Galway to Brussels - logistics/itinerary help please

buzz55

Hi,

I'm hoping to head to Brussels with a friend at the end of November.

My friend lives in London and is getting the eurostar - easy.

I, on the other hand, will be starting off from Galway.

Here are the options I have found so far:

1. Fly Galway to London Luton with Aer Arann, then get on Eurostar with friend. Pros - will be going directly from Galway & back to there which is handy, plus will get a look at the whole eurostar. Cons - bloody expensive

2. Fly Knock to London Luton with Ryanair, then get on Eurostar with friend. Pros - cheap enough flights to Luton, better flight times. Cons - have to get from Galway to Knock, and also from Luton to Kings cross to get the Eurostar, all of which adds to cost.

2. Fly Shannon to Brussels return with Ryanair. Pros - direct flight, fairly cheap. Cons - flight out from Shannon is at 7am :eek: and even worse, the flight back from Brussels is at about 10am which means having no Sunday & being v aware the night before that I have to get up in time to catch my flight.

3. Fly from Dublin to Brussels with either Aer Lingus or Ryanair. Pros - better flight times, reasonable flight fares. Cons - Have the extra hassle of getting from Galway to Dublin, either by bus or with Aer Arann.

Is there any other option that I'm forgetting? Basically, compared to my mate, it seems as if I'll have to spend a huge amount of time travelling to get there and not a lot of time actually there.

Just to mention, with option 1, I can always stay overnight with my friend in London if needs be.

Should I just give up altogether and pick somewhere easier to get to?!

biko

You can take the bus to Shannon and fly out from there.
http://www.citylink.ie/timetable-galw2shan.htm

Then take the Brussels to Dublin flight and bus it home to Galway.

mikedragon32

Re Option 2, a train goes from Luton Parkway (next to airport) to King's Cross and is maybe a tenner each way.

BuffyBot

Even better - the trains now go from Luton Parkway to St. Pancras, so you are in the same building as the Eurostar

glanman

option 3: dont go to Brussels, its an awful place!!

To be helpful though, I recommend get the train to Ghent or Brugees, great places both aesthetically and funwise!!

buzz55

Thanks for all the suggestions! As we are only probaby going for a weekend, I think Ghent and Bruges will have to wait until another time sadly
I'm kind of thinking that unless I can get v cheap flights (which I can't right now) then travelling through London and going on the Eurostar is a bit crazy.

I think my best option is probably fly out from Shannon, and then back through Dublin & then fly on to Galway.

I'm sure the Eurostar can't be that much fun??!! Oh decisions, decisions....