It leaves every hour and takes only 2,5 hours, the train type is called "Intercity". Buy your ticket at a desk at Amsterdam CS and if you're under 26 make sure you mention it! (It will give you a discount from the Belgian border to Brussels.) I can't remember the price for a one-way ticket but it will be much less than taking the Thalys.