Getting from Amsterdam to Bruges

The perfectly preserved medieval Belgian city of Bruges (or Brugge in Dutch/Flemish) is a major highlight in this region, and it’s a common next stop or prior stop for travelers who are touring Northern Europe. But as you may already know, finding the details on how to get from one to the other can be challenging. If you are standing in one of the train stations it’s all right there, but online the details seem to be hidden, so for your convenience, even if you are just going to use your Eurail pass, here is how it works.

By plane

There is a small airport called Ostend-Brugge Airport that serves Brugge, but it’s 30 kilometers outside the city and is mostly used for freight. There is limited passenger service, but there is no scheduled service between Ostend and Amsterdam, and even if there were it wouldn’t save any time and would be way more expensive anyway.

By train

Not surprisingly, the best way to go for most people is by train. You have to change trains at least once in Belgium, but otherwise it’s quick and easy. You can buy a train ticket in advance from the USA on raileurope, but there really isn’t a good reason to do this since buying tickets when you walk up is always easy, and that site adds a commission to the price, and never alerts you to special deals.

There are 3 options in getting from Amsterdam to Bruges:

• Take the Eurostar to Antwerp or Brussels and change there: from 2 hours 51 minutes
  (This is the high-speed train that used to be called Thalys, and it became Eurostar in 2023. Every ticket comes with a reserved seat on a specific train, and fares go up as the train fills, so book ahead)
• Take the Eurocity Direct to Antwerp or Brussels and change there: from 2 hours 57 minutes
  (Only a little slower, runs about hourly and needs no reservation, but it leaves from Amsterdam Zuid rather than Centraal)
• Take the slower regional trains, changing in Rotterdam or Breda and again in Antwerp
  (This takes quite a bit longer but has the cheapest fares, which you can find on the Belgian railways site)

Price for the train

One-way adult 2nd class: saver fares from about €39, or €75.90 fully flexible (as of 2026)
One-way adult 1st class: saver fares from about €70, or €115.60 fully flexible (as of 2026)

Note: Prices for international trains change more often than for domestic lines, so use these prices as a guideline.

Schedule of trains

Between the Eurostar and the Eurocity Direct there is a train toward Antwerp and Brussels at least every hour during the day. The differences in times of the journeys are small, and the Belgian part of your ticket, from Antwerp or Brussels on to Bruges, is good on any train that day, so you don’t need to sweat the connection.

How to buy your train ticket

As mentioned above, you can buy a ticket online through a Eurail pass or point to point. Or just go to Amsterdam Centraal Station and buy your ticket once you are sure you’ll be going. You can buy a Eurocity Direct ticket just before the train leaves, but a Eurostar ticket is for one specific train, and last-minute Eurostar fares get expensive.

You can buy tickets to Brugge from the self-service machines (although not to all international destinations) so you can use your credit or debit card or cash and coins to pay. The machines all have an option for English-language menus, and they are easy to use.

You can buy tickets from the normal or international train windows, but the lines are longer and there is a small surcharge (€0.50) for doing this now.

The absolute cheapest way to get from Amsterdam to Bruges

This is by bus. The Eurolines bus this page used to recommend is gone, since FlixBus took over its Dutch and Belgian routes in 2019. The good news is that FlixBus now runs straight from Amsterdam Sloterdijk to Bruges, so there’s no change in Gent anymore. The ride takes around 4 hours, and fares start at about €20 (as of 2026). It’s slower than the train, and the bus isn’t nearly as comfortable or as scenic, but if you are short on cash it can be done.