Bruges Report

[Tikiman]

In Zeebrugge, Princess provided a local shuttle to the train station in Blankenberge. Trains left hourly at 10 past the hour. The shuttle was $6 each, each way and you can buy a roundtrip in USD. As we had just missed the 9:10 train and I knew there were also trains from the Zeebrugge station, I asked the one cab there to take us to the Zeebrugge station, but he wouldn’t do it and told us to take the shuttle.

 

Very important note! Make sure you have some Euros to buy your train ticket in Blankenberge. There are NO ATMS and NO currency exchange places in Blankenberge and the train ticket is so inexpensive that you can’t use a credit card. We tried to get some Euros at the local hotels, but they wouldn’t do it either. They all told us that we could get Euros in Bruges... but we couldn’t GET to Bruges. Never have I experienced such a problem in all my European travels. We were very surprised that the cruise line didn’t warn us. Luckily, I remembered at the last minute that we had enough “left over from last trip” Euros to buy two one way tickets to Bruges. The train is only 2.30 Euros each way. Ironically, we were never asked for a ticket on the train and it’s only one stop.

 

When you get off the train in Bruges and there is a tourist information booth in the corner of the train station. There you can get a free map, or buy a slightly larger one for 1 Euro. We opted for the larger map as it had a guided walking tour that you can pick up just across the street and from the train station.

 

Other Prices:

Climb the Belfry 5 Euros

Lace Center 2.50 Euros (boring for me…)

Brewery Tour Straffe Henry 4.00 Euros

 

Everything is Bruges is easily accessible on foot and unless you’re helpless, don’t bother with a ship tour.

[DonLou]

Thanks for the info Tikiman. I've been searching all over the boards about doing a self-tour to Bruges. Wonderful stuff you've provided.