What is the best way to move from London, UK, to Brussels, Belgium?

October 16, 2009 7:07 AM

Hey there! I'm moving to Brussels for a job early November, and I'm trying to plan my move from London. What is the best way to do this move?

My latest plan is to drive there in a van with a friend, stay with him for a couple of days, and have him drive the empty van back to London. Am I missing something? Is there an obvious way to make it easier/cheaper?

Right now the costs would involve paying the van rental, the Eurotunnel transfer between the UK and the continent, paying for a hotel, and packing stuff myself.

More information: I don't have any furniture, just books and clothes. It's not a massive amount. I don't have a driving licence myself. I'm also hesitating between driving there with a friend, gonig there on Eurostar and leave my stuff, or send them to myself by post.

Any suggestion would be immensely appreciated... thank you!

posted by meso to travel & transportation (3 comments total)

You can also hire someone with a van to transport you and your belongings, something like manvanlondon.co.uk. I'd recommend reposting your questions on the Xpats.com Q&A, as this is the kind of thing people there know about. It's like AskMe for bitter, xenophobic expats in Brussels. Good luck with your move!
posted by creeky at 7:38 AM on October 16

How long are you staying for; one month, three months, six?
Note that you can get the Eurostar to Brussels:
http://www.eurostar.com/UK/uk/leisure/travel_information/before_you_go/fares/london_ashford_to_brussels.jsp
so if you didn't have much stuff you could cram it in a suitcase and avoid the van cost. And the hassle. There's some limits on baggage sizes and weights you might want to have a look at.

I'd avoid taking books unless they're necessary, you should be able to pick up english fiction in most large bookshops and AmazonUK deliver to the Continent.
If not ParcelForce deliver internationally for about £30 for up to 30kg insured.

The other alternative, if you're dead set on the driving option would be drive up to Harwich, get an overnight ferry to the Hook of Holland and drive down to Brussels (Googlemaps tells me its about 120Km). This would probably be cheaper than taking Eurostar.

Before you start I'd advise you to decide on what you have to take and what you want to take and organise into two piles. Weigh both and consider your options. You can always take the minimum to last a few weeks and then get more sent out, or come back for it or whatever.
posted by SyntacticSugar at 7:49 AM on October 16

possibly even more convenient than Harwich - Hoek van Holland, you might drive to Ramsgate and then take a ferry to Oostende
posted by _dario at 10:06 AM on October 16