Where to stay in Bruges, en suite, easy trains. Plus getting to Ijmuiden .

We stayed for 5 days in Brugge in the Fall of 2008 at the Royal Stewart B&B it was wonderful. beautiful rooms great breakfast and Maggie was awesome. walked us to several spots with her dogs. truly a gem with a budget process, plus it's about 5 minutes to the main square in brugge

good luck

The train station sits a little bit outside of the old town, but buses run very frequently. I would recommend staying somewhere closer to the city center rather than nearer to the train station.

I'm typing this from the lobby of Hotel Adornes. Very nice hotel with a canal view from our room. 3 old houses make up this hotel. The staff is wonderful, the breakfast is great and they offer free bicycles. You also received a discount card for many of the attractions. There is a little street noise (cobblestone) but I suspect you will get that everywhere. Oh, and the family dog in the courtyard likes to play kickball.

We walked here with our backpack luggage, from the train station, and it took about 20 minutes, but buses are plentiful. Wheeled luggage will be too hard to pull on the cobbled streets.
Hope this helps. Enjoy your trip.

And just so you know, although the ICE connection between Anterwerp and Amsterdam leaves hourly, trains run even more frequently between Brugge and Antwerp. You'll rarely have to wait longer than a half hour.

"I'm typing this from the lobby of Hotel Adornes." Nice little hotel, I second the recommendation, although finding it can be a challenge if you are unfamiliar with Brugge. One of the bus lines has a stop directly across the canal from Adornes, though. Do they still have the complementary bicycles for guests' use?

Here's a quote from the DFDS Seaways site: "In co-operation with a local coach firm, DFDS Seaways provides a connecting coach service between the Felison Terminal in IJmuiden and the Central Railway Station in Amsterdam. On days of departure coaches leave the central station between 15.00 and 16.00."

The simplest way to get from Bruges to Amsterdam Centraal is to take an IC train to Antwerpen Centraal and connect there to an IC train to Amsterdam Centraal. No reservations are possible and your tickets are good on any train.

If you leave Bruges at 07:18, 08:19, 09:19, 10:19, 11:19, etc., you'll arrive in Amsterdam at 11:06, 12:06, 13:06, 14:06, 15:06, etc.

Yes, the Hotel Adornes still offers complimentary bicycles. Your stay also includes free breakfast (nice typical european buffet) and free parking in an underground garage.

I also recommend Hotel Adornes!

Check out the "Brugestheloft" apt on VRBO. We loved it. Very high-end furnishings, etc. and unbeatable location just off the town center. Bruges is small so it doesn't take long to get to the train station by local bus. I'd love to return and stay there again.

"Brugestheloft" apt on VRBO is at http://www.vrbo.com/34803 We stayed here this summer for 3 nights. It was as close to 5* as possible, and a VERY good price. Walking distance to EVERYTHING in Bruges and a short bus ride from/to the train station. Better than any hotel, in my opinion! I second this gem!