4bams

what is the fastest most convenient train to take from amsterdam to brugge and return (likely via brussels) for my family of 4 to take in april? I find all the different options very confusing. does anyone have a good website to check schedules? is it best to book from here or on arrival there? is it easy to book online?
I will not have much flexibility on time/dates, so am very happy to book ahead if it is easier and guarantees me my train.
thanks!

PalenQ

The cheapest way and easiest way is to take the hourly IC InterCity trains from Amsterdam Centraal to Antwerpen Centrale then change trains for a IC train to Bruges, taking I think about 3.5 hours one way. Would be longer and more expensive going via Brussels - why in some case the Thalys train could be cheaper via Antwerp or Brussels if you can catch one of their deep discounts but if you take the Thalys and just buy tickets there you will likely pay beaucoups more so just take the slightly slower IC trains that have a flat fare so you pay the same just by showing up as buying in advance.

. does anyone have a good website to check schedules? Yes the one I like the most is the German Railways web site -www.bahn.de - which has schedules for all of Europe's trains. A good link to the English schedule page of the Wunderbar www.bahn.de site is to go to www.budgeteuropetravel.com and on their home page click on the link "Best Online European Railway Timetable" or some such wording and this brings you to the English schedule page where you have boxes From and To, etc. I mention this home page link because it also gives several valuable tips for using the www.bahn.de site that are not apparent at first glance to learn the wealth of info it does contain.

Have no worries about getting tickets on those IC trains - never sell out IME.

PalenQ

The cheapest way and easiest way is to take the hourly IC InterCity trains from Amsterdam Centraal to Antwerpen Centrale then change trains for a IC train to Bruges, taking I think about 3.5 hours one way. Would be longer and more expensive going via Brussels - why in some case the Thalys train could be cheaper via Antwerp or Brussels if you can catch one of their deep discounts but if you take the Thalys and just buy tickets there you will likely pay beaucoups more so just take the slightly slower IC trains that have a flat fare so you pay the same just by showing up as buying in advance.

. does anyone have a good website to check schedules? Yes the one I like the most is the German Railways web site -www.bahn.de - which has schedules for all of Europe's trains. A good link to the English schedule page of the Wunderbar www.bahn.de site is to go to www.budgeteuropetravel.com and on their home page click on the link "Best Online European Railway Timetable" or some such wording and this brings you to the English schedule page where you have boxes From and To, etc. I mention this home page link because it also gives several valuable tips for using the www.bahn.de site that are not apparent at first glance to learn the wealth of info it does contain.

Have no worries about getting tickets on those IC trains - never sell out IME.

4bams

you are great! we were anxious about booking ahead as we are travelling on easter sunday one way, and we are returning back to amsterdam to catch our international flight home so cannot miss a train! do you still think it is ok to wait?

4bams

palenQ, i just checked that great site for schedules- thanks- but it says fares not available and cannot book on the internet! this gets more confusing, not simpler!

PalenQ

bahn.de gives fares only for trains involving Germany - not ones in other countries and you cannot book the IC trains simply because they do not accept seat reservations but with an open ticket you can hop on, always can hop on even if rare chance all seats are full. You may want in any case to pay the little extra for first class - I have ridden those IC trains a lot and in first class usually half or more seats are empty but in 2nd class it can be SRO - but you can always board the train and if seats are full at the next stop when others get off sit down - in the unusual instance of being all full and I have never ever seen this in 1st class in decades of taking those IC trains. Easter Sunday I'm sure the bahn.de will show hourly trains like any other day - Easter Sunday should not be a heavy traffic day - indeed weekdays - work days IME are the busiest with workers who use these trains as commuter trains. Just buy both tickets when you land in amsterdam - easiest to do at Schiphol Airport train station - again these are tickets you can use within two months on any of those IC trains anytime.

Thalys trains you cannot just hop on but do need a seat reservation and ticket before boarding, even if they are not full. I'd forget about the Thalys if I were you for lots of reasons. If you really want to have your hands on a ticket before leaving home then contact the folks at the home page I referenced - you may pay a few more euros or maybe not - I have used them for years for railpasses and at least you can talk to someone IME who is an expert. For actual fares you would pay in Holland from Amsterdam and back go to the Dutch Railways web site - www.ns.nl or www.highspeed.nl. But again this is nothing to fret about IMO.

spaarne

For fares from Amsterdam Centraal to Brugge use the site www.nshispeed.nl. You'll see that by using the ICs (no reservation required) you save a LOT but you have to make two transfers instead of only one if you take the Thalys (reservation required) to Antwerpen. Also the journey will take about an hour longer via IC. You could take a longer layover in Antwerpen and see the city center, a very fine place, and then catch the next train direct to Brugge. For an illustrated introduction to trains in Europe see http://tinyurl.com/eym5b.

PalenQ

spaarne - as usual great advice but I am flummoxed with the two changes?

If you take Thalys to Antwerp or IC to Antwerp you would have the same number of changes, right - one at Antwerp with direct I presume train to Bruges or if two changes would be same with Thalys, right - IC goes direct Amsterdam CS to Antwerp.

they may actually go cheaper with the Thalys via Antwerp if they can grab one of the deeper discounted but limited in number Thalys fares - www.thalys.com - and buy a cheap ABS or All Belgian stations fare with the Thalys allowing them to go on within 24 hours from any Belgian station Thalys serves, like Antwerp or Brussels to Brugges on any train. Could be the cheapest and is the fastest but only if you get a deep discounted fare far in advance when they are available.

spaarne

PalenQ,
I think that the two changes is a scheduling issue. There is a direct train from Antwerpen to Brugge but it leaves approximately a half hour before or 1-1/2 hour after the IC arrives. The Thalys makes a better connection. The route through Ghent takes less time than waiting around in Antwerpen for the next direct train to Brugge so that is the route that the computer selects. Just my opinion.

PalenQ

Spaarne - thanks - and the change in Gent should be simple - a station with just a few platforms and IME this type of change is from one train to another waiting on an adjoining platform.

luv2cthings

This seems like a good place to ask my question. My wife and I will be arriving at Schiphol on May 24 and will be taking the regional trains to Brugge. Since I have been reading that many U.S. travelers are unable to use their credit cards in automated ticket machines in Europe and especially The Netherlands, I am considering buying our train tickets in advance and print-at-home. I figure this would simply be more convenient than standing in like to buy tickets at the counter.

We will be taking a regional train to Brussels two days later, but I plan to just buy them there. However, we will then be taking a train back to Amsterdam from Brussels, and I again I am considering buying in advance.

Is there any reason I shouldn't buy in advance and have the tickets in hand for convencience?

Thanks!

spaarne

It probably makes little difference. The lines at train ticket windows in Schiphol have rarely been very long in my experience. If I recall correctly there is a separate international window.

PalenQ

Is there any reason I shouldn't buy in advance and have the tickets in hand for convencience?>

No if there is no mailing fee involved and you can print it out - if you have to retrieve tickets once there you may have to put your credit card in the machines that do not take American cc's to retrieve them? I do not know the procedure but if so you may have to go to a ticket window anyway.

And as spaarne says there is an International Ticket Window at Schiphol that I often use to activate my railpasses on arrival and there are rarely any lines to speak of there - you could buy both the Amsterdam to Bruges ticket there (no seat reservations possible I think on either the Amsterdam to Antwerp train and Antwerp to Bruges train and the tickets are open so can be used on any non-Thalys train) and also buy the Brussels to Amsterdam IC train ticket for your return at the same time. You will pay 1 euro more per ticket over using the ATM but this is what I would do. TMK there are no online discounts for those tickets. Alternatively you may check U.S. sources and see if the price is about the same if you really want a ticket in hand - try the helpful folks at www.budgeteuropetravel.com - I buy railpasses from them for years and attest to their great service - compare fares with www.ns.nl - Dutch railways site - though they are a RailEurope agent sometimes the fares are about the same as there (and sometimes not) - but these are open tickets to be used on any train within I believe a two-month period.

PalenQ

And you could also consider trying to score one of the deep discounted Thalys tickets between Amsterdam and Antwerp (or Brussels and take a regional train to Bruges from there) and Brussels to Amsterdam - perhaps a return discounted Thalys ticket Amsterdam to Brussels may be cheapest possible way to go where you want to (ask about ABS - All Belgian Station fares that are sold in conjunction with Thalys tickets - lets you take any train from Brussels to Bruges within 24 hours at a discouanted price over normal fare I believe.

Thalys trains are also about an hour faster than the IC or regional trains and could be cheaper if you can score the limited in number online deep discounted fares and Thalys trains are also a bit more comfy IME - anyway try www.thalys.com or www.high-speed.nl (not sure of exact web site of Dutch railways could also try www.ns.nl) and then you'd have the tickets, seat reservations and perhaps the cheapest and certainly the fastest and most comfy way of doing that triangle by rail.

luv2cthings

Thank you for informative replies, spaarne and PalenQ, I was hoping that both of you would chime in. :0

It looks like I've missed the window of opportunity for the discounted Thalys fares, but at least now I am better informed of my options.

wlcjr

We just did this exact trip (Amsterdam Centraal to Bruges) on March 8, using the IC with one change in Antwerp.
The cost (purchased the day before) was 190 Euros for 4 people & took 3.5 hours. We printed out the schedule beforehand from www.nshispeed.nl, as spaarne suggests.

Interestingly enough, they would not accept our non-chip/pin card at Amsterdam Centraal & we had to pay cash.
Will

PalenQ

Dutch train station automatic ticketing machines do not IME take American credit cards that do not have some kind of security strip European cards do - so you have to go to the ticket window and you will pay 1 euro more to do that but that's all.

And I have read from a good source that in Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport train station those ticketing machines will indeed accept American credit cards - probably because so many Americans would use those machines.

PalenQ

Dutch train station automatic ticketing machines do not IME take American credit cards that do not have some kind of security strip European cards do - so you have to go to the ticket window and you will pay 1 euro more to do that but that's all.

And I have read from a good source that in Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport train station those ticketing machines will indeed accept American credit cards - probably because so many Americans would use those machines.

wlcjr

PalenQ, we did just that & the person at the ticket window would not take our card.

We've traveled enough to know that the machines may not take our cards, but this is the 1st time I've ever been denied at at ticket window, hence my reason for mentioning it.

spaarne

I think you can use a credit card at the international booking room in Amsterdam Centraal. There is a take-a-number system and comfy seats.