I am traveling with my dad and brother in August to Europe. It is my first time traveling to Europe but I have family in Cambridge who will be doing a lot of the traveling with us. We fly into London the morning of the 8th. We will then have 4 days to go to and from London with family. the 13th we will travel from London or Stansted airport to Amsterdam either plane or train. So that is 1 day of travel, might get some Amsterdam time in the afternoon. We will then have 2 full days in Amsterdam (14th and 15th). I was hoping to travel to Bruge the next day and spend one night and have part of the next day before traveling to Paris. This would be the 16th and 17th in Bruge but not full days. I just want to stop in Bruge before Paris and am okay with not seeing a lot or visiting other parts of Belgium. If we went to Paris from Bruge on the 17th, we would have 4 full days in Paris (18th through the 21st) before flying home on the 22nd. I just want to have a nice night in Bruge before going to Paris but I am unsure if it is doable. I know that a trip to Bruge is doable but not sure if it is given my timing. I wish I could share an image of the calendar that I made so everyone could see the days I am dealing with. A lot of people are saying that a day trip to Bruge is doable and I know that but I want to know if the dates I have picked is good enough or if there is any adjusting I can do to make it work.
1.fly in 2.day in cambridge 3.London 4.London 5.London London 6.fly/train to Amsterdam 7.Amsterdam 8.Amsterdam 9.train to Bruge(1 night)10.Train to France 11.France 12.France 13.France 14.France 15.fly home
Posted by
Chicago
8178 posts
It looks clear. You would take a train from Amsterdam to Bruge.
Stay a night and go to Paris the next day.
Go for it.
And I recommend you fly from London to Amsterdam to save time. It is a short flight probable cheaper than the train
and you have a lot of options to choose from
Posted by
Seattle, WA, US
1005 posts
I'd just do Amsterdam and Paris--but if you are determined to see Bruges, you can do this. Try to get an early start in Amsterdam. You can take part of this trip on the Thalys high-speed rail line, but book you tickets soon to get the best rate. If you're staying in Cambridge, fly out of Stansted to Amsterdam--it's much closer. Don't bother with a train to Amsterdam--it takes too much time on your limited trip.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
If you leave Amsterdam at 8:17, for instance, you can be in Bruges about 11:30 with 1 connection or 11:00 with 2 connections. Same options an hour earlier or later. Looking Up Train Schedules and Routes Online gives you the DB train schedule link and tips for using it.
I also would fly the London-Amsterdam leg on EasyJet. Stansted airport is only a half hour by direct train from Cambridge and the train on the Amsterdam side is under 20 minutes.
Readers, additional answers are running on the Netherlands version of this thread.
Posted by
Ohio
171 posts
In Cambridge be sure to take a punt or canoe on the river along the "Backs" of the colleges. This is Cambrige at its prettiest. Also go inside King's College Chapel.