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seat reservation Ghent Belgium to Antwerp 4 January

  • 6 December 2023
  • 7 replies
  • 111 views
D

I’m trying to book seat reservation from Ghent Belgium to Antwerp 4 January. It appears available when I select this departure time

yet when i hit ‘continue’ I get the following message

and then I hit back button and get this message

So this seems that the train is fully booked??

thank you

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Best answer by thibcabe 6 December 2023, 11:46

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7 replies

ralderton
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There are no reservations possible on this train, DB shouldn’t be trying to offer you one. 
 

Just find an empty seat when you board.

D

okay so the OBB website for this schedule also says ‘ticket not available’, so i can assume there are seats but I just cannot reserve for this route?

I need to be able to get to Antwerp as we are trying to make the antwerp to amsterdam connection at 1400hrs and eurostar website seems to be all I can guarantee a seat reservation on.

thanks for your help

 

T
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There are no seat reservations in Belgium and the Netherlands (except Eurostar but please don’t pay 27€ for this short journey! Take the slightly longer reservation-free IC, it runs hourly). This is the case on most European trains btw.

Simply hop on and sit wherever you want. There are enough seats. As a tip : go to the front/rear end as people are lazy and board in the middle.

D

thank you for clarifying this. Its quite confusing as a newbie when the websites suggest I can book a seat for a section but then it says not available or reservation cannot be made!

thank you

ralderton
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Yes, it’s not always easy to understand, unfortunately. But there are plenty of knowledgable people on this forum who can advise.

The Seat61 website has a good summary of which trains need reservations; https://www.seat61.com/interrail-and-eurail-reservations.htm

Am I right in thinking you were planning on taking the Eurostar from Antwerp-Amsterdam because you thought that was the only way to guarantee you’d get on the train? If that’s true, it needs feeding back to Eurail that they’re not communicating it properly.

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Anything marked IC (Intercity) on this route - reservations aren’t possible. You just turn up at a time that suits.

You can of course take the Eurostar from Antwerp (or Brussels) to Amsterdam, but in my opinion it’s not worth the extra money to save 30-50 minutes. It also ties you to the reserved Eurostar.

BrendanDB
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Userlevel 7
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I agree with all the above:

Just some tips from a local:

  • 4th of January are still school holidays and sales period, so the IC Brussels-Antwerp-Amsterdam might be full with people wanting to visit the Netherlands. If you want to secure seats comfortably, choose for an early connection or change trains in Antwerpen Berchem, and choose places well in the back of the train. The train will probably fill up in Antwerp Central.
  • If you want to admire the Antwerpen Centraal station (which is highly recommended). In Centraal, also don’t hesitate to go a bit back of the train, away from the crowds. People are lazy and stay around the stairs, it’ll give you a good place and save you a lot hassle with your luggage.But not too far ;), cause the deep-level platforms are very long there.
D

thanks so much for your help

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