My wife & I plan to visit Bruges from Amsterdam sometime in September next year. I understand that we can take the train from Amsterdam. My questions are as follows:
1. How long does it take to get to Bruges from Amsterdam by train?
2. How much is a round trip ticket per person?
3. Where or how can we purchase our train tickets?
4. We don't intend to stay overnight in Bruges, so is one whole day enough to visit Bruges, like we leave Amsterdam early morning and come back late afternoon on the same day?
5. Or as an alternative, is there a daytime bus tour from Amsterdam to Bruges and back? And how much per person?
Posted by
Paris
6887 posts
Belgian railways (b-europe website) sell the tickets. It takes about 3.15 hours one way by the most convenient route (one connection at Brussels-Midi), so it is not a short day trip; I would not attempt it! Best to spend the night. Otherwise there are plenty of great places to visit as a day trip in the Netherlands, such as Haarlem or Utrecht.
Posted by
CA
2073 posts
Take a look at Rome2rio app. There are several trains. Dig deep down in the app to find the actual company for the train line and buy from them and not through Rome2rio. Also check out the website man in seat 61 for all you need to know about trains, tickets, rules, and schedules.
Posted by
Washington DC
27092 posts
It's about 150 miles from Amsterdam to Bruges. ViaMichelin estimates the driving time at a minimum of 2hr. 54 min. each way. That's for a private car (not a bus that takes time to load and unload), and it doesn't include stopping, traffic tie-ups, navigational errors, looking for parking, etc.
The fastest train options eliminate traffic risk but take almost as long: 2 hr. 44 min. each way. They start with the Thalys to Antwerp, then a switch to an InterCity train to Ghent and then another InterCity train to Bruges. The roundtrip Thalys ticket that gets you as far as Antwerp appears to cost 58 euros per person; it's changeable for a fee.
The Belgian train ticket between Antwerp and Bruges seems to cost about 30 euros round-trip, per person at full fare, but you might be able to save money with a discounted ticket. I've never purchased a Belgian rail ticket.
I have no idea whether there are bus tours from Amsterdam to Bruges, but it's obvious you'd spend many, many hours sitting on the bus and not so many hours in Bruges. I'd recommend a day-trip to one of the many picturesque Dutch cities instead: Den Haag, Utrecht, Gouda, Leiden. Any of those would be less than 50 minutes away by train.
Posted by
SE Pennsylvania
2373 posts
If you join the throngs of day-trippers in Bruges mid-day, you may wonder why you bothered.
Popular tiny places, like Bruges, and Hallstatt, Austria, really require an overnight to appreciate.
Posted by
Brooklyn, NY
3831 posts
We did one day in Bruges with a private guide from Amsterdam. Wish we had taken the train and stayed a night or better yet, 2 nights. It’s a long trip for a few hours and Bruges deserves more.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7284 posts
I like basing in a city and taking daytrips. But this is too far without an overnight. Bruges is in another country (possible future Covid transit issues unknown) and not on a direct rail line. Put this off until you visit Belgium. BTW, Flanders has many daytrips available, an hour or less by train.
How about taking three nights to sleep in Antwerp and visit Bruges one day from there?