Getting from Bruge to Normandy

Getting to Dunkirk by public transportation looks rather time consuming according to Rome2rio. But it's an hour by Flixbus to Lille, where you should be able to pick up a rental car. From there it's less than an hour drive to Dunkirk

These two location do not pair well. It's six hours by car from Brugge to Bayeux. Have you priced the gas and tolls? I would visit Brussels second and train to Paris. Or add Antwerp and train to Paris.

Whatever the nonsense Rome2Rio chooses to spout Dunkirk is not hard to reach.

Train Bruges (Brugge) to Kortrijk, change for train to Lille Europe, 7 minute walk or 1 stop on the metro to Lille Flandres then train to Dunkerque (French spelling)/Dunkirk (English spelling).
These are all regional trains so need no advance booking.

Also you can go from Brugge to De Panne/Adinkerke by train, changing at Lichtervelde then catch the local bus to Dunkerque.

However, renting a car in Lille would be more efficient than going to Dunkerque/ Dunkirk. The drive from Lille to Rouen takes 3 hours, to Bayeux takes closer to 5 hours, and there are a few things that could be worth a few hours en route : Vimy Ridge WWI memorial, Arras with its grand place, Amiens with its cathedral.

Do you think Dunkirk is the closed place to Bruges and so the best place for renting a car? Or is there a car rental offer you can't refuse? Or do have a specific interest in Operation Dynamo there? Anyway as already said Lille is (usually) the best place for renting a car even for visiting Dunkirk and certainly for driving to Normandy.

If this Normandy trip is all about World War II, you might want to explore the idea of taking the Coast Tram from Ostend to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adinkerke . The Wikipedia article says (must check!) that busses run from the Belgian end of the tram to the Dunkirk rail station. There are war sites along the coastal tram, although I haven't seen them.

I was loath to suggest the tram this morning, as I thought it would be viewed by others as too complicated a route.

I used it when I was waiting to join a container ship, she had been diverted at a day's notice from Southampton to Zeebrugge, and I was meant to be transferred straight to her off the Hull ferry booked very last minute.
Then the harbourmaster met me off the ferry, and told me there was a 6 hour delay on passage from Hamburg (which later became 12) so CMA CGM put me up in a day hotel, but I didn't just want to sit there all day. I asked the harbourmaster what there was to do, given that I could be recalled at an hours notice depending on weather and pilotage availability. This was mid December. So Bruges was out of the question as I couldn't get back fast enough if recalled.
So he recommended the tram. It is public transport along the coast, and there are lots of interesting places to visit, along the route or just use it as you would a bus, as point to point transport. It was a great idea.
The tram links stations at Knokke, Zeebrugge, Ostend and Adinkerke/De Panne
https://www.delijn.be/en/content/kusttram/
From Adinkerke you catch DK bus route 20 (1/2 hourly) to the end of the line then C1/C2 on a combined headway of every 5 minutes to Dunkerque/Dunkirk Gare.
(I didn't have time for Dunkirk but saw the buses at Adinkerke and picked up the timetable)-
https://dkbus.transdev-hdf.fr/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/L20-horaire-5V-2022-09-web.pdf
https://dkbus.transdev-hdf.fr/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/C2-horaire-5V-2022-09-web.pdf
All DK buses are free of charge.
https://dkbus.transdev-hdf.fr/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/C1-horaire-annee-5V-2022-09-web-2.pdf
https://dkbus.transdev-hdf.fr/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/C1-horaire-annee-5V-2022-09-web-2.pdf

isn31c, thanks for that superb and unusual report. I took the tram only two stops from Ostend center, to visit the church where painter James Ensor and his family worshipped.

Thank you all for the great info. We now have a lot of options to research. This forum never disappoints