BluePenguin
On Moderation
My friends and I are going to Amsterdam next month for a holiday. After a long and stressful year of university we are all very much looking forward to letting off steam during an exciting and adventurous week of cycling, enjoying nice food, taking photos of the beautiful architecture and of course an obligatory boat trip.
I am the organiser of the trip and have a few questions I would like answering by you helpful lot. Sorry this post is a little long, I have asked several circumstantial questions which some members may find difficult to answer without knowing all the facts in the right context.
Getting there, meeting up and getting around
We are going from the 7th to 11th of November. I had hoped that we would all travel together on the Eurostar although some of the group had other ideas. So, myself and one person will be going by train with the others having chosen to fly instead. Our Airbnb is in Harlem and has been booked by one of the people who will flying. Would be best for us to all arrange to meet at the station and then travel to Harlem together? None of us have been to Holland before and not sure how to travel around Amsterdam whilst we are there so options please!
The outward leg on the Eurostar was only £35 each on 11:04 service, which is very reasonable. However, to avoid putting up with the many stag doos and hen parties which I expect will also be travelling on this service, I decided to purchase my friend and I Standard Premier tickets. Due to the long journey time it made sense to pay for a more comfortable journey with included food. I have never been on Eurostar before so have no idea whether it will be worth it or not, but I guess I will find out. I am interested to hear what we can expect?
Dilemma
On this note, I would ask to ask for advice on a dilemma. I will be returning from Turkey on the night of the 6th. I much prefer to take the Eurostar to Amsterdam over flying plus it is something I have wanted to do since the start of the service last year. However, the friend I will be travelling with is a budget conscious (although not poor) student who would have been happy to fly with the others from Gatwick to make a small saving. However, I said I would be open to pay the small difference in cost between flying and taking the Eurostar for him. The difference was £37 from what I remember so nothing major. Although, as I paid an extra £30 for him to travel in Standard Premier with me, do I still owe him £37 on principle of what I said before? As he made a fuss over saving a few pounds previously, I assume he would have not chosen himself to pay to pay extra himself. Standard Premier itself has value so should he be thankful I got him an upgrade and not expect a discount? The friend in question is a good one and I would hate to force them to pay more than they are willing to so could hypothetically forgive the difference.
Return Journey
There are engineering works on the 11th November so there are no Eurostar services from Amsterdam or Brussels. Instead a skeleton service from Lille Europe will operate. My friend I will be taking a local train from Amsterdam - Brussels and from Brussels - Lille. We decided to break up our journey a bit to visit Brussels and Lille before taking the Eurostar home from Lille in the evening. I had a look on Loco2 and found that a through ticket from Amsterdam to Lille Flandres is very expensive and that splitting at Brussels-Midi saves a decent amount. Prices from Amsterdam to Brussels range between £23.99 and £75.65. Brussels to Lille appear to be either £17.50 or £22.79. Are these fares tied to specific trains or are the flexible? Can they be reduced by splitting further anywhere? Lastly, Loco2 want to charge a fee so I am looking at buying them from Omio or TheTrainLine. Is there much to see in either Brussels or Lille? How many hours is needed to fully appreciate either? What are everyone's thoughts? I am not sure whether Brussels-Central might be better than Midi?
Eurostar Snap
The price of the return journey was £51 although this increased to £58 and is now £73.50 which is too expensive. I had planned to buy the £51 ticket although someone else now is coming. The 15:30 service is still £58 but we really want to get the 18:42 service to allow us the whole of our last day. Eurostar snap is offering tickets for £49 from Lille on the 11th. The question is, as there are only 3 services running what are the chances of us being allocated on the 18:42, our train of choice? It would suck to be booked onto the more lightly loaded 15:30.
Brexit
I am know that is a sensitive subject at the moment although I need to be aware of the facts. I have aimed to demonstrate strong and stable leadership in my planning of this holiday. However, I would like us to be prepared for any eventuality that may take place on the 1st November. Is there a possibility that our above itinerary could be affected? Of course I am sure visas will not be necessary on day one although it is a concern of everyone in the group. We are all looking forward to our week away and would hate to be disappointed
Thank you to everyone in advance for your help, guidance and advice.
I am the organiser of the trip and have a few questions I would like answering by you helpful lot. Sorry this post is a little long, I have asked several circumstantial questions which some members may find difficult to answer without knowing all the facts in the right context.
Getting there, meeting up and getting around
We are going from the 7th to 11th of November. I had hoped that we would all travel together on the Eurostar although some of the group had other ideas. So, myself and one person will be going by train with the others having chosen to fly instead. Our Airbnb is in Harlem and has been booked by one of the people who will flying. Would be best for us to all arrange to meet at the station and then travel to Harlem together? None of us have been to Holland before and not sure how to travel around Amsterdam whilst we are there so options please!
The outward leg on the Eurostar was only £35 each on 11:04 service, which is very reasonable. However, to avoid putting up with the many stag doos and hen parties which I expect will also be travelling on this service, I decided to purchase my friend and I Standard Premier tickets. Due to the long journey time it made sense to pay for a more comfortable journey with included food. I have never been on Eurostar before so have no idea whether it will be worth it or not, but I guess I will find out. I am interested to hear what we can expect?
Dilemma
On this note, I would ask to ask for advice on a dilemma. I will be returning from Turkey on the night of the 6th. I much prefer to take the Eurostar to Amsterdam over flying plus it is something I have wanted to do since the start of the service last year. However, the friend I will be travelling with is a budget conscious (although not poor) student who would have been happy to fly with the others from Gatwick to make a small saving. However, I said I would be open to pay the small difference in cost between flying and taking the Eurostar for him. The difference was £37 from what I remember so nothing major. Although, as I paid an extra £30 for him to travel in Standard Premier with me, do I still owe him £37 on principle of what I said before? As he made a fuss over saving a few pounds previously, I assume he would have not chosen himself to pay to pay extra himself. Standard Premier itself has value so should he be thankful I got him an upgrade and not expect a discount? The friend in question is a good one and I would hate to force them to pay more than they are willing to so could hypothetically forgive the difference.
Return Journey
There are engineering works on the 11th November so there are no Eurostar services from Amsterdam or Brussels. Instead a skeleton service from Lille Europe will operate. My friend I will be taking a local train from Amsterdam - Brussels and from Brussels - Lille. We decided to break up our journey a bit to visit Brussels and Lille before taking the Eurostar home from Lille in the evening. I had a look on Loco2 and found that a through ticket from Amsterdam to Lille Flandres is very expensive and that splitting at Brussels-Midi saves a decent amount. Prices from Amsterdam to Brussels range between £23.99 and £75.65. Brussels to Lille appear to be either £17.50 or £22.79. Are these fares tied to specific trains or are the flexible? Can they be reduced by splitting further anywhere? Lastly, Loco2 want to charge a fee so I am looking at buying them from Omio or TheTrainLine. Is there much to see in either Brussels or Lille? How many hours is needed to fully appreciate either? What are everyone's thoughts? I am not sure whether Brussels-Central might be better than Midi?
Eurostar Snap
The price of the return journey was £51 although this increased to £58 and is now £73.50 which is too expensive. I had planned to buy the £51 ticket although someone else now is coming. The 15:30 service is still £58 but we really want to get the 18:42 service to allow us the whole of our last day. Eurostar snap is offering tickets for £49 from Lille on the 11th. The question is, as there are only 3 services running what are the chances of us being allocated on the 18:42, our train of choice? It would suck to be booked onto the more lightly loaded 15:30.
Brexit
I am know that is a sensitive subject at the moment although I need to be aware of the facts. I have aimed to demonstrate strong and stable leadership in my planning of this holiday. However, I would like us to be prepared for any eventuality that may take place on the 1st November. Is there a possibility that our above itinerary could be affected? Of course I am sure visas will not be necessary on day one although it is a concern of everyone in the group. We are all looking forward to our week away and would hate to be disappointed
Thank you to everyone in advance for your help, guidance and advice.