Last minute trip invite and no time to do much research, would like recommendations of easiest way to take train from airport in Amsterdam to Brugge on Friday. Also, from Brussels on Sunday to Frankfurt. Thanks.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
Trains run frequently in the region and there's no deadline to buy tickets. If you don't get on the fastest train, there are also options with more connections. How to Look Up Train Schedules Online gives you complete train schedules; it also sells tickets that touch Germany, but not your first connections within Netherlands and Belgium.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
Easiest or cheapest? There's a difference. I'll tell you the easiest.
Amsterdam to Brugge: One ticket will cover the entire length of the trip, but you'll ride two vastly different trains. The first leg is on the high-speed premium Thalys service. Your ticket buys you a specific seat on a specific train for a specific time. Like an airline. You transfer at Antwerp to Brugge. Here, you ride regular domestic Belgian rail. No seat reservations and you can take any train all day long. There's probably more than one per hour.
Brussels to Frankfurt: Deutsche Bahn runs a direct intercity express (ICE) between these two cities, but it only operates a few times a day. The portion between Köln and Frankfurt is the fastest section of the entire German rail network.