MeghanInNYC

Hi Friends:

Great trip planing info. on these board, as usual. The one bit I'm struggling with is the travel between NYC and the Netherlands (husband has been all over; skipped the Netherlands!) Ideally, I was thinking NYC > Amsterdam, and then some time in Ghent and Bruges. But I can't seem to find any flights from Bruges back to NYC. I'm not married to the order of things (we could do Belgium first, for example), but wondering if anyone has any intel on my the Belgium > NYC flights and why I'm not finding any.

Thank you!

M.

indyhiker

Look at flying out of Brussels. It's a short train ride from either Bruges or Ghent to Brussels. Or fly into Brussels and out of Amsterdam.

Sassafrass

There would not be any from Bruges, only from nearby cities. Have you tried from Brussels to NYC? Zaventem Airport?

MeghanInNYC

Thanks! I was trying to avoid going to Brussels, but maybe that will work out as a final stop.

indyhiker

You need not actually stay in Brussels if it holds no appeal. Just use it as it as an entry/exit point. We took the train from Ghent the same day we departed from Brussels back to the States. Just make sure your flight is late enough to accommodate the train ride from Bruges/Ghent.

nytraveler

Bruges is a very small city and doesn't have an airport. Brussels is only an hour away and the closest place with direct flights to NA. You can leave Bruges in the am and still make a flight out of Brussels unless it is super early.

MeghanInNYC

Thanks!

indyhiker

I'd note that Ghent s a bit closer to Brussels, so you might consider staying there for at least part of your trip. We preferred it to Bruges for what it's worth. Glad we saw both (and wish we'd had time for Antwerp, too), but enjoyed the fact that Ghent was less touristy.

Andrew

I stayed in Bruges and loved it, despite the tourists. I visited Ghent as a day trip and enjoyed it too, though unfortunately I didn't have great weather (May). It rained part of the time in Bruges, too, but I didn't find myself wishing I'd stayed in Ghent instead. I did wind up wishing I'd stayed in Leuven (which I visited as a day trip) instead of Antwerp (which I didn't care for but would have been a good day trip anyway.) For what its worth, both Antwerp and Leuven have quick, direct train service to BRU. Flying into/out of Brussels airport doesn't necessarily mean any need to stay in or even visit the city of Brussels. Belgium isn't a huge country and train service is excellent.

Ghent is only 30 minutes closer by train to Brussels, so I probably wouldn't put that as a huge fact in deciding where to stay. There are regular direct trains from Bruges to Brussels, and it's easy to change in Brussels for the airport train (train stop at BRU is connected by elevator to the main terminal).

MeghanInNYC

Fantastic feedback! Thanks so much. If we sort our travel, I'll post a trip report.

PalenQ

Bruges is also only a few hours from London via Lille and the Chunnel train - if you want to spend a few days in London - you may find flights from there to offer many more possibilties and could be cheaper.

IMDonehere

We just did this last year and did as the others suggested. We also live in NYC and we flew into Brussels, went to Brugge and Gent, plus a number of other places in Belgium before heading to Amsterdam by rail. Brugge is over run by those horrible people called tourists, but is well worth it. Gent is a grittier more interesting version of Brugge.

There is a wonderful place to stay in Gent called Snooz Inn.

http://www.booking.com/searchresults.en-us.html?aid=318615;label=New_English_EN_CAUS_52263 30745-uj50W0dUEWwKN61mujXTWAS46932897505%3Apl%3Ata%3Ap1% 3Ap2%3Aac%3Aap1t1%3Aneg;sid=ca0a07f5c2708352dc1578 1f699b2a39;dcid=1;class_interval=1;csflt={};dest_i d=-1958757;dest_type=city;dtdisc=0;highlighted_hotels =580971;hlrd=1;hyb_red=0;inac=0;interval_of_time=u ndef;nha_red=0;offset=0;redirected_from_city=0;red irected_from_landmark=0;redirected_from_region=0;r eview_score_group=empty;score_min=0;ss_all=0;ssb=e mpty;sshis=0&;or_radius=0

BTW, I was very disappointed with the food in The Netherlands. You can get a good meal in Belgium, but it will cost a bit. Also the chocolates and pastries in Belgium are world class.

Ozarksbill

Well NYC to Amsterdam is a popular air route. I'm thinking why not a round trip. You will surely enjoy Bruges as we did and also Ghent etc. But no time at all spent in the Netherlands? Surely you will want to stop and smell the flowers (especially at Keukenhof Park if its springtime).

IMDonehere

We flew on Delta JFK to Brussels but on the return flew Delta Amsterdam to Newark.

PalenQ

Amsterdam has wonderful food options - just about every ethnic/country restaurant is there - the Leidesplein area overflows with Mexican, Italian, Indones/Chinese (for the famous Rice Table) - you can get any kind of food you like - now if IMD is talking about Dutch food... well FEBO has about the best of that oft maligned cuisine.

IMDonehere

Meghan is from NY, and for better or worse, we look at food differently.

MeghanInNYC

Foodie tips, as well! Fantastic. Thanks very much!

hetismij2

PalenQ is totally obsessed with FEBO. Please ignore that particular eating suggestion.

Why not spend time visiting more of the Netherlands? It is so much more than Amsterdam.

PalenQ

FEBO is a Dutch tradition like it or not - very famous and to go to Amsterdam and not sample some exotic fare from a FEBO slot machine - a nasi goreng or nasi bami - redolent of Dutch Indonesia days - or a hot frites (french fries with a myriad of toppings - may well be your taste treat in the city.

hetismij lives in Holland and is thus embarassed that FEBO has such stature!

hetismij2

Not in the least bit embarrassed about FEBO, but it is an obsession with you Pal. You can get far better dare from most snackbars.