Bruges, Belgium is only 3 hours from where we live in Canterbury (including 30 minutes of waiting at Folkestone for the Eurotunnel). Being this close to Bruges means that driving there is a no-brainer, especially seeing as you can often spend more time than this travelling to and waiting at airports if you’re flying somewhere, for flights which are relatively short. Taking a car on the Eurotunnel is a quick and easy process, just as long as you have no delays at Folkestone. We drove to Bruges two weeks ago and despite a minor delay at Folkestone, it was a very pleasant experience. It was no where near as stressful as flying; you could literally just throw your bags in the car and get on the road. Now that we’ve ticked off a 2018 travel goal and driven to Bruges from Canterbury, I thought it’d be interesting to discuss the reasons why I think driving is the best way to get to Bruges in today’s post.
1. There’s no airport near Bruges.
If you’re thinking about visiting Bruges, it’s important to note that Bruges doesn’t have it’s own airport. The nearest airport is Brussels and over an hour from Bruges, so flying isn’t an ideal option. As Bruges is not close to an airport, it makes sense to opt for either driving or taking the Eurostar instead of flying.
2. Bruges isn’t very far from Calais.
It takes an hour and a half to drive from Calais to Bruges. It’s pretty much one straight road the whole way, so in no time at all you’ll be across the border into Belgium and then shortly after driving into Bruges city centre.
3. There are no baggage restrictions or liquid limitations.
If you want to purchase food, alcohol or souvenirs whilst you’re away, it can be difficult to fit everything into your luggage before you fly home. A huge benefit of driving is the fact that you can bring home as many boxes of Belgian chocolate, bottles of local beer or souvenirs as you like. You don’t have any luggage or liquid quantity restrictions, so you can do lots of shopping whilst you’re in Bruges and not have to worry about whether you’re going to be able to get all of your purchases home.
4. There are some interesting places to stop on the way to Bruges from Calais.
Dunkirque in France and Nieuwpoort & Ostend in Belgium are between Calais and Bruges. I’ve written an article about what we go up to on our road trip to Bruges, so if you want to find out more about places to stop on your way to or from Bruges, have a read of this post.
I love the idea of a European road trip, but I think I'm too much of a coward to drive overseas! I think the wrong side of the road and the not knowing what I'm doing would stress me out too much for a holiday!