Getting from Amsterdam to Ghent

I really liked Ghent. There's more to see/do in Brugges, but I loved the charm of Ghent.

Thank you!

In crowded summer months, you might prefer a premium train to Brussels, with reserved seats and extra air conditioning. That would probably be for a specific Eurostar train, that you could "miss."

But every trip to Ghent requires a change in Brussels to a local commuter train, which can be a double-decker car with no serious luggage racks. On the plus side, there are about five an hour, and you can take the next one, no reservations possible. Of course, you have to look at the display on the wall to learn what track you have to go to from the train from Amsterdam. Just to make things more confusing, there are also premium trains to Antwerp, but the same local trains go from Antwerp to Ghent just as often.

This discussion is slightly out of date, but it will give you some ideas:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/netherlands/amsterdam-to-brussels-to-brugge-back-to-amsterdam-by-train

Most of these trains will go to the other cities you are interested in. You should learn to use the ticket machines in Ghent, so you don't have to wait in line for a ticket-window.

https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains

Thank you! Would you recommend staying in Antwerp or Brussels, and then day trips to Bruges and Ghent? I am thinking just one train would be best for us. My husband packs his entire closet despite my encouragement to travel light. After 48 years, I let him pack whatever makes him happy.

We did the exact thing you are describing last spring and it was delightful. Ghent was a great place to stay and use as our base. We are 75 and 76 now and found the day trips to be a short train ride away. We stayed at Hotel Carlton which is a short tram ride to town and really close to the train station. I hope you enjoy your time there. We used the train from Amsterdam to Ghent. I don't remember if we had to transfer to a different train in Brussels.

If you don't want to worry about missing trains just book your ticket on the Dutch rail website and use NS IC trains
https://www.ns.nl/en
A ticket on NS trains are good on that route all day.
Avoid the Eurostar option (although they are little faster) as those tickets are a lot more expensive as capacity shrinks and limited to a certain train and time. Meaning that if you miss it you will have to buy another ticket.
I took the same route in May. You will have to change in Antwerp for the train to Ghent.

This is all very useful...I appreciate the train tip. I would prefer Ghent because it is smaller. Thank you!

Ghent is full of University students on bikes. It is easy to get everywhere in Belgium from there.

Perfect! We both worked with UW Madison students for 36 years. And we love biking, looks like a real win for us!

Oh yeah, I work for U of Illinois. It is a great thing to work in higher ed as I get to travel spring, summer and winter breaks.

We recently spent a week plus in Belgium. We stayed 3 nights in Brussels and 6 nights in Bruges. We did a day trip to Ghent. We very much enjoyed Bruges and happen to be there for their “Blood Parade” on ascension day. which was quite a spectacle to watch.

Seniors pay a flat rate for any train in Belgium (except eurostar). It includes a return that same day so it’s a deal. When we are traveling with our luggage we have been booking first class tickets - (except for one route Rotterdam to Brussels) first class allowed us plenty of space for ourselves and our luggage as the first class car is pretty empty. For a short ride we just stayed in the seats that were on the same level you board as there are quite a few double decker coaches. As mentioned you don’t need to worry about missing a train - your ticket is a day point to point ticket so you can take any train you wish. The SCNB app is easy to use for route planning and ticket purchase. I would strongly suggest Eurostar from Amsterdam to Brussels. You can reserve your seat and there is much better storage for luggage. As mentioned above we did part of that route on the regional train and we had to ask folks to move their bags from empty seats in order to be able to sit. My husband put our large bags overhead which was not easy. Luggage storage was basically non existent.

We love Chicago!! Thank you for encouraging young adults to pursue careers that they will enjoy and provide a sense of purpose!

Good information, Kim!

I traveled from Amsterdam to Ghent via second class regional (unreserved) trains changing in Antwerp. I was mid 70s traveling solo and had no difficulties with luggage in October. I did a day trip to Bruges from Ghent and I spent about 6 hours in Antwerp on my return trip to the Netherlands. There are lockers of various sizes to store bags in the Antwerp station. I didn't get to Brussels but it would be an easy day trip from Ghent. I enjoyed staying in Ghent.