Are there any discounts for travel within Belgium during the winter/springtime?

[Dominic]

Over the summer there was a 50% discount on rail tickets within Belgium. I'll be returning to Brussels from March-May and am wondering if there are usually any special kinds of discounts for travel during those months.

Any additional advice for inexpensively traveling within Belgium on trains would be greatly appreciated.

[Ferris]

In general, the more you travel by rail, the more you can take advantage of discounts.

First of all, there is the weekend pass. It's a to-and-from pass that is valid from Friday evening to Sunday night of the same weekend, and it should be about half the price of a regular ticket.

I'm not sure if it is still available, but during the sales period, there is a 9.50 euro to-and-from shopping ticket to anywhere in Belgium as long as you travel on the same day.

If you travel regularly to different destinations, get a go-pass (6.50 euros per trip) if you are under 26 and otherwise a rail-pass (7.40 euros per trip). As this is a fixed price ticket, the further you travel, the more you save.

If you travel regularly on the same route, ask for a subscription pass. There are several formulas for this and it is really dirt cheap compared to a normal ticket (usually just a few euros per trip). This is handy if you regularly have to travel to work or school by train but is not really ideal for tourists.

Another option is you are traveling at least a week, but quite often to different destinations, it might be cheaper to get a net-card rather than a go- or rail-pass. Especially if you plan to make more than 10 single trips by train within the same week. Of course, if you take a net-pass for a month or a year, each trip becomes even cheaper as long as you are a regular user.

Also if you are going to special events, festivals or visiting museums, there is a good chance that you can buy combi-tickets (for example a festival pass that also includes a train ticket to get there). This will usually be advertised on the website of the event.

Anyway, always check the fares on the b-rail site to figure out what is the best option as much depends on how far you plan to travel (for example, sometimes, a weekend-pass may be cheaper to use than your go-pass if the destination is close by). It will list the prices of all the different options for your journey. You may also find other options that are not listed here.