amsterdam to brugges
 

How would you get from Amsterdam to brugges?
by train? have to change? where? how long does it take.
thanks

Have you tried the local train websites? www.ns.nl for The Netherlands, and www.nmbs.be for Belgium. Just click on "English" and off you go!

It takes about 3 and a half hours. You would change trains either in Brussels or at Antwerp...it's easy, usually the train is rigt across the track, and the condctor will gladly give you info on where to change trains if you loook pathetic enough.

You'll only have to change once, in Antwerpen-Berchem. Total ride takes 3.5 hours.
Make sure you take a train that leaves 23 mins. past the hour in Amsterdam Centraal. There's another connection at 56 mins. past the hour but you'll have to change in Antwerpen-Berchem AND in Gent.
BTW, the website of the Dutch railways is very clear and if you click on "international" you don't have to go to the Belgian railways website (which is awful!).

We drove it in just a few hours in a rental car. Belgium has one of the worlds nicest motorway systems. The main roads are well marked and it is beautiful rolling scenery.

room for luggage on the trains?

What time would you recommend arriving @ A'dam Central for a 10:23 am train on a weekday? We're New Yorkers, so we're used to chaos, but this is our first visit!

If you have a ticket be on the platform a minute before departure. If you don't have a ticket be there a half hour early.

Buy the Super Dagretour to save some cash. It's valid after 9 am weekdays except July and August.

Ask someone on the platform if you are in the right place just to be sure, and in case the platform was changed. That would have been announced, in Dutch, over the public announcement system.

Brugges is not worth more than a few hours. Stop in Antwerp on your return. See a few museums and have a fine dinner of mussels and Belgian beer. Antwerp has two train stations, Centraal and Berchem, so if you stop over allow yourself time to get from Centraal to Berchem where the international trains make their stops.

Joanel, yes, there is room for luggage but a steamer trunk would be a problem to carry on any train. What do you have?

hopscotch's comments on how much time to spend in Brugge don't warrant comment.

message for kvf: you probably never drove on the French motorways... :-)
Ours are free, but not maintained like in France. Especially the motorway from Ghent to Brugge is very dangerous with lots of accidents every day.