From the airport to Ghent
1. From Brussels airport to Ghent
Train
The national airport lies just outside of Brussels. Its railway station is located under the airport. A fast train to Ghent is the one in the direction of “Gent Sint-Pieters” (the inter-city train marked with “IC” on billboards and time tables). There is one direct train every hour, mostly at hh:59. Another fast train that will take you to Ghent goes every hour at hh:26, but then you need to change trains in Brussels North (“Brussel Noord”). For other options see (http://www.b-rail.be).
The trip takes approximately 1h and one way ticket costs 15,20 euro. Buy your ticket in advance in the railway station (registry or vending machines).
First train at 5h26, last train at 23h59 (in both cases you will need to change trains in Brussels: for the first train in Brussels-North (“Brussel-Noord/Bruxelles-Nord”), for the last train at Brussels-South (“Brussel-Zuid/Bruxelles-Midi”).) The trains go less frequently on Saturday and Sunday (no rush hour trains).
Taxi
Taxis are not very commonly used in Belgium and they are a bit more expensive than in the southern European countries. Of course you can find taxis at the airport, main train stations and major tourist attractions. Rates may vary, an indication of the official rate between Brussels airport and Ghent: 95 euro.
2. From Brussels South Charleroi airport to Ghent
Bus
This small low-cost airport is further from Ghent than the Brussels International Airport (Zaventem). There is a direct bus connection to Ghent though. Nine times a day a shuttle bus travels between Charleroi-Airport and Bruges via Ghent, making our city more accessible to visitors travelling via Charleroi-Airport. The bus service is offered by Flibco.com, a company specialized in transport to city-trip destinations from transport hubs.
The bus stops near the Gent-Sint-Pieters railway station, where you can easily hop onto tram no. 1 and head to the historical city centre.
You can book a seat on www.flibco.com One-way tickets cost 9 or 15 euro (depending on the departure time).
Shuttle + train
You can take the shuttle bus to Brussels first (the ride takes about an hour and the shuttle goes 2x/hour). Ticket Charleroi – Brussels: 14 euro (one-way). The shuttle takes you directly to the train station, where you can take a train to the main railway station “Gent Sint-Pieters” (fast trains are marked with “IC” on billboards and time tables, there is no extra charge in comparison to local trains).
Taxi
Taxis are not very commonly used in Belgium and they are a bit more expensive than in the southern countries. Of course you can find taxis at the airport, main train stations and major tourist attractions. Rates may vary, an indication of the official rate between Charleroi airport and Ghent: 140 euro.
3. Travelling with Eurostar/Thalys?
The international trains stop either in Brussels South (“Brussel-Zuid/Bruxelles-Midi”) or in Antwerp Central Station (“Antwerpen-Centraal”). In both stations you can take a direct train to Ghent (from Antwerp, it is a 50min trip, from Brussels 40min). Fast trains are marked with “IC” on billboards and time tables (no extra charge in comparison to local trains). Buy your ticket in advance in the railway station (registry or vending machines).
Get off in Ghent at “Gent Sint-Pieters” railway station (see “Getting Around” for information on how to get to the city centre) .
4. Ghent by car
Take highway E40 in the direction of Ostend (Oostende). Do not leave the highway at the exit “Merelbeke-Gent-Zeehaven” but take the following exit “Gent-Zwijnaarde” (nr.15). Keep to the right in the direction of “Gent-Antwerpen”. At the next junction DO NOT follow direction Antwerpen-Gent Zeehaven” but take direction “Gent” (left side of the highway). At the next junction take “Gent-Centrum”. Now you are driving on the street named “Zuidparklaan”.
Follow the yellow P-route to parking P5 (“Kouter”), P6 (“Center Parking”, located in the street named “Korte Meer”) or P7 (“Sint-Michiels”) (all centrally located parking garages, nearby the conference venue and the city centre).
From Antwerp
Take highway E17 in the direction of Gent (Ghent). Do not leave the highway by exit 10 “Gentbrugge” but take exit “Gent Centrum” (just after exit 10). Now you are driving on the street named “Zuidparklaan”. Follow the yellow P-route to parking P5 (“Kouter”), P6 (“Center Parking”, located in the street named “Korte Meer”) or P7 (“Sint-Michiels”) (all centrally located parking garages, nearby the conference venue and the city centre).
If you have any questions relating to your travel to and from Ghent, please contact IberoCon@UGent.be.