Antwerp - Ryanair or Aerlingus

Hi, I need to trevel to Antwerp this weekend. Ryanair flies to Charleroi which I understand to be a 2 hour train journey from Antwerp? Aerlingus fly direct to brussels and I think you can take a bus from the airport direct to Antwerp?

Aer Lingus would seen to be the one to opt for but the flights are c. EUR 100 more expensive than Ryanair. Worth the difference? Is the train from Charleroi pretty straight-forward?

Any advice appreciated.
Thanks,
BigRed

It's year's since I've done it but the situation used to be:

Ryanair to Charleroi - get a local bus into Charleroi and coordinate to get a train from there to Antwerp, c.90 mins. But of a pain and some potential for error/missed timetables etc. Alternative is to get the Ryanair coach into Brussels and travel from there to Antwerp (30 mins train). Never did that myself though.

Aer Lingus to Brussels Zaventem - the coach is downstairs in the airport, easy to find and cheap. The motorway trip flies by and it deposits you in the centre of Antwerp. Possibly worth EU100?

Other possibilities:
1. Could you get to Brussels Zaventem cheaper with any other airline?
2. There's a perfectly good airport in Antwerp itself - could you travel via London City Airport? See [broken link removed]

Good luck.

Go with Aerlingus - bus drops you off from the Airport to the centre of Antwerp - they go on the hour and costs bout a tenner and <40 minutes. Leave extra time for a weekday morning though if your flying out takes longer with traffic.

thanks for the replies.. will go with Aer Lingus.

Has anyone flown Dublin to Eindhoven with Ryanair?

Aer Lingus is very expensive to Brussels and awkward flight times.

I am told that there are coaches and trains from Eindhoven to Antwerp.

Hi Brendan

I live in Holland - Eindhoven to Antwerp best reached by train - you need to take the shuttle bus from the airport to Eindhoven Central station and then a train in the direction of Breda. You get off the train at Dordrecht and then take another train to Antwerp. this is the link for the Dutch train service [broken link removed] (in English). Total travel time is about 1hr 58m

To check out the bus/tram/car service the link is http://journeyplanner.9292.nl/ (also in English). If you need more info please let me know and I'll be happy to help.

Lou

That is most helpful thank you. The person I am travelling with thought it was much quicker. But we are not under time pressure, so 2 hours is fine.



Brendan

Does anyone know if the Brussels to Antwerp bus is a 24 hour service as a friend is arriving in Brussels late on Sunday night.

Brendan, is he coming from Brussels Airport or the City Centre?

If coming from Brussels Airport the times are as follows:-
ANTWERP - BRUSSELS AIRPORT EXPRESS

• From Brussels Airport to Antwerp
  
  Every hour a direct coach service departs from the airport to the city centre of Antwerp. This coach service is operated every day.
  The coaches leave from the back of platform B at the bus station (level 0).
  The stop "De Keyserlei" (near the central station) is always served, the stop "Crowne Plaza" is only served on request.
  
  On weekdays and Saturdays:
  first departure: 5:00 a.m.
  last departure: 12 midnight
  
  On Sundays:
  first departure: 7:00 a.m.
  last departure: 12 midnight
  
  Travel time: 45 minutes

Great thanks