We'll be taking the train from Brugge to Amsterdam late August. I know I can go to ns.nl to look for tickets and schedule and from Brugge I need to go to Antwerp to take the train. My questions are:

1. How long is the train travel between Brugge to Antwerp?

2. Do I need to book my tickets to Amsterdam now to get the cheapest fare or will the fare be the same if I just buy the tickets on the day of travel?

3. On the ns.nl website there's two Antwerpen station - Berchem and Centraal. Which one should I pick for going to Amsterdam Centraal?

Thanks, c.

Bruges to Antwerp One and one half hours.

Bruges to Amsterdam three hours forty minutes.

train stops at both Antwerp stations

fare Bruges-Zandvoort 65.86 euros.
Zandvoort is 1/2 hour beyond Amsterdam

we are going from Zandvoort to Bruges and change trains at Antwerp Central

http://plannerint.b-rail.be/bin/query.exe/en?

another link is http://plannerint.b-rail.be/bin/query.exe/en?

No reason to buy these tickets before arrival - no significant online discount i believe and reservations are not possible i think Bruges-Antwerp and optional Antwerp-Amsterdam - most people seem not to reserve IME on these trains. Avoid the Thalys trains Antwerp-Amsterdam that can cost much more and require advance reservations - instead hop the hourly IC trains that are currently only marginally slower.

Thank you both for your quick responses. The information you both provided is very helpful.

thanks for the thanks and i'd suggest Antwerp is well worth a few hour look on your way to Amsterdam - throw you bags in the Centraal Station lockers and stroll around the delightful town center of this historic port town. And the main train station is one of the grandest in Europe - an Art Nouveau treasure - worth getting off the train to marvel at IMO. With trains hourly, easy to break you journey in Amsterdam and you should be able to do this on a Bruges-Amsterdam ticket without formality but ask about this when buying the ducats in Bruges.

Thanks for the tip PalenQ. I have seen photos of the Antwerp Station and it looks gorgeous! My husband loves trains, particularly steam trains, and rail stations. So this will be something he will surely appreciate!

When we were there last month, much of the Antwerp station was behind scaffolding undergoing renovation. Still, a stopover in Antwerp is well worthwhile. The Grote Markt is about a 2km walk from the station. You can take a taxi from the line outside.

chcl - if your husband loves trains then while in Amsterdam make a day trip to Utrecht and visit the railway museum. Lots of other things to see in Utrecht too.

Basingstoke, thanks for the heads up. It'll be disappointing if the outside is all in scaffolding. How's the inside of the station? I've only seen the outside of the Antwerp station but never how the inside looks.

Hetismij, thanks for the rail museum tip. How far of the train ride is Utrecht? We were already thinking of doing this steam train ride in Hoorn and then continues to a steam boat ride. Do you know how far Hoorn is from Amsterdam?

to Hoorn: 40 minutes 20 miles,

to Utrecht: 26 miles

for NL train schedules: www.ns.nl/cs

If yo have a look at www.spoorwegmuseum.nl you can find out all about the museum - you can get to it by train, via Utrecht Centraal. The museum is open Every day during school holidays, but is closed on Mondays during term time. The schools go back at the beginning of September in Utrecht btw.
Strictly speaking it's a steam tram from Hoorn to Medemblik, but still fun. There's another steam train runs from Apeldoorn to Dieren, the Veluwsche Stoomtrein, but I don't think their site is in English.
There is also a steam train due to run from Rotterdam to Haarlem on 30 August to mark 100th birthday of Haarlem station, but I can't find out what time that runs - it would be good to see it arrive in Haarlem even if you didn't get to ride on it.
I know - you can too much of a good thing Enjoy your stay here!

If you are doing several trips in Benelux by train as indicated then you may want to investigate the Benelux Railpass, good in Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg - i always advise www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com for any pass info as these sites have tons of objective info in addition to the usual pass prices and an add to cart button that typical online sites only seem to have. The budget europe site lets you download their free and excellent European Planning & Rail Guide that has a chapter on Benelux train travel and lots of sights you are visiting. Compare prices at ns.nl and then with the pass prices to see which is best. If the pass is close then do the pass and just hop on any train anytime - except the Thalys trains which you should not be using.

The steam train from Hoorn may technically be a steam tram, but it looks just like a steam train to me, with a locomotive and a line of carriages.
www.museumstoomtram.nl
There is a connecting ship from Medemblik to Enkhuizen which is a lovely old ship - the FRIESLAND was built in 1956 - but is not a steamship.
Hoorn, Medemblik and Enkhuizen are all very attractive old ports with delightful buildings, yet attract few foreign tourists.

<<There is a connecting ship from Medemblik to Enkhuizen which is a lovely old ship - the FRIESLAND was built in 1956>>

Are you implying that I'm OLD Geoff? 1956 was a good year! Oh but I see the Friesland is old - it's from 1955

1955, 1956, that's not old, even for a boat

I'm a few years older than the FRIESLAND myself, and that isn't really old as boats go. I recently did a trip on Ullswater in the English lake district in the LADY OF THE LAKE which was built in 1877, and even that isn't the oldest passenger boat in Europe.

A few years ago we stayed in Brugge for a week and took a day trip by train to Amsterdam. We must have misread the train schedule because we thought the train stopped in Antwerp and then continued on to Amsterdam. We sat on the tracks for quite awhile. We were the only people in the car, then the lights went out. OOPS! Fortunately, there was another train shortly thereafter. Although some might think this a long day trip, we found it quite enjoyable. Went to a flea market, toured the Anne Frank house, visited some antique shops, and had a nice lunch. Stayed in the Jordaan area the whole time. Amsterdam was such a pleasant surprise. Much different than my preconceptions. Have always wanted to return for a longer stay.

hetismij, is there a website I can check regarding the Rotterdam-Haarlem steam train run? I think that will be a fun thing to check out. I tried googling for this event but can't find anything. Thanks.

I found it on www.stoomstichting.nl. Unfortunately though it is listed on the English part of the site under events the link is only in Dutch.
They do have a contact page where you can e-mail them if you would like more information from them.
Another good site is www.railmusea.nl, which has all the railway museums and trains listed, and is also in English.

In Amsterdam itself you can take an old interurban museum train from the Haarlemmerdijk (sp?) station out into the Het Bos - a huge sprawling park south of Amsterdam - vintage cars are used - runs mainly on weekends.