School trips to Belgium

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School trips to Belgium are ideal if you’re looking for a trip packed with educational value, without having to spend too much time travelling. The shorter journey times and choice of travel options also make Belgium a great choice if you’re trying to keep costs down.

Belgium is a truly diverse location with a wide variety of learning opportunities for groups studying almost any subject, including history, food technology, business studies, science and English literature. Belgium is also a great choice for a cultural school trip.

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Why visit Belgium?

The political centre of Europe

With the Belgian city of Brussels considered to be the de facto capital of the European Union, Belgium plays a key role in politics and business across all of Europe.

As host to the official seats of the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, and the European Council, Belgium is a great choice of destination for school groups studying politics or business studies.

The battlefield of Europe

Belgium’s role in WW1 and WW2 cemented the country’s already long-established reputation as the ‘Battlefield of Europe’, making it a truly fascinating destination. Not only will you learn about the various wars that have been fought in Belgium, but you’ll also learn more about how this ties in with general European history.

Belgium was the setting for some of the fiercest fighting during the First World War, making it particularly popular among school history and English literature groups for WW1 battlefield trips to Ypres.

Students will have the chance to learn more about the experience of war from the point of view of both the soldiers and local civilians. And you can include a stop in Waterloo to learn about the history of warfarebetween the Napoleonic Wars and the Second World War.

The rich and diverse culture

Belgium is an excellent choice of destination for a cultural school trip. It is home to two distinct communities, the Dutch-speaking Flemish Community and the French-speaking Community, which has influenced Belgian history and politics for centuries.

The medieval city of Bruges is a fantastic destination for your cultural school trip. You can take a boat trip along the city's canals, climb the iconic belfry and explore Belgium's connections to chocolate and chips!

The culinary delights

Whatever your subject, no school trip to Belgium would be complete without taking the time to savour some of its gastronomic delights, from chocolate to chips, and waffles to mussels. Of course, this is especially exciting for food technology groups!

Activities in Belgium that your school group will love

In Flanders Fields Museum

This interactive museum mixes artefacts with documentary film, audio-visual presentations and contemporary artwork to vividly portray the horror and brutality

Last Post Ceremony, Menin Gate

Every evening since 1928 the Last Post has sounded at the Menin Gate at 20:00 in homage to the fallen British and Allied soldiers of World War I.

Leonidas Chocolate Shop

Situated in the main square in Ypres, Leonidas Chocolate Shop is a popular choice for some light relief and delicious Belgian chocolates.

Essex Farm

John McCrae's 'In Flanders Fields' remains, to this day, one of the most memorable war poems ever written. It is

Talbot House

Away from the turmoil of battle in Ypres, Poperinge developed into the nerve centre for the British army. From December

Brussels Cathedral

This Gothic Cathedral built over a 300-year period dates back to 1225 and is one of the major religious centres

Autoworld

This museum is dedicated to the history of the automotive industry with five extraordinary automobile collections including a carriage used

Euro Space Center

Get ready for an incredible odyssey from the start of the universe with the Big Bang to the most futuristic projects of space exploration.

Where to visit in Belgium

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Why choose Halsbury?

We build your trip around you

Tell us your learning objectives, curriculum and budget and we’ll do the rest.

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We’re trusted for a reason

We’re members of ABTA, ABTOT and the School Travel Forum. We also hold an ATOL and the LOtC Quality Badge.

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Our Education specialists

Laura Lucas

Tour Consultant

Paul Hudson

Tour Consultant

Laura Martin

Language Sales & Product Manager

Emma Gray da Silva

Tour Consultant

Meet our education specialists and get to know more about the people committed to making your school trip the best it can be.

Meet the education team

FAQs

I can't see the destination I want to visit in Belgium, does that mean you don't offer trips there?

Not at all. In fact, we've got great relationships with suppliers all over Belgium, so we can take you wherever you want to go - just get in touch and we'll see what we can do. 

The trips you see here represent our most popular Belgium school trips, as inspiration for what could be achieved on your trip. The itineraries, activities and accommodation options are all examples - your trip will be completely tailor made to suit your requirements and budget. 

Do you offer travel insurance?

We do. Travel insurance is an optional extra and you can find out more about it in our travel insurance resource (which includes the policy documents and FAQs). 

If you decide against arranging this insurance through us (which is absolutely fine, by the way), please just remember you must have suitable travel and medical insurance to cover your group. 

How far ahead should I start planning my trip?

As a general rule, we recommend that you start planning your trip 12-18 months before you want to travel. This gives you plenty of time to get it approved and launched to students and parents.

Planning early will mean you have a greater choice of accommodation and travel options - and it will make paying for the trip easier for families, as they'll be able to break it down into smaller, more manageable payments.

You can check out our trip-planning timeline for a better idea of the process and when you should expect to be doing things. 

If you are looking to travel sooner than this, it is possible. It will depend on availability and you may find prices are a bit higher, but get in touch and we can see what's possible. 

Can the trip itinerary be adapted to my curriculum and requirements?

Every single trip we arrange is tailor-made, so yes, the itinerary can be adapted.

Our Tour Advisers and Itinerary Coordinators are all experienced school travel specialists. They'll work closely with you to make sure your itinerary supports your learning objectives. They'll be able to offer suggestions and advice to make sure you make the most of your time. 

So, when you're browsing through our school trips, just remember that the itineraries and activities you see are there for inspiration only - your own itinerary can look as similar or as different as you want. 

Equally, we've suggested trip durations based on what groups usually request - if you want to go for a shorter or longer duration, just let us know. 

How will our group travel to Belgium, and then get around each day once we’re there?

The Belgian border is less than an hour’s drive from Calais, the main ferry port in France, so almost all our school groups choose to travel to Belgium by coach. Your coach can then be used to travel between your accommodation and your excursions. If you prefer to travel by Eurostar, a coach can be contracted to collect you from Brussels and to transport you between locations during your stay.

Will we have a dedicated tour guide?

If you're visiting the WW1 battlefields during your trip to Belgium, then we can arrange for your group to have a guide to accompany you around the battlefields sites. Some group leaders who have visited the battlefields many times in the past choose not to have a guide as they know the sites very well. So, this is not included as standard in our quotes. If you would like to have a guide then let your Tour Adviser know and they will be happy to include this for you.

What accommodation options are available in Belgium?

Belgium offers a great range of accommodation options for school trips, so just let us know your requirements and budget and we're sure we'll have an option that fits. 

We're an Assured Member of the School Travel Forum, so we only offer accommodation that we believe is suitable for school groups. For more information on how we manage safety when it comes to accommodation, take a look at our Safety Management System

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