Brussels strike and travel advice
December 6, 2014 6:22 PM Subscribe
My husband is traveling from USA to Brussels. He is scheduled to arrive early afternoon in Brussels on Monday Dec 8th and needs to get to Ghent. I guess there is a chance his flight from Paris to Brussels on Monday will be canceled. What are his best options for getting to Ghent if 1) he makes it to Brussels but there is so train/bus service and 2) if his flight is canceled from Paris?
Response by poster: Yes, if he rents a car in Paris he'll need to return it in Brussels. What are the recommended companies to do that?
posted by sulaine at 6:49 PM on December 6, 2014
posted by sulaine at 6:49 PM on December 6, 2014
Blablacar or regular public transport?
posted by turkeyphant at 7:13 PM on December 6, 2014
posted by turkeyphant at 7:13 PM on December 6, 2014
Response by poster: It seems any sort if public transit may be affected by the strike. I guess his best options are to just take a cab from Brussels or if his flight is canceled in Paris rent a car. Hertz seems to have really affordable options for one way rentals. I thought it would be prohibitively expensive.
posted by sulaine at 7:35 PM on December 6, 2014
posted by sulaine at 7:35 PM on December 6, 2014
Chances are his flight to Brussels won't happen: short-haul carriers are already warning that flights to/from Belgium are likely to be cancelled, as airports do shut down when public sector workers take industrial action.
I'd have suggested a train to Lille and then the Eurolines coach to Ghent, but the timetable doesn't work for an afternoon arrival. There is a coach from the Gallieni bus terminal out on the eastern edge of Paris that leaves for Ghent at 6pm, arriving at 9.30pm, and he can get to Gallieni from CDG on either a combination of RER and Métro, or the 351 bus, in an hour. If he's arriving at Orly, then a taxi's the best option. That might be a full coach, or Eurolines might put on a few extra coaches because of the strike.
A one-way car rental is probably the least stressful of a handful of stressful options, regardless of where he runs into cancellations. Sixt is worth a look: they don't have a big presence in the US compared to Hertz or Avis, but they're pretty decent for European rentals.
posted by holgate at 7:50 PM on December 6, 2014
I'd have suggested a train to Lille and then the Eurolines coach to Ghent, but the timetable doesn't work for an afternoon arrival. There is a coach from the Gallieni bus terminal out on the eastern edge of Paris that leaves for Ghent at 6pm, arriving at 9.30pm, and he can get to Gallieni from CDG on either a combination of RER and Métro, or the 351 bus, in an hour. If he's arriving at Orly, then a taxi's the best option. That might be a full coach, or Eurolines might put on a few extra coaches because of the strike.
A one-way car rental is probably the least stressful of a handful of stressful options, regardless of where he runs into cancellations. Sixt is worth a look: they don't have a big presence in the US compared to Hertz or Avis, but they're pretty decent for European rentals.
posted by holgate at 7:50 PM on December 6, 2014
I use Sixt when I can.
posted by humboldt32 at 8:08 PM on December 6, 2014
posted by humboldt32 at 8:08 PM on December 6, 2014
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by humboldt32 at 6:35 PM on December 6, 2014