Netherlands → Belgium · 173 km apart
Amsterdam to Brussels
Take the Train — 1h 56m, from €19, up to 14 a day plus hourly IC
Under two hours on Eurostar, about 2h08 on the Eurocity Direct that replaced the old Intercity Brussels in December 2024, and there are hourly domestic-plus-Belgian connections behind both. Eurostar advance fares open around €29–59; Eurocity Direct flex fares are €65.80 second class, so the booking window matters more than the operator. FlixBus does it in 2h40 from about €10 — the closest a coach comes to competing with a train anywhere on this list.
Every way to make the trip
Eurostar is fastest at 1h56; Eurocity Direct takes 2h08 with fully flexible €65.80 fares.
Only 45 minutes slower than the fast train and roughly half the price.
Times are the fastest scheduled service for each mode; flights are gate to gate, before airport time. Fares are typical advance-booking ranges, not quotes. Checked 5 September 2026. Distance is straight-line — rail and road are longer.
Prefer to drive?
Compare car hire at either end. Returning the car in the other city usually adds a one-way fee, and across a border it can run to several hundred euros — check it before you book.
Check live fares
The cheapest fare our own price crawler has recorded on this pair is $62. It is a price we saw, not one on offer now.
A regional travel eSIM covers you across the whole trip — no roaming bill and no hunting for a local SIM at each border. Install it before you fly.
Both ends of the trip
Travelling the other way? The comparison is the same — Brussels to Amsterdam runs on the same services, and both directions are covered above.