Airplane: Belgium’s most famous international Airline is Brussels Airline. It came from a merger of SN Brussels Airline with Virgin Express. The only other airline in Belgium is VLM Airlines. See mcat-test-centers for best cities to study in Belgium.
For example, flights to Belgium from Germany offer the Lufthansa, KLM from the Netherlands, British Airways from Great Britain and Air France from France. Ryanair offers low-cost flights from Glasgow ‘s Prestwick Airport and Dublin and Shannon to Charleroi. Air Lingus also flies from Dublin to Brussels.
The flight time from London to Brussels is around an hour and ten minutes. A flight from London to Antwerp takes about the same time.
Airports: the main airports in Belgium are in Brussels (BRU), Antwerp (ANR), Charleroi (CRL, about 55 kilometers south of Brussels) and Liège (LGG).
Ship: there are three car ferry routes between Belgium and Great Britain. The tariffs and timetables vary greatly, depending on seasonal demand. Companies that offer ferry travel to and from Great Britain are:
P&O (Zeebrugge – Hull, crossing time approximately 14 hours), Superfast Ferries (Zeebrugge – Rosyth in Scotland; crossing time approximately 18 hours), Transeuropa Ferries (Ostend – Ramsgate; crossing time about four hours).
Rail: the French rail network is operated by the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français (SNCF). From France, Thalys express trains take passengers quickly from Paris to Brussels, but also to Antwerp, Mons and Liège several times a day. Trains run once a day from Paris to Ghent, Kortrijk and Leuven.
Train connections between Germany and Belgium are also offered by Thalys. Trains from Cologne run to Brussels several times a day. There is also a connection between Cologne and Liège. Normally, journeys with Thalys are more expensive than with Deutsche Bahn. However, the company offers cheaper return tickets.
The Dutch rail network is operated by Nederlands Spoorwegen (NS). Thalys trains connect Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam with numerous Belgian cities. Trains run from Amsterdam several times a day to Antwerp and Brussels.
The Channel Tunnel or Eurotunnel enables a land connection between Great Britain and France. The Eurostar high-speed train uses the Channel Tunnel for its connections between London and Paris and London and Brussels. Trains run from London to Brussels’ Gare du Midi several times a day. The tickets include the option that travelers can travel to any train station in Belgium at no extra charge. A traveler can decide whether he wants to get off the bus in Brussels or whether he prefers to go to Bruges or Ghent. There are a number of tariffs for traveling on the Eurostar. Tickets can be purchased at any of the UK’s main train stations.
The Eurotunnel vehicle service operates between the terminals in Folkestone (Great Britain) and Coquelles (5 km southwest of Calais in France). Cars, motorcycles and bicycles with their passengers are transported by train from the mainland to the British Isles and vice versa. The trains run 24 hours, every day of the year, with four departures an hour at peak times. During the 35-minute crossing, passengers can either remain seated in their cars or stretch their legs in the air-conditioned, soundproofed train. The whole process, including loading and unloading, takes about an hour.
The fares for using the Eurotunnel vary greatly depending on the vehicle you are taking with you, the time of year, the day of the week and the time of day. The tariffs are significantly higher at peak times. But there are also special tariffs such as Short-Day-Saver and five-day FlexiPlus.
Car: the most important motorways to and in Belgium are the European route E 19 from the Netherlands, the E 40 from Germany, the E411 from Luxembourg and the E17 and E19 from France.
There are no controls at the border crossings to Belgium. There are plans to introduce a motorway toll on entry into Belgium.
Bus: With the increasing availability of cheap flights, bus travel within Europe is no longer the cheapest option. For those who prefer to stay on the ground, however, they are always a good alternative to air travel, including to Belgium.
Eurolines is the only bus company that offers trips between France and Belgium. The buses sometimes run several times a day from Paris to Brussels, Antwerp, Mons and Liège. The timetable also includes trips from Paris to Ghent, Kortrijk and Leuven.
The most important company for bus trips between Belgium and Germany is Deutsche Touring / Eurolines. There are daily buses from several German cities, such as Aachen, Frankfurt and Cologne, to Belgium. Buses from Frankfurt go to Brussels and Liège, for example.
Bus trips between Belgium and the Netherlands are also offered several times a day by Eurolines. From Amsterdam there are buses to Antwerp, Brussels and Bruges.
Eurolines buses from Great Britain to Belgium leave several times a day from London’s Victoria Station bus station and take travelers to Brussels, Antwerp and Liège. Busabout offers an alternative to Eurolines. The UK-based company is targeting younger travelers. However, there is no upper age limit. Busabout offers three different round trips through the north, south and west of Europe. On the northern route, from May to October, buses also run via Bruges on the way from Paris to Amsterdam.
