According to this site http://www.bahn.com/i/view/GBR/en/index.shtml it will take three hours each way starting in Amsterdam. I consider that excessive for a day trip.

Yes uou can go from Amsterdam or Rotterdam through to Brugges with a change in either Antwerp or Brussels. It seems actually that the fastest connections are via Brussels taking just under 2 hours journey time not including transfers, so you'd be looking at something like 2hrs 25mins in one direction. More like 3hrs from Amsterdam.

The first portion of your journey is via Thalys which is a high speed train and then the second portion is via InterCity train. The Thalys requires a seat reservation and will go up in price nearer your date of travel so you should buy that part up to 3 months ahead. The second bit you can also buy ahead for convenience but given the number of InterCIty connections per hour it probably won't go up in price.

You can actually do the whole thing by local train but then you're def not in day trip territory any more and it's a much longer schlep. It looks like the journey in full is likely to cost around £45 one way. £27 for the first bit, and £18-20 for the second bit. Happy railing!

Thalys is a comfortable and reliable train, but expensive.
There have been a lot of problems with the Amsterdam - Rotterdam - Antwerp - Brussels trains; for a few weeks there were no direct trains. They have now reinstated the Intercity trains.
You don't have to take the Thalys - the regular intercity is cheaper, but takes longer.

Do keep on checking the timetables for Amsterdam/Rotterdam/Belgium trains, as there have been a lot of changes over the past weeks.

The first portion of your journey is via Thalys which is a high speed train and then the second portion is via InterCity train.>

that is the fastest way but you can also hop IC trains directly from Amsterdam to Antwerp Centraaland change there to IC trains to Bruges - no seat reservations even possible and usually cheaper than thalys trains which have a Byzantine fare structure - that said if you can socre a deep discounted Thalys ticket (www.thalys.com) and an ABS (All-Belgian-Stations)add-on fare for a few euros to be used in conjunction with a Thalys ticket that could be the fastest and cheapest.

But the easiest and cheapest without any advance reservations would be just to buy a round-trip Amsterdam to Bruges ticket in Amsterdam - a flat fare system I believe with no discounts or just a pittance for advance purchase.

One problem with Thalys trains for a day trip is that your ticket will be train specific and unchangeable if discounted so you will have to leave Antwerp at a set time on your return to Amsterdam from Bruges - taking the whole IC route gives you flexibility to hop any of the hourly IC trains Bruges to Antwerp and Antwerp to Amsterdam - no seat reservations possible and you can always board with a ticket - if the IC trains are over their wsnafu that Tulips talks about.

For lots of great info on Benelux trains I always spotlight these IMO fine sites - www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

PalenQ; the Intercity was completely scrapped in December, replaced by the high-speed Fyra. This train had to be booked in advance, like the Thalys. Huge uproar about the cancelling of the Intercity.
Then the Fyra turned out to be a crap train that broke down all the time, and for a while there were no trains at all, expect for Thalys. Everyone had to change at Roosendaal.

Now they have reinstated the Intercity, but I understand it is not back to its usual timetable - it stopped in The Hague, not Amsterdam.

So keep checking the timetables, as there have been a lot of changes. They now say the Fyra will come back, but that may take a year.

If you get a good rate on Thalys, book that.

Hi

Thanks to you all for your help. The Thaly's appears to be a no go. 198 Euro for 2 each way and restrictive travel. IC is about 100 Euros. Thanks Michael for the bahn.com nice and easy to use. I googled the trip and drivings quicker than train at present. I'll have a look at the Brussels route and see if that pans out better.

Hi again all.

Is it me but getting information is a right pain in the a*se. I checked the Belgian rail site and input Rotterdam to Brugges depart Tuesday and return Wednesday. It insists on shoving me onto the Thaly's, aaarrrrgh! Another site I visited yesterday gave me numerous trains and prices. Trouble is, I can't find it again. Now I don't know if I can trust it. I figured I'd stay over in Brugges and return next day instead of trying to do it in one. Me and my bright ideas.

From Rotterdam simply take the Fyra train or IC train to Antwerp and then IC trains to Bruges - this is straight forward even if the IC trains are not running - no need to think about Thalys on that run I believe and no need to worry just buy your ducats once there - Fyra is cheap to Antwerp Centraal.