sueks

We would like to take a day trip by train from Brugge Belgium to Rotterdam and or Delft, returning to Brugges that night. I assume we'd have to go thru Brussels and change trains. Would like to find out how long this journey would take? Also, besides the Windmill Park in Rotterdam, what should we plan to see? I understand both of these cities have lots of neat things. Is this too much for one day trip? Are the sights to see near the train station? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

gb

I'm not sure about the train.You might check and see if a bus trip to Antwerp, then, Rotterdam is easier. It seems this trip would be much easier by rented car, if possible. Probably take you about 1 1/2 hours by car. If the Windmill Park is the same one we saw, it was outside the city limits of Rotterdam, and did not seemed to be easily accessible by train.

ira

Hi,

Brugge to Rotterdam is 3-4 hr with changes in Antwerp and Utrecht.

See http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de

jenviolin

sue, this may be too much for one day if you don't have a car. However, it's not 3-4 hours, and you certainly don't want to change trains in Utrecht, which is NE of Rotterdam. Check www.ns.nl (Dutch railways) and click on English and International to get schedules. You can do Brugge - Rotterdam in just over 2 1/2 hours. Delft is only 12 min. from Rotterdam by train.
But the 'Windmill Park'...do you mean Kinderdijk? That's not in Rotterdam and it will take you an additional 1 hr 27 min to get there from the Rotterdam Zuidplein train station (you can take a fast metro there from the Rotterdam Central train station, where you'd arrive from Brugge via Antwerpen Berchem and/or Gent).
Here's the Kinderdijk website:
www.kinderdijk.nl
There is a lot to do in Rotterdam - lots of museums (Boymans-van Beuningen, Kunsthal, Netherlands Architecture Museum, shipping museum, harbor tour, shopping, nightlife, architecture; but it's not 'charming'; whereas there is not as much to DO in Delft but it's captivating (and safer, and impossible to get lost, and easy walking around town to your hotel, restaurants, lively outdoor cafes, historic places, etc. from the train station).
My suggestion to you is that you do the trip, but spend the night in Delft so that you can do Rotterdam one day, see Delft in the evening, spend the night, and head for Kinderdijk the next day, then back to Brugge. Post a reply if you want any more info from me.

jenviolin

Forgot to add that it's bus #154 from the Rotterdam Zuidplein train station and not a train, and that the most delightful way to see Kinderdijk itself is by bike!

GeoffHamer

There are also boat trips from Rotterdam to Kinderdijk - see www.rebus-info.nl.

Absurd

www.bahn.de is usually correct, but certainly not in this case. I just mailed them.

Delft is nice, but Rotterdam is one of the ugliest cities in Europe. The city center is all built in East Block style of the 1950s.

ira

Hi jenviolin,

I tried looking up this route on www.ns.nl. They don't recognize Bruges/Brugge. How did you get the schedule?

GeoffHamer

It seems that the Brussels-Amsterdam intercity trains are currently being diverted via Utrecht, presumably because of engineering work along the direct route through Rotterdam. This is why the Deutsche Bahn web site gives long journeys. If you try to get connections for September, you'll get journeys from Brugge to Rotterdam taking two and a half hours. Try the journey on www.bahn.de, putting in the actual date of your trip. Delft is only a few minutes beyond Rotterdam and the attractive part of the town is only a short walk from the station.

jenviolin

Ira, you have to click on 'International'(top right of the page) to get cities that are not in the Netherlands.
Still don't see why people are advising using the German rail website when neither the point of departure nor the destination are in Germany!

elberko

I've found the German rail site to be the easiest and most complete. It even had listing for trains between Lille and Brugge that the French site WASN'T giving me last year.

A great resource.

Absurd

Geoffrey Hamer is correct: "Attention, possible delay: engineering works between Dordrecht and Rotterdam Centraal." on www.ns.nl

sueks

Thanks for all of the replys. I need to re-think this Rotterdam day trip. It's not sounding like a place to go afterall. Maybe we should go just to kinderdijk. I'm going to check out that web site. We won't be in Brugge until Dec. Do you suppose there will be a direct route by train by that time? Really want to do a day trip but to where? Any suggestions? We've already been to Brussels, Antwerp, and Gent. Thanks again for the info.

jenviolin

The engineering work on the bridge is taking place now, from August 16 - 24, with more work scheduled for Aug. 30 & 31. December should be completely back to normal. Still, December may not be the most comfortable time to see Kinderdijk (unless, of course, there is skating, and then it would be perfect!).

ira

Hi jenviolin,

The German rail site is, as elberko said, very user-friendly, accurate and complete.

It doesn't give fare information outside Germany, though.