How to travel from Berlin to Brussels by train

There are no direct daytime trains between Berlin and Bruxelles/Brussels.
So this journey involves taking an ICE train between Berlin and Koln and then an ICE or a Thalys train between Koln and Bruxelles..

However, DB, the German national railways website, only sells tickets when the entire journey is by ICE train and it usually has the cheapest tickets on this route (see the 'Ticket Information' below)

Connections:

When looking up this journey, most of the connections involve making a transfer between trains in Koln Hbf of around 34 mins.
That applies when making the end-2-end journey on 2 x ICE trains.

If possible avoid the options that involve connecting into a Thalys train anywhere other than Koln hbf.
That's because when making the transfer between an ICE and a Thalys anywhere other than Koln hbf, the connecting time between trains is usually shorter; which ups the pressure on making the connection in time, but it will make no difference to the overall time of the end-to-end journey.

Also Thalys is the only direct train service between the likes of Dusseldorf or Essen and Bruxelles; and in comparison there are more frequent direct trains between Koln/Cologne and Bruxelles/Brussels.

Rail Pass users should avoid the journey options which involve taking the Thalys trains.

Book in advance and save: Yes

Online bookings usually open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date - but this period of time is shorter when looking up journeys in August to October.

Travelling on 2 x ICE trains

Four types of tickets are available:
Two types of discounted tickets, which will be cheaper the further ahead you book - Sparpreis Europa and Super Sparpreis Europa
Two types of non-discounted ticket - Flexpreis Europa and Flexpreis Plus Europa

A key difference between these types of tickets is refunds:

• Super Sparpreis Europa tickets are cheapest, but they can't be refunded at all.
• Sparpreis Europa tickets can be refunded for a fee, but the refund will be in the form of travel vouchers to be used for alternative / future journeys.
• Flexpreis Europa and Flexpreis Plus Europa tickets can be refunded at no additional charge.

The other key difference is that both types of Sparpreis tickets are only valid on the specific departures selected when booking, but both types of Flexpreis tickets live up to their name, as they can be used on any departure on your travel date.

Note that none of the tickets can be exchanged to a different departure.
There's no need for this to be available for Flexpreis tickets, as they aren't train departure specific.
If you book a Sparpreis Europa ticket and want to travel by a different departure you can refund it and then use the travel voucher towards the cost of the new booking.
Super Sparpreis Europa tickets can't be exchanged or refunded.

The Sparpreis and Flexpreis tickets also include 'City tickets' for Berlin which can be used on public transport between locations in the city centre and Berlin hbf.

Seat reservations

Seat reservations are optional on the ICE trains on this route - take note if you will be using a rail pass.
They cost €4.90 when travelling in 2nd Class and €5.90 when travelling in 1st class and the fees will cover both ICE trains
Specific seats can be selected from seating plans - you don't have to accept the seat(s) that you will be automatically offered.

They are included within the cost of booking 1st class Flexpreis Europa tickets and both 1st and 2nd class Flexpreis Plus Europa tickets.
Though despite seats being automatically assigned when booking these three types of ticket - and these tickets being valid on any departure, you will need to pay to re-book the reservations, if you subsequently decide to travel on an alternative train.
So because you won't save by booking these types of tickets in advance, it can be a good idea to wait until you are sure when you will want to travel.

When booking Super Sparpreis Europa, Sparpreis Europa and 2nd class Flexpreis Europa tickets, you have the option of purchasing seat reservations later.
It can be worth re-looking up a journey a week or two ahead of travel, because the DB website will indicate how busy a departure will be.
Although if you do book your reservations later you will then have to pay for separate reservations per train.

Booking on the DB website

Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so if you can be flexible with your departure time use the 'best prices' tool - at the top right on the list of journey options.

Missing the booked connection at Koln Hbf:

In the rare event of the train from Berlin arriving too late in Koln/Cologne to make a booked connection, tickets can be transferred free of charge to the subsequent departure on to Bruxelles; irrespective of whether it is by an ICE or Thalys train.
If the next departure is by ICE then any reservations can be swapped to the next train at the Reisezentrum desk in Koln Hbf.

However, if the next departure is a Thalys train the Reiszentrum desk cannot issue tickets or reservations for the Thalys train.
If need be you can then claim your cost of the Thalys tickets back from DB.

This potential for a complication with the tickets / reservation is another tick in the box for making the journey on the combination of 2 x ICE trains.

Travelling on a combination of 1 x ICE train + 1 x Thalys train

Three types of ticket are available; Non-Flexible; Semi-Flexible and Most Flexible.
Seat reservations are automatically included on the Thalys train, the reservation policies summarised above, apply to the part of the journey by the ICE train.

Departing From Berlin:

This train is usually scheduled to depart from the lower level in Berlin Hbf at around 20:15, depending on the travel date - though due to the length of the journey the schedule often has to be altered due to works on the lines.

These trains also call at Berlin Sudkreuz - which is to the south of the city centre

Connections are available at Berlin Sudkreuz from S-Bahn trains from the eastern and western edges of the city centre, as well as S-Bahn (local) trains from Brandenburger Tor and Postdamer Platz and Anhalter stations.

Check your connections in Berlin on this public transport map.

Final Destination: Bruxelles-Midi

It is typically scheduled to arrive in Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel Zuid shortly before 10:00.

The train also calls at: Liege
and Bruxelles-Nord
Connect at Bruxelles-Nord for Bruxelles-Central.

Book early and save: Yes
Online Bookings Usually Open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date

The ticketing options depend on the type of accommodation you wish to travel by on the train.
The seats are straightforward, the ticket(s) will include a reservation.

In the couchettes you can either book a place; or solo travellers can pay more and book the entire compartment in order to have sole occupancy.
If you will be travelling in groups of 4 or 6 people, you will be the only occupants of the compartment.
But if you will be travelling in a group of 5, the only method to ensure you won't be sharing the compartment with somebody else, is to book six tickets.
Similarly if you will be travelling in a group of 3 and don't want to share a four person compartment with anybody else, you will need to book four tickets.
Female only couchette compartments are available.

The sleeping cabins are priced according to how many people will be occupying them during the journey.
Solo travellers can either:

• Book a bed in a triple cabin and accept that you may share it with up to two other people (cheapest).
• Book a bed in a double cabin, accepting that you may be sharing it with another person.
• Book a single cabin, to ensure privacy (most expensive).

Pairs of travellers, who are happy to share a cabin, can either:

• Book two beds in a triple cabin, accepting that you may be sharing it with another person.
• Book a double cabin.

Groups of 3 travellers will have sole occupancy of a triple cabin, but groups of four or more will need to split the accommodation to whichever suits them; 2 x double cabins, or 1 x triple + 1 x single etc.

Final Destination: Bruxelles-Midi / Brussel-Zuid; these trains do not call at any other stations in Brussels
This train also calls at Antwerpen Centraal

European Sleeper is a new train operating company with a mission to provide links between cities which previously had no direct train connection.
It's trains aren't brand new, though they have been refreshed, but if you:

• will want to travel direct by train between the German and Belgian capitals;
• won't need to depart Berlin on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Saturday.
  then this service provides a new option for the journey by train from Berlin to Bruxelles / Brussels.

The train is typically scheduled to depart from Berlin Hbf at 22:56
Connecting trains typically depart from:

• Dresden Hbf at 19:55
• Munchen Hbf at 17:54
• Poznan Glowny at 19:26
• Praha hln at 17:28
• Wien Hbf at 13:10
• Warszawa Centralna at 16:32

The arrival time in Brussels is scheduled to be at 09:27
Typical connections which should be available are:

• at 09:51 to London St Pancras International (not Sundays)
• at 10:13 to Paris Nord
• at 10:17 to Lyon, Nimes and Montpellier

Book early and save: Yes
Online Bookings Usually Open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date

The ticketing options depend on the type of accommodation you wish to travel by on the train.
The seats are straightforward, the ticket(s) will include a reservation.

In the couchettes you can either book a place; or solo travellers can pay more and book the entire compartment in order to have sole occupancy.
If you will be travelling in groups of 4 or 6 people, you will be the only occupants of the compartment.
But if you will be travelling in a group of 5, the only method to ensure you won't be sharing the compartment with somebody else, is to book six tickets.
Similarly if you will be travelling in a group of 3 and don't want to share a four person compartment with anybody else, you will need to book four tickets.
Female only couchette compartments are available.

The sleeping cabins are priced according to how many people will be occupying them during the journey.
Solo travellers can either:

• Book a bed in a triple cabin and accept that you may share it with up to two other people (cheapest).
• Book a bed in a double cabin, accepting that you may be sharing it with another person.
• Book a single cabin, to ensure privacy (most expensive).

Pairs of travellers, who are happy to share a cabin, can either:

• Book two beds in a triple cabin, accepting that you may be sharing it with another person.
• Book a double cabin.

Groups of 3 travellers will have sole occupancy of a triple cabin, but groups of four or more will need to split the accommodation to whichever suits them; 2 x double cabins, or 1 x triple + 1 x single etc.