Amsterdam to Bruges

Train, in both cases.

Super easy trains here, this corner of Europe has top train infrastructure. Take the fast train to Brussels. Then I’d recommend taking a quick walk to Grand Place, pause for a coffee/beer/stroopwaffel. The line to Bruges is well travelled and has trains at least hourly. Same line (though maybe not all trains? My memory is hazy) also serves the airport (Flughaven). Also, super easy. I like your plan too, a night in Bruges is a lovely capper to a trip.

I recently traveled from Delft to Bruges, taking the IC trains. Based on my booking I had connections in Breda, Antwerp, and Ghent, though in reality I did not have to change trains in Ghent. It was kind of a nightmare (at least compared to other train travel in NL which was all super easy). The train from Breda was delayed by an hour & then suuuuuuper packed- think rush hour subway, all aisles full of people standing which is a lot for an hour long ride). My recommendation would be to take the Eurostar to Brussels-Midi & then it's an easy local train ride to Bruges from there. You can store luggage at the station if you want to do a side trip into Brussels Central. Yes, it's more expensive, but you're guaranteed a seat & don't have to change as often (I should probably fess up to overpacking...lugging my giant suitcase around train stations was not my favorite part of vacation, especially given the heat on some of my travel days). Book as far in advance as possible to get the best deal. I'm pretty sure there's a direct IC train from Bruges to the airport, but there might be a change in Brussels depending on timing.

You may wish to look at Google Maps to get an idea of how far it is from Bruges to BRU. Unfortunately Google Maps is not a good way to scope out actual rail trips, only maybe their structure. Enter some trail trips here: https://www.belgiantrain.be/en# For the first trip, I'd start at https://www.nsinternational.com/en?

There are a modest number of direct trains from Bruges to BRU airport, because of demand. But that's not the only rail way to get there. It is too far and slow for a (high-priced) car transfer, in this congested part of Belgium. There are about FIVE trains an HOUR between Bruges and Brussels downtown, no reservations possible. And there are frequent trains from the three downtown Brussels stations to BRU. Auto airport transfers from Brussels or Antwerp tend to be very expensive because of the volume of business and political travelers.

From Amsterdam to Bruges, train. And I would suggest the route with one change in Brussels rather than the route with two changes in Antwerp and Ghent. Keep it simple.

We are thinking the same thing. Take the tour bus to Bruges and bring our luggage. We would learn a little about Bruges before our stay
What did you decide?

We’re going to take the trains. Now it’s just a matter of transports to and from the stations. Thanks everyone for all your help.

Since you did not care to post your hotel names, you may wish to type them into Google Maps and see how far they might be from the stations. I've often taken a tram, with luggage to the Amsterdam train station. I normally have some kind of transit pass in Amsterdam. There is a bus stop, and a ticket vending machine at the Bruges train station. But I have also walked the half-mile (?? can be computed on Google Maps) to the old part of Bruges, past modern retail strips. Your hotel might not be in the historic city, anyway.

It is important not to overlook how much the unreserved local trains in Belgium are part of everyday life. This also means that they can be crowded, especially at rush hours and school hours. They tend to have "commuter" bag racks over the seats, which are too small for airline roll-aboards. AFAIK, there is NO Eurostar type train that goes all the way to Bruges. You are going to be on at least one local train. But all this counts as a plus towards getting to BRU for your 3-hour advance check-in, even though you need a second train from downtown Brussels to BRU itself.

I am not urging you to make extra stops or spend another day in Belgium, but I don't want you to be too startled when your train makes a regular stop in a place "you have heard-of", like Gent or Antwerp. Like Bruges, "historic" Gent is not right at the train station.