traveler2005

We will have several days in Amsterdam this summer before a Rhine cruise.

We had thought we might take the train to Brussels as a day trip on one of the days. This morning, a friend told us that we shouldn't miss Bruges. I wonder if it would be feasible to rent a car in Amsterdam (perhaps at the airport) and then drive to Bruges and then on to Brussels and back to Amsterdam. I checked the driving time on google maps and it looks like about 7 hours round-trip.

If we left at 8 AM.
3 hour drive to Bruges = 11 AM
3 hours wandering Bruges -- leave 2 PM
1 1/2 hour drive to Brussels -arrive 3:30
2 hours wandering Brussels - leave 5:30 PM
2 1/2 hours back to Amsterdam - arrive 8:00 PM


Of course, we'd also have to allow time to rent the car (maybe at the airport?) and then return it and go back to our hotel. We are staying at the Nadia which is within walking distance of the central train station. It is apparently very close to the Anne Frank House.

It is probably a crazy idea, but thought I'd ask.

I guess as a side question, if you could only go to Brussels or Bruges, which would you pick?

hetismij2

You are not accounting for traffic in your timings and traffic is a pain at almost any time of day in Belgium, especially around Antwerp, but that time for leaving Brussels will be solid traffic.
Parking is another problem.
Take the train to Antwerp, change there and go to Brugge, or take a night out of Amsterdam and stay overnight there to see it when it isnt quite so heaving in tourists.
I hope you have your Anne Frank tickets booked already if you are planning to visit.

StCirq

I think it's a terrible plan. In addition to the traffic and parking issues hetismij mentions above (which aren't to be sniffed at - they'll add hours and euros to your proposal), renting a car in Europe for a single day typically costs about the same as renting one for 3 days.

Take the train.

I would choose Brussels over Bruges any day, though I'm sure many people would disagree.

joannyc

I would pick Bruges over Brussels any day! Especially when limited to a day trip. Bruges oozes with charm, Brussels not so much.

hetismij2

I prefer Brussels, but I know most would choose Brugge. It will be busy, very busy, hence my suggestion to stay a night if you can so you can see it after the tours have gone home.
You could however see if there are any day tours from Amsterdam there and go that route instead. Viator certainly do one and no doubt others do to. You could even Flixbus it and save a packet.

Another good reason not to go there by car is if the weather is half decent the roads to the coast will be solid too.

Tulips

Bad idea to do this by car. You hit rush hour traffic leaving Amsterdam, then again leaving Brussels.
Leaving Amsterdam at 8 am you'd be lucky to do that drive in 4 hours.
Leaving central Brussels at 5.30 pm it could take you 1,5 hours just to get to Antwerp.

Take the train to visit Brugge for a day if you want. Or Antwerp if the aim is to visit Belgium; it's much closer, and you can have a full day there.

traveler2005

I'm glad I asked so I that I spent less than 24 hours pondering this idea! Thanks for everyone's suggestions.
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And, yes, we have our Anne Frank tickets. I got up at 5 AM two months out to order them. I thought I was all set, but it wasn't as easy as it should have been.

When I got to the page where you pay, my card didn't work. I tried it with and without spaces. I tried my husband's card. I called the credit card company in case there was a problem with a foreign transaction, but that wasn't it. Customer service said that I didn't have to notify them and also that they weren't showing anything not going through on their end.

I emailed the AFH - just in case someone might be reading messages - both in English and in Dutch.

I called a friend who is going with us and I tried her credit card. Then she tried her credit card on her computer. Still no dice.

She suggested I google the error message and I saw that someone had had trouble using Firefox and that AFH had suggested using Internet Explorer. Someone else on that thread said they'd used Chrome with no problems.

I tried Internet Explorer. Didn't work. I tried Chrome. Bingo. Who knew.
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After I think some more about cities, I may ask again about train info. I read some threads about it last night and some of the information confused me. I think we can take a high speed train (Tralys or Eurostar) and get from Amsterdam to Brussels in a little under 2 hours. Some of the threads mentioned something else - it had three initials and one was I. I am guessing it might be the slower train, but I am not sure.

High-speed doesn't seem an option for Bruges and that trip looks like 3 3/4 or 4 hours. A long time.

We are flying into Amsterdam and already have our room there. I don't want to schlep luggage to another town for one night.

PalenQ

Most casual American tourists would love Bruges much better even though it is rather Disneyesque in summer but is so exceptional - Europe of your dreams that you won't see much of inn Brussels which if you had some days can be a very fascinating city but its joys are wide-spread or special interests like food or chocolate. Took over 1,000 American bikers thru Bruges and most really loved it - some went back after the tour! Europeans and veteran travelers often sneer at Bruges but to me the vast majority would love it more than Brussels.

Consider taking train - you car trip is straight thru - more pleasant by train - no time picking up, returning cars, nor parking hassles. for lots on info on trans check www.seat61.com; BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.cm. Buy tickets in advance for discounts (see www.seat61.com for lots on doing that yourselves online.

Cowboy1968

What's the purpose of that day trip?
Do you want to see a historic small town?
Or do you want to visit any destination in Belgium?

If you don't want to spend many hours on the train, you could go to Delft and The Hague.
Very easy from Amsterdam by rail.
If you want to combine very cute and very different, try Delft and Rotterdam.

lavandula

I would visit somewhere close by in the Netherlands as per Cowboy's post or at most Antwerp. I am a Brussels fan and also think Bruges is worthy but you need a day at least for each of them, not parts of a long travelling day. You won't see much and will walk away either frustrated or thinking that Brussels in particular has not much to offer, neither of which should be the case.

Lavandula

traveler2005

A group of eight of our friends from college (we are now in our 60s) are going on a river cruise that departs from Amsterdam. One of our friends and her now-deceased husband lived in Brussels for several years. In fact, their son who was born a day apart from our daughter was born there. I thought it would be neat to see it for that reason. However, that friend doesn't want to go - she would rather go when she can spend more time there.

Two of our other friends, however, had a foreign exchange student from Belgium who now lives in Ghent. They would like to see her, so we thought we could meet her in Brussels. I talked to them earlier this week about setting up transportation and we discussed that we wouldn't have to meet in Brussels - we could pick another town since the first friend didn't want to go anyway.

Yesterday morning I contacted a friend who travels a lot and asked his opinion about going to Brussels and Delft. He said, "Delft absolutely, and is a fairly quick trip from Amsterdam. I love Brussels and you must try cherry beer (Kriek lambic). But best of all is Bruges,". Hence the quandary.

lavandula

All these places are worthwhile! But you must consider that you will come back to this region and can see the ones you have missed out on, otherwise you will feel short-changed when making your decision. But to expand on why your friend recommended all three - Delft is small but atmospheric, close to Amsterdam and can be combined with another city readily (Den Haag or Rotterdam). I think some of the scenes for The Girl with a Pearl Earring were shot there. You can also visit De Porcelyne Fles to see genuine Delft pottery being made and hand-painted. Bruges is a very-well preserved medieval city - similar to Ghent but enslaved to the tourist industry. It is beautiful and the small picturesque buildings never seem to end, and is best seen after the numerous day-trippers have left. Brussels is much bigger, a world city, but with an old town at its core. It is diverse and its charms are more spread out than either a Delft or a Bruges, but not really comparable with either. There is a magnificent square, the Grand' Place, which is medieval and 17th century buildings. Nearby is the world's oldest shopping arcade, the Galeries St.-Hubert, and some really good museums (Musical Instruments Museum, Comic Strip Museum, Magritte Museum). There are markets depending on the day you will be there (antiques in the Sablon, the Wednesday evening market at Place du Chatelain, the Sunday morning market at Gare du Midi). Brussels is all about enjoying food and drink, so visit a restaurant or an estaminet, have a long lunch and yes, order a Kriek.

Lavandula

menachem

I won't disagree. Always sad at Brussels' bad press. Who wants to go to Bruges when you can follow the Charlotte Brontė trail in Brussels
Seriously though, people miss out on a lot when they never visit this most southerly of Dutch cities.*

traveler2005

So many places and so much to see whatever we pick.

I appreciate the thought that we can come back.

I also really appreciate the well thought-out responses and the descriptions of both cities. Reading your heartfelt feelings about both cities is helpful.

I tried again this morning to figure out a way to see a bit of both in one day, but it might not be possible (or least it might not be a good idea). Plan A was to start in Bruges - but with the longer train ride, it would be noon by the time we got there and it was hard to fathom seeing Bruges and still having time to travel to Brussels and see it. On the other hand, when I tried to make a circle route starting in Brussels, I found that the last train from Bruges to Brussels was something like 4 PM. I am going to see if it would be feasible to go to Brussels on the high speed, then to Bruges, then back to Brussels where we could get a high-speed back to Amsterdam. That's my travel planning task for this rainy Sunday.


When I checked prices for the high speed this morning, I discovered that the prices had gone up significantly since earlier this week. I had read that they go up as you approach the date. I wonder if anyone knows how this works. Does it depend on how close to full the train is or is it a price that goes up depending on how far off the trip is. (Edited to add - after looking at prices again this afternoon, I think the difference might have been that I was looking at Eurostar recently and Thalys this morning)

PalenQ

You need not take the high-speed Thalys trains where prices can boomerang up and down butusuallu up as train approaches. Just take regular IC trains that have no sweat reservations and a fairly flat fare ticketing though minor discounts could be gotten locals say. www.seat61.com for expert tips on booking.

Christina

I think everything about the idea is terrible. Renting a car to drive to places with convenient rail connections is the first terrible idea. The second is the idea of visiting both Bruges and Brussels in part of one day.

lavandula

Take the train, definitely. When you get to Bruges you will have to park your car outside of the town and take a bus in. The roads to that part of the world are not really picturesque and you gain little by taking the car. Trains are reliable, frequent, comfortable and fast.
https://www.visitbruges.be/parking-3

You might shave off a little time by going from Antwerp to Bruges directly via Ghent and bypassing Brussels, but most trains are headed for Brussels. But even if you plan it as you have, you won't see any of Brussels. That's OK, there will always be another time. However, it's not the best use of your time.

I am surprised that the last train from Bruges is at 4:00 (16:00). If you search using https://www.belgiantrain.be/en (the official website) there are plenty of trains leaving after 4pm; of course I don't know what day of the week you picked. I just arbitrarily picked a Wednesday and found lots of trains in the evening.

Lavandula

PalenQ

Belgian trains goes everywhere twice an hour usually early am to late in night.

traveler2005

Christina - I have lots of terrible ideas, but occasionally something works out. This time, my best idea was to check fodors to get feedback.

joannyc