Belgium international travel guide in 2021

Belgium 🇧🇪

Belgium is part of Europe with main city at Brussels. It's usually 🌤️ 5.80 °C in Belgium with a rainfall of 🌧 81.14 mm. Tipping is usually not expected in Belgium. Internet speed in Belgium is on average 14.2 Mbps. In Belgium you drive on the right side. Its Developed country with a population of 11M people. The main currency is Euro. The languages spoken are French, German and Dutch. Automatic teller machines are very common in Belgium. Current travel safety advice is Exercise a high degree of caution. Get other useful information like socket plugs, SIM cards and emergency numbers.

👍 Developed 🌤️ ~5.80 °C 🌧 ~81.14 mm 👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 11M people

Travel restrictions

Advice

🛡️ Travel safety

Exercise a high degree of caution

You can travel to Belgium if you’re in the EU and Schengen Area or if you’re in a country listed as ‘green’ or 'orange'. Otherwise, you can only travel to Belgium if you’ve been vaccinated with an EU-approved vaccine, if you’re travelling for an essential purpose or if you're a citizen or resident of an EU/Schengen Area country. Belgium will accept certificates issued under the EU Digital Certificate Scheme. Travel to, or transit via, Belgium from a number of ‘very high risk’ countries is prohibited. Testing and self-isolation requirements may apply. See 'Travel'. We now advise: Exercise a high degree of caution in Belgium due to the risk of terrorist attack.

Issue date: October 28, 2021

Weather

🌤️ Temperature

🌧 Rainfall

General

🔌 Sockets

Belgium uses 230V, 50Hz with sockets and plugs Type C and Type E.

🌐 Languages

The languages that are typically spoken are French, German and Dutch

Money

💱 Currencies Used

Belgium uses the euro (symbol: €), code EUR.Banknotes come in denominations of 500, 200, 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5 euros. Euro is subdivided into 100 cents. Coins come in denominations of 2 and 1 euros and 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 cents.

💳 Cards

Widely accepted Credit cards are widely accepted within Belgium (at hotels, shops, and restaurants, travel agencies, car-rental agencies etc.). Visa, MasterCard and Maestro are the most widely accepted. American Express is less common. Diners Club is pretty rare. Discover, JCB, UnionPay and RuPay are unknown.

🏧 ATMs

Automatic teller machines are very common in Belgium. You can find them in both large & small cities, tourist areas etc.You do not need a chip & PIN card to use an ATM — your standard magnetic card will work fine.

💁‍♂️ Tipping

Not expected, but can leave extra tip Tipping is usually not expected in Belgium. However, if you are satisfied with the service provided you can show your appreciation by leaving a small ‘extra’ tip. Receipts usually include a service charge. If there is a service charge there is no need to tip.

Calling

📡 Internet

Internet speed in Belgium is on average 14.2 Mbps. WiFi coverage in Belgium is very high. Most hotels, hostels, cafes, restaurants and bars have it.

📱 Phones

You can buy a SIM card for about €22.56, which includes 2 GB of data plan. You can choose from 3 telecoms: BASE, Mobistar or Proximus. Belgium uses GSM mobile networks GSM 900 and GSM 1800. If you don't want to buy SIM card in Belgium upon arrival, make sure to check the roaming charges with your telecom provider before your departure so there are no surprises when you return home.

📞 Calling

To call Belgium, dial +, then 32 (the country code for Belgium), then the area code (without the initial 0) and the local number. For local calls within Belgium, start with the area code (with the initial 0). In the case above area code is 12 .

Driving

🛣️ Road rules

In Belgium you drive on the right side. Most cars have manual transmission (stick). Unless otherwise posted, the speed limits for cars and motorcycles are as follows: 120 km/h (74 mph) on motorways, 120 km/h (74 mph) on expressways, 30 km/h (18 mph) in residential areas, 50 km/h (31 mph) in all built-up areas and 90 km/h (55 mph) on undivided highways. Right turn on red lights is strictly forbidden unless an additional green semaphore arrow allows it. It is illegal to drive with blood alcohol content higher than 0.05%.

🚦 On the road

Road assistance is available at 070 344 777 (Touring), 078 222 222 (VAB) or 078 481 414 (Charlie24). For general news on Belgium's traffic use Verkeerscentrum, RTBF Traffic info or Belgium Automobile Club. Most popular petrol stations in Belgium are Total Belgium, Shell, Octa+, Lukoil, Q8, Total, Texaco, Esso and Power. Petrol (unleaded) gas options are called Euro 95, Super Euro (95), benzine, essence, Super 98, Super Plus (98) or Ongelood (95/98). Petrol costs about €1.27 per liter.Diesel option is called diesel.