Zeebrugge to Bruges. Some options how to get there.

[DOJO466]

Thanks for the information

 

Lyn

 

Lyn let me know what you find out. Count us in.

[LHT28]

Lyn let me know what you find out. Count us in.

will do

might be too early to book :confused::confused:

[burnoutbabe]

we did this trip on June 3rd

 

Our experience.

 

Ship docked at zeebrugge at 8ish. There was a HUGE queue to get off independently, and we managed to get in the first coach. It drove us to the nearby town of Blenkeburge. Then huge hassle as they wanted to chat to us before letting us off the coach. This was 9 05! we were allowed off and SPRINTED to the train station, we beat alot of the older folk :D managed to get tickets and on the train. Loads of people just got on the train without a ticket (never saw a ticket collector)

 

11 mins later we were in brugges and walked into town.

 

On the way back timings were tight. The last coach back to boat left at 4.30 and the train would have got in at 4.45. So only the 3.30 one would work. but then that coach would be swamped. So we got 2.30 back, which was fine, it was delayed by 20 mins but we had plenty of time to be delayed.

 

So all in all, very cheap way to get there, rather than the £78 P&O were charging for a coach. You just had to leave earlier to be sure of getting back on time.

[fortyniner1340]

We are do-it-yourselfers. We generally figure we can do anything better and for less than the available excursions can. If you just do your homework and figure out what is what ahead of time. Not the case here. We had looked through CruiseCritic for practical info on doing this and had also read up it in Rick Steve's book. No one had info like you'll find in this post.

 

Zeebrugge is a commercial port, there is no, true cruise terminal here. There is no provision for people to walk away from the ship, you must take a free bus from the ship, about 300 yards, to the front gate of the port.

Note: Your ship may or may not give you the straight story on what your options are because they must squeeze you for every possible penny, the way they do this is through lack of information or even MIS-information in some cases. If you don't do your homework before you get here, you become another victim. We were on RCL and they were telling people that the

only

way to get to Blankenburg was to sign up for

their

transportation package, not true at all. The fact that there was a FREE bus to the front gate was not known to anyone until we had exited the ship and were standing in line for the 12 euro bus to Blankenburg.

 

When you get to the front gate of the port you will be surrounded by dozens of people that have no idea why they got on that bus in the first place, and have no idea what to do next. Interesting stuff(I blamed RCL)... leave them... eventually they'll figure it out or they'll just start following the majority.

 

There is a tram line that runs through there. Don't just stand there the tram doesn't stop at the port. As you're walking away from the port's gate and come to a "T" intersection you go right(to the west), you have about a 1/2 - 3/4 mile walk to get to the first tram stop.

 

The tram to Blankenburg costs a mere 2 euros each way. When you get to the tram stop, and there are hundreds of other people there waiting for the tram too, (This is important===>) if all the tram's doors pop open, just pile on in. Trust me. Do not try to do the right thing by buying a ticket from the tram driver. If you get off the tram and go to the forward car and wait in line to pay the driver, you could be left on the platform. I was. No good deed goes unpunished it seems. Just get on the tram any way you can and stay put until it reaches Blankenburg, about 20 minutes. No one will come and ask to see your ticket. Take the free ride and be happy about it. I did the right thing and got separated from the rest of my group. Eventually the authorities will come up with a way to handle a crowd but for now they haven't got the faintest clue.

 

When you get to Blankenburg, right across the street is the rail line that'll take you to Brugges (another 20 minute ride). Get a round trip ticket. There are any number of buses that will take you to the main square in Brugges, buy from the friendly person at the "Lijnwinkel" shop... BTW you want to go to "Centrum". To walk it is about 20 minutes. We bussed in and walked back.

 

OK so you got your round trip and you've successfully figured out which(time) train to take to get you back to Blankenburg in time to take the tram to the port and then take the bus back to the ship before they leave without you. When you get to Blankenburg, head back across the street and wait for the tram to come. When it arrives don't think about it just get on with the rest of the cattle. Chances are it'll be even more of a mob scene than the inbound tram was in the morning.

 

Bottom line... if there's a transportation package you can afford from the ship to Brugges and back on a bus it will probably save enough time that you can justify having spent a few extra euros. The hassle factor has to be a lot less than doing it yourself here. By the time we negotiated the tram system and the train system and all the expense and waiting at every juncture, I think we'd have been better off paying for the convenience and time savings of point-to-point transportation.

[JustmySyd]

You're more than welcome, enjoy your stay in Belgium!

 

For the others looking for taxi services. Open the link and you will find a lot of information... . (POZ stands for Port of Zeebrugge).

 

http://www.poz.be/sites/all/files/fl..._website_0.pdf

 

Hi

 

We are arriving Zeebrugge on 20th July, apparently Belgium National Day

Question: will the shops be closed and any problems we should anticipate

like traffic jam etc.

Thanks

[letsgo39]

We used Martin Taxi for our transportation for 6 people. It worked out great for 50 Euro each way.Worth every penny. If you want to take a taxi don't expect to be able to find one on port day. There were non available that were not already reserved.

 

Letsgo39

[bubblesqueaker]

Hi

 

We are arriving Zeebrugge on 20th July, apparently Belgium National Day

Question: will the shops be closed and any problems we should anticipate

like traffic jam etc.

Thanks

 

Interesting question! We are too! Are you on the Eclipse too? At the moment we aren't planning on going in due to a) it being a Sunday, b) a national holiday and c) the fact we leave so early. Still tempted though, like you just don't want to pay to get in to discover everything shut.

[letsgo39]

Interesting question! We are too! Are you on the Eclipse too? At the moment we aren't planning on going in due to a) it being a Sunday, b) a national holiday and c) the fact we leave so early. Still tempted though, like you just don't want to pay to get in to discover everything shut.

 

Do not miss Brugge. It is a totally tourist area and absolutely beautiful. I've been all over Europe and this charming city ranks right up there in my top 5 places.I would really think that everything will be open.Ask the question on the ports of call section.

Edited July 10, 2013 by letsgo39

[bubblesqueaker]

I read on a cruise critic forum that when people got in everywhere was shut as they were in early on a Sunday. I've been to Brussels twice before, I can't imagine it being too different. Will decide once we are on the ship. :-)

[letsgo39]

I read on a cruise critic forum that when people got in everywhere was shut as they were in early on a Sunday. I've been to Brussels twice before, I can't imagine it being too different. Will decide once we are on the ship. :-)

 

I don't like Brussels either but absolutely loved Brugge. Hope you are able to find things open.Have a good cruise.

[LHT28]

We arrived on a Sunday but not a national holiday ...places just opened a bit later than normal but lots to see/do

You could ask on the Bruge forum on trip advisor some locals hang out there

[bubblesqueaker]

Thanks everyone for your advice!

[Squadra03]

Hi

 

We are arriving Zeebrugge on 20th July, apparently Belgium National Day

Question: will the shops be closed and any problems we should anticipate

like traffic jam etc.

Thanks

 

Hello, I'm a local to. Just trying to help fellow cruisers.

 

If you are the 20th in Bruges than there's no problem at all. Our national day is the 21st.

Anyway, Bruges is a very touristic place so restaurants, pubs, etc will be open. Also the chocolate shops and tourist shops will be open.

If you come on sunday 21st the big shops like H&M, might be closed. Some will be open to. It depends what exactly you want to do.

Traffic jams will be ok. SO nothing special there to...

 

Bruges you can visit very easy by foot, it's not that big. I would also recommend to take a hour boat trip on the inner canals (they call Bruges the Venice of the North). These trips are narrated and interesting.

 

 

If you need more info or this didn't answer your questions, just ask... .

[Squadra03]

I read on a cruise critic forum that when people got in everywhere was shut as they were in early on a Sunday. I've been to Brussels twice before, I can't imagine it being too different. Will decide once we are on the ship. :-)

 

Brussels and Brugge have nothing in common exept the first 3 letters in their name.

Brussels is a big city and our capital.

Brugge is a smal provincial city and totally different of atmosphere and what to see and do. I have visited also all over Europe and the world and even living only 20 kms from Brugge I also think it's one of the nicer places to do a city trip...

Even when the shops are not open you can still see a lot. It's like an outdoor medieval museum. So you can see all the nice building, the marcket place, the belfry tower, the churches, ...

If you want to go just for shopping, some things might be closed. If you are there on saturday, everything will be open...

 

If you are a beer lover... enough to do/taste

If you love chocolates, there's a chocolate museum etc...

[bubblesqueaker]

Brussels and Brugge have nothing in common exept the first 3 letters in their name.

Brussels is a big city and our capital.

Brugge is a smal provincial city and totally different of atmosphere and what to see and do. I have visited also all over Europe and the world and even living only 20 kms from Brugge I also think it's one of the nicer places to do a city trip...

Even when the shops are not open you can still see a lot. It's like an outdoor medieval museum. So you can see all the nice building, the marcket place, the belfry tower, the churches, ...

If you want to go just for shopping, some things might be closed. If you are there on saturday, everything will be open...

 

If you are a beer lover... enough to do/taste

If you love chocolates, there's a chocolate museum etc...

 

Super information! Thank you for sharing! :-)

[JustmySyd]

Hello, I'm a local to. Just trying to help fellow cruisers.

 

If you are the 20th in Bruges than there's no problem at all. Our national day is the 21st.

Anyway, Bruges is a very touristic place so restaurants, pubs, etc will be open. Also the chocolate shops and tourist shops will be open.

If you come on sunday 21st the big shops like H&M, might be closed. Some will be open to. It depends what exactly you want to do.

Traffic jams will be ok. SO nothing special there to...

 

Bruges you can visit very easy by foot, it's not that big. I would also recommend to take a hour boat trip on the inner canals (they call Bruges the Venice of the North). These trips are narrated and interesting.

 

Thanks for the information. We actually docked on 21st Sunday.

 

If you need more info or this didn't answer your questions, just ask... .

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for the information. We actually dock on 21st Sunday

[letsgo39]

Do not miss the dog in the window when you take the canal boat ride.He is a Brugge landmark.:D

[Squadra03]

Thank you for the information. We actually dock on 21st Sunday

 

Ok, when it is Sunday you dock than you have the honour to be here on our national day. It will be the day we get our new king Philippe.

Anyway, not so big issue over here, we Belgians don't seem to be very chauvinistic... .

So major clothing shops will be closed. All tourist shops will be open trying to sell you beer and Belgian chocolates... .

Anyway even when everything is closed, there's more than enough to see/do to spend a couple of days in Bruges.

With a cruise you are typically there only a couple of hours... so no problem...

 

If you are able to walk a few kms i can give you some guidelines of a walking tour... depends what you want to see/do...

I saw you were coming with the celebrity eclipse?

[bubblesqueaker]

You all convinced me! - trip to Bruges booked!

[bubblesqueaker]

Bruges was amazing - don't miss it!!

[bubblesqueaker]

Bruges was amazing - don't miss it!!

[Cornishpastyman1]

We were on the Ryndam from Dover-Barcelona (10-21 August 2013)

 

Our port hours were 07.00-15.00 so not lots of time but plenty to get a good feel for the place. An extra 2 hours would have been nice to allow us to poke around some museums or linger over lunch but we still really enjoyed the day.

 

Anyway this is the Walking Tour

Bruges is very compact so there was not that much walking involved. We did not have enough time to climb the belfry because we didn't go to it soon after our arrival, despite being almost alone in the city at the start (we were there by 7.50) That was a bad error. When we did get to it (11.30) the lines were moving too slowly for us to be sure we could do it and make our 1 pm taxi. So if you'd like to climb it (€8) bear this in mind.

 

We also did a Canal Tour

which was fun and good. It costs €7.60 pp and lasts 30-35 minutes. The driver points things out in 3 languages but it's such a fusillade of info that it's hard to remember much of it. These boat tours don't start until after 10 a.m.

 

Getting there :

 

1) Email a taxi company (we used Taxi Snel) stating your ship, number of persons and pick up and return times. (07.30 and 13.00 in our case)

 

2) They meet you at the ship - there will be a name card on your vehicle, which can take 8 people.

 

3) It costs €50 each way and the journey takes about 15 minutes.

 

All the best, Tony

[FrequentCruiser73]

We are on QM2 arriving Zeebrugge mid December 2013, no doubt it will be cold. However, we still want to go Bruges by tram and train.

Do we still walk out of the terminal to get the tram at Standwijk for Blankenberg as mentioned below, then train to Bruges? Hope so!

Thanks.

[Squadra03]

We are on QM2 arriving Zeebrugge mid December 2013, no doubt it will be cold. However, we still want to go Bruges by tram and train.

Do we still walk out of the terminal to get the tram at Standwijk for Blankenberg as mentioned below, then train to Bruges? Hope so!

Thanks.

 

Yes you do. You start at Strandwijk and go to Blankenberge Station... .

[Championdog]

In an earlier post I mentioned a nice walking tour of Bruges that starts at the railroad station. http://www.********.com/Brugge%205.html

 

What I didn’t tell you was how to go from the cruise terminal in Zeebrugge (meaning Sea Brugge) to the city of Bruges (AKA Brugge), a distance of only about 8.5 miles as the crow flies.

 

Here are a few options about how to cover that seemingly short distance:

 

1. Sign up for a cruise ship tour or transport. Our least favorite for this port since it is so easy to see Bruges on your own and all cruise ships charge too much. Oceania, for example, charges $89 per person just to give you a ride on a bus.

 

2. Take a taxi. There are not too many at the dock if you are on a large ship. So, you should make advanced reservations. One company is “Brugse Taxi Service” email info@brugsetaxiservice.be Attn. Koen Keereman.

He charges 45 euros one way, meets you at the dock and will take you back later in the day for another 45 euros. Let him know in advance how many in your group. He can handle up to eight people for the same price. I am also trying to make contact with another taxi service to see if the price is about right and will post that info later.

 

3. Take the train.

Before I go any further, let me mention that public transportation in Europe is fast, safe and very economical. Americans are just not used to it and always shy away from taking a bus or train. Too bad. If you want to be a bit braver, consider the following options:

 

a. From the cruise ship terminal walk to the train station in the little town of Blankenberge. It is a long walk of about 2.5 miles due west along the coastal road “Kustlaan”. From there an eleven minute train ride takes to the starting point of the afore mentioned walking tour in Bruges.

b. If you’d rather not walk that far, take the coastal tram from Zeebrugge to Blankenberge. The tram costs you one euro per person. The train is four euros for seniors and five euros if you are not. So, for six euros or less you can be there and back (round trip).

 

Here are a few more details and schedules for the summer of 2008:

There is a direct train from Blankenberge to Bruges that leaves at 8:10, then 9:10 etc every hour. If you should miss that by a few minutes you can also take a bus right outside the station. Bus 33 goes to almost the same place and leaves at 8:20 for example. I don’t know if the fare is the same.

The tram from Zeebrugge to Blankenberge goes every ten minutes, so you can time yourselves from that. To catch the tram, walk outside the harbor area, go to the main road (Kustlaan) and turn west. In front of the little beach village of Strandwijk is one of the tram stops. It is a couple hundred yards walk. Ask anyone. Then tell the tram conductor that you want to go to the train station in Blankenberg. He will throw you off at the right place.

You might want to get some euros at an ATM in Blankenberge. There are three banks close near the railroad station. You will find that most people speak enough English to show you where to go. (No pun intended).

To go back the same way I suggest you consult the schedules that are posted at the train station. There is one website, but it is in Dutch, and I don’t want to translate all the instructions here.

http://hari.b-holding.be/Hafas/bin/query.exe/nn?OK#focus

 

Every cruise ship has its own schedule and everyone is afraid that they will miss it. However, It is quite doable to go back from the station in Bruges to the ship within an hour. When in doubt, you can still take a cab back if you can find one.

 

Oh, there is one more way to cover the 8.5 miles. You might find a bicycle rental place in Strandwijk and ride along the canal that connects Zeebrugge to Bruges. We have not tried that.

 

I tried the walking tour link and it is not working. Could you please provide to us? We think the tram/train ride would be a good one for us and we sure appreciate you providing.

Thanks for the help.

Dave