Amsterdam to Bruges by train

Steve writes: "Missing one of them will really set you back. But the cost difference might be significant. Check the schedules for your particular time and dates to see what is best for you. " Wrong yet again. On domestic Belgian rail, you can ride any train between the destinations printed on your ticket, and as noted previously, for the major rail corridors in Belgium, you rarely have to wait longer than 30 minutes to catch the next train.

A) Not sure what source you're using, but having ridden between the line between Antwerp and Oostende (which also services Brugge and Ghent) many times, I have never needed to change at Ghent. This is only necessary on a few mid-day trains or if there is track work on the line, and is shown clearly on the NMBS website.

B) Therefore, there is no difference in the number of train switches, no matter if you take the ICE or Thalys, or change in Brussels versus Antwerp. The price between any two points on NMBS is always the same, no matter which train you take, ICE or IR.

C) As stated, NMBS trains run so frequently through these corridors within Belgium that missing a connection rarely involves a wait of longer than 30 minutes, and usually far less.

You'll see this on the SNCB website, but if you take the (slower, cheaper) non-Thalys train it's quicker if you change at Antwerp and get a direct train from there to Gent bypassing Brussels, and then get the train from Gent to Bruges.

Steve writes:

Take the direct (high speed Thalys or slower regular) train to Brussels, then the regional train to Bruge. See SNCB for schedules.

The most direct route is via Antwerp not Brussels. At Antwerp there are direct trains to Bruges. For the IC trains no advance reservations are necessary. Simply purchase your tickets at Amsterdam Centraal on the day of your journey, fare is 45 Euros.

That doesn't make sense, because with Thalys, you can get off at Antwerp, and take the quicker direct train to Brugge (which from experience, I can tell you, is faster than Brussels to Brugge), rather than going all the way back to Brussels.

A difference of 20 mins is hardly significant. We made that run last Fall via Antwerp. We actually planned an hour between changes on the advice of the ticket/train conductor. The Antwerp train station is worth a picture or two and there is ice cream and chocolate on the left side of the square that the train station faces. Remember, Steve just posts what he can find on the internet. We were actually there.

Wrong again, both routes involve the same number of changes (very rare that you would need to change trains at Ghent), and on those busy lines, you never have to wait longer than 30 minutes to catch a train moving in your direction of travel.

When is Steve going to learn to read other postings before making comments ...

.....like one "experienced traveler" who waited an hour on the platform......

We didn't wait on hour on the platform. The station is absolutely beautiful and, as I posted, worth a couple of pictures. The square that the station faces is pretty and the ice cream and choc was great. We originally had ten minutes between trains and it was the train conductors who encouraged us to get off and look around. A recommendation we appreciated. I am just relating our experience from actually being there rather than having to rely on a virtual experience.