We plan to travel to Amsterdam, Bruges and Brussels from London on June 22, 23, ( Fri/Sat.) and would like to spend about 5-6 days. The next stop is going to be flying into Lisbon. I am seeing low cost flights from Amsterdam and Brussels to Lisbon. Itinerary and order of these cities ? We would like to take the Eurostar vs. flights from London. I know there will be direct access on the Eurostar to Amsterdam starting in April from London. I tried to book for these dates today but it wouldn't go through-I think too early--? Also, is it better to visit Amsterdam during the week vs the week-end ( less crowded, more lodging available ). Any thoughts or advise very much appreciated. I am traveling with my adult son who is 29. Thank you very much !
Posted by
Chicago
8161 posts
It makes more sense to me to go to Brussels then Brugges then Amsterdam instead of backtracking .Yes it is definitely more crowded on the weekend in Amsterdam and that would cause a shortage of rooms. I know from experience as I showed up on a Saturday and all the rooms in my price were gone.
Posted by
1229 posts
If the order doesn't matter to you, I always look at what is cheapest. So which flight is cheaper and which train is cheaper and see if that helps tip things...
Posted by
PA
2856 posts
If you want all three cities you will have to add back-tracking. You really can't get to Bruges from London sensibly without taking the Eurostar (or flying) to Brussels and then taking another 90 minutes worth of trains (more if you flew) back to Bruges, and you will then ride these same trains back to Brussels to get to Amsterdam. If you want to wait for the direct Eurostar to Amsterdam to come online you could bypass Brussels, or you could then go back to Brussels to fly to Lisbon, but the more you try to connect these three dots, the more time you will spend in transit rather than enjoying the cities.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
I think they've fixed the glitch, but Eurostar will only run twice per day to Amsterdam, with a schedule aimed at business travelers (8:30 or 17:30). You'd have more departure options to Brussels (or could buy that ticket to cover a connection within 24 hours to "Any Belgian Station").
Both airports are easy to reach by local trains in 15-25 minutes from the city centers, depending on the train station. Were any of the flight schedules preferable to you?
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
If you want to wait for the direct Eurostar to Amsterdam to come online you could bypass Brussels,
The Eurostar trains to Amsterdam go via Brussels. You can get any Eurostar train to Brussels, and another from there to Amsterdam. The distance is the same, the advantage of the two direct trains is you save the time changing trains.
The logical way to minimise backtracking is London - Brussels - Brugge - Amsterdam. Amsterdam (Schiphol) probably gives you more flights to Lisbon than does Brussels.