jhaskell

I will be in Bruges in mid-April and have to make an 11am connection at Brussels Airport for my return flight back to the States. I know I would have time to take the train and then get a taxi from Brussels Terminal to the airport...but with my time confines I find that stressful. Please advise if anyone knows of shuttle or shared taxi transportation.
Jhaskell

yeadonite

any updates?

stfc

A train leaves Bruges at 0731, change Brussels Nord, arrive airport 0856. Early or later as you require in 30 minute chunks. No need for taxi from Brussels to airport.

http://www.b-rail.be/main/index.html

Heaven only knows what a taxi would cost.

Taaner

The train is a very good option. It takes 1 hour by Intercity from Bruges to Brussels and only 15 minutes from one of the three main stations in Brussels (South - Central - North, all trains stops at all three) to the Airport. The train stops just under the terminal, just have to take the elevator.

Since it is a flight to the USA you should be at the airport at least 2 hours before take-off. So indeed the train of 7:30 is the best option. A ticket in second class will cost around 13 euro, in first class around 25 euro. Seats are not numbered, you sit where you want.
Actually this train can be crowdy during working days. First class will be better.

Taxi will cost around 170 euro. Because it will be rush hour, and you have to take the Brussels ringway, leave hour in Bruges has to be around the same (in week-ends you can leave half an hour later).

Maybe an airport shuttle service will be cheaper than taxi, I guess around 125 euro.

Maybe your hotel can help you.
http://www.pandhotel.com/airporte.htm

TimS

I'm with the others. Take the train. No traffic jams to worry about. With connection time in Brussels, the whole trip will take from 1hr25min to 1hr34min. There are 2-3 trains/hour. Leave Bruges whenever you wish, so long as you get to the airport a MINIMUM of two hours ahead of your scheduled departure time.

germanblonde

The op is more than a year and a half old.

yeadonite

But I still needed the help!

germanblonde

sorry, yeadonite. I have only been on the train from Brugges to Brussels (Midi) once it was packed, you could barely stand I doubt there would have been place for a suitcase, also the train was about 25 minutes late. Not sure if it was just a busy day, or the norm. I'd ask fodorites what to do, if your flight times are different than the ops. You definitely, don't want to be on a crowded train like the one I was on. Also, which day of the week you travel will make a difference too. I know someone suggested first class for the train ride, this may solve your problem on a crowded train.

yeadonite

Germanblonde because it seemed to complicated while traveling with a 82 year old I have decided to go to Frnakfurt instead!

Taaner

I'm sorry about that. Do you mean visiting Frankfurt instead of Bruges? Or flying on Frankfurt to visit Bruges?

For future use of this information: trains in Belgium are actually well organised. Maybe it is better in Germany or Switserland, but for sure better than in UK.
Trains to and from Brussels are crowded on workdays during rush hours (between 7am and 8am going to Brussels, between 4pm and 6pm leaving Brussels). Tuesday and Thursday are worst. First class is less crowdy.
Trains can be late but mostly not more than 5 minutes.

Brussels is connected by high-speed trains to London (Eurostar), Paris and Amsterdam (Thalys), Koln (Thalys/ICE).
Brussels South (Bruxelles midi / Brussel Zuid) is the international trainstation. From there to Bruges it is one hour by InterCity train. Some Thalys from Paris also ride to Bruges so you don't have to switch train.

If you travel by plane to Bruges you can also consider the airport of Lille (France).
Brussels South Airport (= Charleroi) operates different low-budget carriers.

yeadonite

Taaner - Since my Dad FamousUncleArt is almost 83 I try to plan things as easy as posssible. I booked a uniworld Christmas Market Cruise. We couldnt figure out where to fly into. I didnt want to fly overnight and than drag him on 2 trains. Since we dont know how many trips we can do in the future we are flying business class and the cheapest we could get was flying into Frankfurt.