Negin Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 We're still just in the thinking stage and don't even know if this will be a reality anytime soon. We've always wanted to go to Bruges and figure that Amsterdam is not far either. We would likely fly into London (direct flight from where we live in Grenada) and then catch the Eurostar or fly to either destination. Cost is obviously a factor (as always). Any suggestions & tips would be greatly appreciated. :) Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 If you go in the spring, then you will also want to hit Keukenhof. We actually stayed in Lisse, then took the train into Amsterdam for day trips. It was easier and cheaper than staying in Amsterdam proper. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g188597-d195228-Reviews-Keukenhof-Lisse_South_Holland_Province.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 We did something similar last year. Flew into London for a few days, took a bus to Wales, went back to London, took the train to Bruges, and then a train to Paris. London was expensive to fly into so it might be cheaper to fly into Belgium unless spending a few days in London was part of the plan. Bruges was lovely lovely lovely. We all thought it was fantastic. You would have such a great trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 Love Bruges. Eat chocolate! Since you'll be in Belgium, you might want to consider Antwerp too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 I stayed on a barge hotel in Bruges. That was great. Keukenhof was lovely. Whatever you do, don't try to drive in Amsterdam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephF Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 Love!!!! Bruges!!!! Beautiful. Lots of lace and chocolate. Would love to go back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawyer&Mom Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Bruges is lovely. If you are coming from London one alternative is to take the ferry. Stena runs an overnight ferry from Harwich to Hoek van Holland which is a lot of fun. There are easy train connections on either end. Amsterdam is a must, but I was also really delighted by Utrecht. It's at most a day trip, but day trips are really easy in that part of the world. Lots of fast frequent trains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 While you're in Bruges if you happen to find a bag that has a lace angel Christmas ornament and a package of chocolate we accidentally left it there. You can go ahead and eat the chocolate but I'd love it if you could send the ornament onto us. :laugh: DD asked us about it repeatedly last year during Christmas and I suspect she will again this year. Ugh. We're running out of excuses and sooner or later we'll have to tell her that we lost her souvenir. DH is out of town but when he gets back I'll ask him for the name of the B&B we stayed at in Bruges. It was great. Fantastic location. Economical. Clean. And the guy that owned it was so helpful when we had to somehow figure out a way to get all kinds of paperwork for DS's adoption faxed over to the states while we were over there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Former Belgian resident here. Sigh...Bruges. LOVE! Eat frites, waffles, and chocolate. Climb the bell tower, take a horse drawn carriage ride...watch lace being made, see the Madonna....buy lace and tapestry. I also agree if you can go in the spring, Keukenhoff is spectacular. We enjoy Ghent, as well. We stayed in Haarlem and took the train into Amsterdam. Loved both places. Be sure and see The Monuments Men before going to Bruges or Ghent. The art is a central character of the film. Bon Voyage! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnionJack Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Bruges is wonderful! Eat lots and lots of Liège waffles. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lailasmum Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 My friend is a travel writer her blog is here. I know Bruges is one of her favourite places and she's been there a couple of times. I think she was in Amsterdam a few weeks ago too so there should be posts about that too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negin Posted November 21, 2014 Author Share Posted November 21, 2014 Thank you all so much. I wasn't even particularly excited and felt overwhelmed at the idea of planning a trip to a region that I really don't know much about. You've all gotten me quite motivated to hopefully start planning and reading up on stuff :D. Thank you! Since you'll be in Belgium, you might want to consider Antwerp too. What did you like about Antwerp? I've heard it mentioned from time to time. Do you remember the name? (of the barge hotel - since the quote feature is acting weird on me). Thanks for the tip about not driving in Amsterdam. Bruges is lovely. If you are coming from London one alternative is to take the ferry. Stena runs an overnight ferry from Harwich to Hoek van Holland which is a lot of fun. There are easy train connections on either end. Amsterdam is a must, but I was also really delighted by Utrecht. It's at most a day trip, but day trips are really easy in that part of the world. Lots of fast frequent trains. I would love to take the ferry to save on cost, but three of us are very likely to get sick (motion sickness). Did you see others experience motion sickness? Maybe if we took something for it beforehand? DH is out of town but when he gets back I'll ask him for the name of the B&B we stayed at in Bruges. It was great. Fantastic location. Economical. Clean. Sorry about the bag and the ornament. I would love to hear back from you re: the name of the B&B you stayed at. We love a good B&B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 If time is a factor, sometimes you can get flights within Europe that are far cheaper than trains. We've found inexpensive flights on edreams.net. (There are other sites too.) Often with the inter-European flights, the earlier you book them the cheaper they are. You might want to look into staying in hostels. Some of them are really very youth-oriented, but others are quieter and accommodate families. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 We take the overnight ferry from Hull to Rotterdam about once a year. Large enough so the stabilizers work quite well. Have had a couple of rough crossings where they confined us to our cabins. None of us were ill, curled up in bed with books. I think it depends on the size of the car ferry (you can be a foot passenger). I grew up on boats so am pretty good normally but the Dover/ Dunkirk route in bad weather is really bad, quick though. You end up being roughly 90 minutes from Bruges by car. Dover/ Calais has larger boats. Never noticed anyone ill on our crossings which take an hour. Calais adds about a half hour onto the drive to Bruges. Rent a car in Calais. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negin Posted November 24, 2014 Author Share Posted November 24, 2014 Thank you all so much again. If you do think of anything else, please share. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.