Belgium surprised us! It was very clean, organized, historic, and non touristy for the most part.
Cost Per Day
$63.59
Number of Days On Trip
4
Total Trip Cost
$254.34
Belgium is not known for its food…its known for its Waffles and beer. We had a street vender Belgian Waffle and it was fine but nothing spectacular.
After visiting Antwerp, we felt more connected to the culture but didn’t get a full cultural experience….Its a very private culture but warm welcomes.
We did feel quite comfortable and safe everywhere we went.
Belgium is super easy to navigate with the trains, trams, and buses. We had no problems with the addressing (similar to the UK standard).
Itinerary
We were coming into Belgium from the Netherlands. Our first stop was Antwerp for the night. We stayed in Antwerp City Hostel and it was right on Grote Markt which was amazing! We woke up early the next morning to do our sightseeing before we headed out to Kortrijk which was our next stop. With a quick lap around the city we visited; Het Steen (a fortress), Saint Charles Borromea Church, and admired Grot Markt.
Then we took the train from Antwerp to Kortrijk which is near the western border of Belgium. We had a housesit here for 4 nights which allowed us to explore locally and take a day trip to Brugge. We were right outside Kortrijk but we never actually walked downtown… the outside patio was just too nice to leave
We did take a day trip to Brugge which is the most touristy place in Belgium I would say. Brugge is known for their canals and beer.
We stopped at De Halve Mann brewery local location which has been brewing since 1856. What makes it super unique is that the bottling plant is actually outside the city and the beer is piped underground from the city brewery!
We walked around all the canals and admired the buildings surrounding Grote markt including the Belfry of Bruge, a medieval bell tower.
Unique Opportunities and Experiences
Since we had the Eurail pass, we were able to explore the surrounding cities. This was our first house sit ever on Trustedhousesitters.com as well. We love housesitting because you have a local experience! We are able to take the dogs, in this instance, out for walks to parks and nature walks to the river.
This is Zoe and Pippa who so kindly invited Brad to play ball in their lovely backyard. We really loved spending time in this oasis for the 4 days we spent with the pupps.
Trip Expenses Breakdown
| Item | Category | Cost |
|---|---|---|
|
Antwerp Kebab |
Fast Food |
$24.95 |
|
Reimbursement |
Hotel |
-$10.76 |
|
Ld Antwerpen Train Station Lunch |
Restaurants |
$9.69 |
|
Burger King |
Fast Food |
$9.63 |
|
DE IJSBEER |
Groceries |
$4.30 |
|
Lidl |
Groceries |
$40.14 |
|
Eurail |
Transportation |
$114.17 |
Cost Saving Opportunities
Belgium isn’t cheap but not expensive either so saving money really is in the details. We went grocery shopping when we go to our housesit and cooked almost every meal at home. When we went to Brugge and did get a belgian waffle and….Burger king…. ya….we’re not proud of that one.
Housesitting was our main cost saving in Belgium. Since we had the Eurail pass, it was easy for us to go to Brugge without paying the tourist price of staying overnight there.
