Delft-Bruges-Leiden: car or train?

My husband and I go to Europe multiple times each year. We have tossed around the idea of renting a car, but we always choose the train option. We each carry a backpack and a carry-on size suitcase. We've never had problems managing our stuff on the trains.

Thanks for your reply, LaurieC. Glad to know that wrangling our stuff on and off of trains will probably not be an issue for us, but wondering if you have you ever felt like you were missing out on curious or memorable stops travelling that way?

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/belgium/villages-close-to-brussels-and-antwerp

Please read all of my replies in the linked thread.

You also need to consider the hazard of a car that has visible luggage in it, parked in a public place. Probably with rental-car decals on it. In Europe, parking garages usually display the number of (paid) spaces available. You will find the stalls and ramps much narrower than you are used to at home, especially if you order a car larger than the "average" European car.

I once made a colossal mistake to drop off our luggage in Amsterdam before returning the car within the city limits. (our fourth or fith stay in Amsterdam.) Most of the roads had medieval curves in them, only one travel lane, and frequent illegal double-parking or trade-vans blocking forward progress. It was a nightmare (and I drive in Manhattan once or twice a week.) You are making a decision as if you are on a trip in the US. You are not.

Get the car if you know that you won't be returning to that area. Once I got an initial taste of both countries and liked them I have returned multiple times and have been able to explore all points of interest from my own research by train on day trips. I am still not finished. There are some contributors from the Netherlands in this forum that will chime in

If you are driving from Leiden or Rotterdam (Delft) you will be in heavy Dutch traffic. The speed limit on Dutch motorways is only 100 kph (62mph) during the day (many many speed cameras, they were invented in the Netherlands, no grace speed), in the whole country.

The direct route towards Gent and onwards towards Brugge (Bruges) takes you through and around Antwerpen (Antwerp). If you search back in previous posts you'll see that driving in and near Antwerp is really tough and very slow. Then you have road works on the way to Gent (Ghent) and in Gent. Driving in Gent is difficult with one way roads and parking not easy. In Brugge (Bruges) parking is rare and expensive, you may want to park at the railway station or at 't Zand.

There is a more rural route via Zeeland and island hopping using ferries and bridges but it will take much longer, even accounting for the delays around Rotterdam, Antwerpen and Gent.

For driving from Delft to Bruges you can take the following route: From Rotterdam take A15 west to Europoort and exit to N57 / Brielle / Middelburg. This is the route along the coast with (former) islands, dams, causeways and charming places worth to visit. No worries about ferries, the few in service are only for bikers and foot passengers.

Brielle is nice and worth visiting as well as tiny but very charming Goedereede. Further south you will drive over the impressive Eastern Scheldt Storm Surge Barrier. Certainly not to miss is Veere and actually Middelburg too. From the latter follow N254 south-east to the Westerschelde tunnel / Terneuzen, but keep following the freeway till the exit to N61 / Oostburg / Noordzeekust at the southside of the tunnel. Keep driving west to Oostburg and Sluis till you see Brugge (Bruges) is signposted.

Sluis is lovely and nearby Sint-Anna-ter-Muiden too. Later you can follow the freeway to Bruges or drive through the much more scenic countryside to Oostkerke and Damme, with the final leg to Bruges along the old canal.

With six hours and picking up the rental car and possible traffic jams around Rotterdam there will be not much time left to visit one of the mentioned places. So if possible add several hours for the drive. Neverhteless you need to make a selection. My pick would be Goedereede, Veere, Middelburg, Sint-Anna-ter-Muiden and the final leg through the countryside to Bruges.

In Bruges I often park my car next to the railway station, prices are reasonable and safe during the day, however not sure during the night. You can streetpark outside the historical centre, nevertheless best is asking your hotel or B&B for the best and safest options.

On the way back you can go through the tunnel again and visit very charming Zierikzee. There are free parkings, one south of the historic centre at an easy walking distance from the Zuidhavenpoort. You can combine Zierikzee with Middelburg for instance if there is not enough time during the other drive. If of interest you can include the Flood Disaster Museum in nearby Ouwerkerk and / or closer to Rotterdam Willemstad. Maybe a good place for dinner?

If hydraulic engineering is of interest, this area is world famous for it’s Delta Works with the before mentioned storm surge barrier and the Maeslant Barrier west of Rotterdam as highlights. The latter has a small but informative visitor centre offering guided tours, from which a few in English. There will be no time for it, but I think worth mentioning.

So there is a lot to see and do. Anyway to my opinion it’s worth driving in this case. Some car rental agencies are open 24/7 and give more room dropping the car later then during the usual office hours. Later in the evening the traffic jams arround Rotterdam and the freeway to Leiden are for the most part gone. For the frist day you can consider taking the train from Delft to Rotterdam (needs a ½ hour) for picking up for instance the rental car to avoid the traffic jams there as much as possible. For this journey you don’t need much luggage, see if you can store some of it somewhere and pick it up later. Gives more flexibility if travelling with the train is needed. Many railway stations have lockers, even for the bigger suitcases.

I think time is your biggest enemy. You really are only allowing one day for Bruges, you could easily fill two or three days there, so time spent moseying along is really taking away from there, and much the same with Leiden on the back end. On a longer trip, I would say go for it, just not sure with limited time.

Look into some of the advice given, if you can arrive at an efficient list of stops that fit your timeframe, then great; if the plan is just to drive, and maybe see something, skip it and take the train.

As for driving advice, definitely go around Antwerp, not only due to traffic, but a good section of the city requires a green pass, or Low Emission Zone permit, to enter. Also helps to have cell coverage for maps and other real time info.

I have rented cars a couple times in Belgium, great for getting to more remote towns, breweries, and sights, but we also had a pretty good plan of what we needed to see, and allowed ample time.

Thank you very much indeed for your replies too, Tim, Jazz+Travels, Nigel, Wil, and Paul. I feel very fortunate to have received all your insights: you've provided the kind of specific, up-to-date information that I was having trouble finding elsewhere, and you've helped me feel confident about firming up our transportation plans. (By the way, I apologize for a potentially confusing error I see now in my OP: I should have said in my last para. "as well as (one night) in Delft" rather than "as well as (one night) in Bruges": in fact, we'll have two nights in Bruges after leaving Delft and before heading back up to Leiden.)

So, I now think we'll be best to stick to train travel, since our time is limited and since we don't have our hearts set on seeing particular out-of-the-way stops--though if and when we return, I'd love to follow the route that you've so kindly detailed, Wil.

Thank you again for sharing your knowledge!