I have plans in a couple weeks to drive from Amsterdam to Bruges, stay 3 nights then return the car back in Amsterdam for a 4 night stay there. I am now wondering how difficult the drive is in reality. We were choosing a car rental so that we could stop along each way as well as take a day trip. Will this be practical, or will it be a nightmare?
Posted by
Citizen of the World
2500 posts
Holland and Belgium are densely populated which is why people take the trains and trams and ride bikes for transportation. Not only are motorways congested, there are few places in the city centers to park a car and paying to park is expensive. Finally, it’s quite possible that it could snow in Belgium and the Netherlands during March which makes driving even more problematic.
There really is no reason to rent a car to see cities such as Leiden, Delft, The Hague, Antwerp, Ghent and Bruges.
The train system is excellent and relatively inexpensive. If you want to actually have a good time on your vacation, I would plan to take the trains to get around.
Posted by
San Diego, California
6116 posts
I completely agree with Kenko. We were in both those cities in spring, 2024, and the trains served us well.
Have a great trip!
Posted by
OP
10 posts
So I assume it is recommended then to take trains and just stop at the places we were planning to stop at on the way with a car (initially thinking Antwerp and Rotterdam)? We were also planning a day trip to Brussels…
Posted by
The Netherlands
1744 posts
It really depends on what you want to see between Amsterdam and Bruges. If it’s indeed Rotterdam and Antwerp, then a car makes zero sense. If you wanted to stop in more remote places like Kinderdijk (windmills) and drive over the bridges and dams of the Delta Works to learn more about our battle against the water, then a car is the way to go. The route via Kinderdijk and the Delta Works is very scenic and you avoid the traffic issues around Antwerp.
Posted by
IJzendijke, The Netherlands
2175 posts
If you are open for suggestions to visit cute places off the beaten path I can help you with this. So are you interested? Otherwise as already noticed just point to point with a car here is.......pointless.