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USD $53.00
Ghent and Bruges Day Trip from Brussels
Brussels, Belgium
Discover medieval history and Belgian mystery on this Ghent and Bruges day trip from Brussels. Explore the historic, UNESCO-listed cities of Ghent and Bruges — two of Flanders' special gems — with your guide. Visit top attractions such as St Bavo’s Cathedral, the ancient port, St Nicholas’ Church and the Castle of the Counts of Flanders in Ghent. Travel by coach through the Belgian and Flemish countryside to Bruges. There, marvel at Minnewater and wander cobblestone streets to the impressive Market Square and the Chapel of the Holy Blood.
Following a morning pickup from your hotel in Brussels, meet your guide and hop aboard your air-conditioned coach for the 1-hour journey to the UNESCO World Heritage city of Ghent, widely considered among the most beautiful cities in Belgium.
Begin your tour with a visit to St Bavo’s Cathedral, home of world-famous late-medieval treasures such as the painting, ‘Mystic Lamb’. Admire the cathedral’s ornate interior (optional) and learn of its impressive history from your guide.
Leave St Bavo’s behind and head onward for a walking tour of Ghent. Take in top city attractions such as the belfry, St Nicholas’ Church, the Castle of the Counts of Flanders (Gravensteen) and the historic buildings and medieval port at the Graslei.
Continue on to the neighboring city of Bruges — also UNESCO-listed — with your guide and wander the cobblestone streets of the romantic Minnewater (Lake of Love). Here, perhaps take time to enjoy a little lunch at a nearby café or restaurant (own expense).
Afterward, begin your walking tour and discover why so many people from across the world fall in love with this beautiful Belgian city. Take in Saint John’s Hospital, Our Lady’s Church with the statue by Michelangelo (optional), City Hall, the Market Square and the medieval Chapel of the Holy Blood.
At the conclusion of your walking tour, perhaps enjoy a boat tour along Bruges’ picturesque canals (own expense) and soak up the city views from a different angle.
When it’s time to depart from Bruges, hop back aboard your coach for the 1.5-hour journey back to Brussels where your tour will come to an end.
Sites were great. Could not hear nor understand guide. Other providers had head phones for the group to hear what was being said. No itinerary, no telephone number for guide incase you get lost, no maps given out of area with sites locations to see. Very poor planning by this provider- too bad the places were visited were great
Review by: Jill M, July 2018
We visited in June 2018. The weather was picture perfect, sunny and 75 degrees F. Paul,our guide was friendly and knowledgeable. We liked Ghent but LOVED Bruges. If we had to do it over again, we’d skip Ghent and only go to Bruges and spend more time there. We took the canal cruise, it was €8 per person and worth the money. We did the beer experience on the main square in Bruges and it was super fun.
Review by: ERNESTO R, July 2018
It's a good trip but you have to walk a lot about 5 km. on each city. There is a lot to see and both cities are interesting. The guide explain the history of each city.
Review by: rajeev s, June 2018
Paul was a great guide and his mastery of the history and geography of these towns was good.Both Ghent and Brugges are a must see and easily covered in a day.The towns are still largely untouched by modernity and the buildings retain their old flavour and are beautiful.The climate too was so beautiful and just a trace of rain. We visited these towns in mid June and were very happy about the whole trip
Review by: Esmeralda B, June 2018
Great tour with very knowledgeable guide Joan who provided info in spanish and english as the group was mixed. Maybe that’s a problem for some people but I saw it as an opportunity to take pictures :) guide took us to all the highlights of each city and we had free time as well. Great Value!
Review by: Dimple B, June 2018
Both the towns are beautiful But there's no need to take the optional boat ride pay extra in Ghent. You'd rather walk and shop around the town.
Review by: Elizabeth L, June 2018
This tour was really great. It was a very long day but well worth the aching legs and tiredness. The tour started with a pick-up from designated hotels then we set off to Bruges first. Our tour guide, Stefan kept us all engaged and interested with the history of the city. The tour was meant to be Ghent first then Bruges but the tour guide decided to switch things up so that we could see the beautiful lights in Ghent at night. I really liked Bruges and I think I preferred it to Ghent. But both cities are extremely beautiful and bursting with history. There's a lot of interesting historical information to take in and during the tour, we had short bursts of time to do out own thing and explore where we wanted to. Highly recommended. Great way to explore and get information on both cities in a short time.
Review by: Nitish S, June 2018
It was a well organised tour, gave us a good overview of the two beautiful towns. Bruno is an amazing tour guide. A day spent well. A highly recommend tour :
Review by: Jessica G, June 2018
This was a fantastic tour and other than the fact that it rained I would not change much. We did depart from our guide in Bruges as we knew where we wanted to go and what we wanted to see without going around with the others. All in all, very recommended.
Review by: Omio C, May 2018
Great Express tour from Brussels. You get to see two beautiful cities in a day. Would highly recommend it!
Review by: Erinjit T, May 2018
Very well organised and gave a tour of two beautiful cities.
Review by: nayala, May 2018
Two lovely cities, even in a rainy day. The tour guide, adorable with his umbrella pointing up. Very good story teller.
Review by: Karen C, April 2018
Ghent and Bruges are beautiful and well worth visiting. The day trip was an excellent way to see both cities if staying in Brussels, especially as a single traveler. However, the group was very large, approximately 100 people over 3 buses. This made navigating the cities extremely difficult and felt suffocating at times. The tour was also given in three languages which meant information given at every stop/point of interest had to be repeated several times before moving on.
Review by: dilos, April 2018
Excellent!
Review by: Sisters, April 2018
This was an excellent day trip. Tour guide was extremely knowledgeable, pleasant and well organised. We were given sufficient time in both cities. Would highly recommend this tour.
Review by: rachel_G70, April 2018
Perfect experience to see both cities in one day
Review by: Mandy S, April 2018
I would highly recommend this tour to anyone. Both places were great and our guide was very informative. There was great chocolate everywhere and beautiful sights to see!
Review by: jimjimaki, April 2018
Well worth it
Review by: Mandar M, April 2018
A day well spent roaming through the quaint towns of Ghent and Brugge. Stefan was highly energetic and filled us in with the rich history of each place. a highly recommended tour !
Review by: Oleg N, April 2018
Tour guide wasn't as enthusiastic as I anticipated him to be. Although I booked this tour in English it ended up being in Spanish as well which means we spend time listening to the same thing twice.
Review by: Svetlana G, April 2018
The tour provider was Brusseles city tour. Our tour guide, Stephan, was greate. The only issue was that the tour was bilingual and it worked well for the walking part, but not as great inside the bus. Stephan was very attentive: he knew when to feed us, when to tell a joke, when to have a bathroom break. The tour was full of information and fun.
Review by: Katelyn K, March 2018
Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the history of Belgium and gave us adequate time in both cities to explore a little bit on our own. He had a soft spot for Bruges and it was easy to understand why - it’s a beautiful place! Only con was going between Christmas and New Years as it was crowded
Review by: Alan D, March 2018
Superb guide who really knew his stuff, and was passionate about informing us of his knowledge. I did feel that it was quite expensive as there were 16 of us, and we paid over 500 for our party. The total income for the whole coach must have been huge. I was hoping for a better discount for our party but was sadly disappointed.
Review by: ceoverstreet4, March 2018
This tour was even better than we could have possibly expected. Everything was very well organized. Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable and engaging. This was my 23 year old son’s first trip to Europe. He said he thought this tour was going to be boring, but absolutely loved it. Don’t miss it!
Review by: emilio s, March 2018
Great tour, really worth what you pay!!. Highly recomended
Review by: John R D, December 2017
Trip did exactly as advertised.
Review by: ZULKIFLY A, December 2017
This tour was amazing!
Review by: Irene D, December 2017
A long day but very interesting. Good to do if you are pushed for time. I would recommend taking a day for each city.
Review by: Rebecca H, December 2017
There should have been two tour guides. Our bus was full which meant one person was leading a group of 50 people and doing a bilingual tour. I couldn’t hear at all unless I was near the front. You’re paying for the transportation mostly, not for tour quality.
Review by: John W. S, December 2017
This was an amazing experience. The tour company picked us up at our hotel which we really appreciated. Our guide for the day spoke several languages fluently so was able to deliver his narratives in English and Spanish to accommodate all of our group. He really knew his history and answered any questions we asked. The two cities were beautiful and the coach was modern and very comfortable. We had a wonderful lunch at a recommended restaurant in Ghent. The tour bus dropped everyone back at their respective hotels -- great service!
Review by: mamonge, December 2017
The trip was amazing and the tour guide - Stephano was FANTASTIC!!!! It is a long day and you get to see a lot. However, I was informed when I booked the tour that I would be picked up at my hotel, but that was not the case. After I booked I was informed that I had to go to the tour office. Then when you get to the office you have to walk a few blocks to the bus. Also there was an older lady that worked in the office that was really RUDE. There were people calling the office to get directions to the office and after she hung up with them she was making fun of them that they couldn't find the office. The office is not easy to find, especially if you are not from Belgium and speak Dutch or French. Also the address on the website is not correct. Also don't book a tour on a Sunday because a lot of the places in Ghent are closed. The group is large that goes so it is hard to keep up with that large number of people and it seems like we were always waiting on someone. They do drop you off at your hotel at the end of trip back which was really nice since it was such a long day.
Review by: Ioana S, December 2017
PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU CHANGE THE PICK UP LOCATION FROM YOUR WEBSITE- NO ONE CAME TO THE HOTEL WE PICKED. Lucky me that I actually gave a call with 30min ahead of the pickup time to find out they DO NOT pick us from the designated location but we had to move to the center and take the bus from there. Speaking with the ladies from the desk of the Brussels we found out that VIATOR knows about this issue and they do not want to change the pick up locations- ONLY ONE PICKUP FROM THE BRUSSEL DESK. _br/_ I am truly sorry for this very bad review but you deserve it since I almost payed the trip for nothing by missing the bus and no one told us anything.
Review by: Graham B, December 2017
A great day and a wonderful tour. Our guide appeared to be disinterested when my wife and others asked him questions along the way. He was hard to hear unless you were standing next to him and some of his commentary was vague. It was a public holiday and perhaps he didn't want to be there. All that aside, we enjoyed the day, saw the sights, enjoyed the food and have some wonderful memories of our bucket list visit to Bruges and Ghent. The bus trip to and from was enjoyable and comfortable. Maybe the tour company could review their website. We had a lot of trouble finding out where the central pick up point was that was mentioned on the site. When we arrived in Brussells mid afternoon the day before the tour, we found out from our hotel where the tour office was and sprinted as fast as a couple of 70 somethings could sprint to the office before the closing time of 4pm. HELLO !! Office closed at 3pm not 4pm. After a sleepless night not knowing where we would get on the bus if ever, we bolted to the office at 8am advertised opening time only to find that they open at 7am. We were told that the office is the pickup point. For goodness sakes, Get into your website and tell people where the pickup point is and your trading hours. You know this information and it just might be a good thing to tell the people who have travelled around the world to do your tours this info to help them. There were three other people who were in the same situation as us who were just as worried as we were. Apart from the lack of important info from the tour office beforehand and the second grade guide on the day, we had a wonderful day and totally enjoyed seeing these old, historic towns.
Review by: ddpiza, November 2017
Ghent and Bruges were beautiful. I think we had enough time to see most of both cities.
Review by: Christy P, November 2017
This is a great tour and worth the time and money! Ghent is fascinating and Bruges is just beautiful! The tour guide was wonderful and you see and learn a lot in one day. FYI, this tour is a quick taste of these areas you don't have a ton of time to explore them on your own. But it did make we want to come back to these locations and spend time in the museums, churches, etc.
Review by: Matias D, November 2017
Did not have enough time to do anything other than take a couple of pictures. Both cities are beautiful but I strongly suggest doing both by train, unless comfort is your priority. I do not remember the name of the guide, but he was the human personification of Droopy. Elderly person who lacked of energy, spoke in a really low voice and could not hear him even though I was always behind him. In Bruges we did not have time to go up to the tower.
Review by: Lois H, November 2017
The trip was very good. The cities visited were very interesting, plenty of information given by a very knowledgeable and accommodating guide and free time to explore on your own._br/_ Only complaint was they allowed a young couple with a baby 1-1.5 yrs. old on the trip. The baby was sick with a cold - sniffles, coughing, etc. It wasn't the baby's fault, but with a full bus I am sure I wasn't the only one disturbed with the little one's illness and fussing. There should be some sort of age limit with a 10-hour trip.
Review by: Varun P, November 2017
We had peaceful tour.
Review by: Peter E, November 2017
A great tour full of fascinating facts and beautiful sights. Our guide probably expected too much from us in respect of how much walking on cobbled streets we could do. Also, two of our number were left behind on one of our stops. Not a good look! But overall, really good.
Review by: Maria M, November 2017
I was really unimpressed with this tour. Ive been on many bus trip day tours and this was by the far the worst one. We spent more time on the road than we did in Ghent and Bruge, we had no free-time in Ghent, only time for lunch and the boat tour, and in Bruges we were just dropped off in the city-centre with little guidance and limited time. We didn't have enough time to wander and explore and there was no guidance once we arrived in either city. I would not recommend this tour. If you're in Brussels I recommend you just take the train and do a free walking tour.
Review by: Europe 2017, November 2017
Worth the price. Lots of walking!! Weather was chilly but if you know ahead of time, it was easy to be prepared!!!
Review by: Bonnie S, November 2017
We were picked up at our hotel, which is a real plus. Our tour guide was well informed about the history and Bruges and Ghent. Bruges was especially quaint and cozy, this was my second visit. Be SURE to have a Belgium waffle! Ghent's history and present day influence was interesting. _br/_ Our guide was pushing a certain place to have lunch in Bruges, we chose to go to another which was less expensive and still a lovely meal.
Review by: Ajith B, November 2017
It was good.. But for a tour that has this much of history, the guide should have been a bit more passionate and expressive about the historical things and communicate in an engaging way
Review by: jill, November 2017
A lot packed into one day - great way to see a lot in a short amount of time.
Review by: Galina S, November 2017
Highly recommended
Review by: Lucia S, November 2017
Tour was interesting and fun, the guide was very knowledgeable and managed well in both English and Spanish (and some Italian!). He would start with history of Bruges and Ghent. Then in each city we had a walking tour of about an hour and some time to roam as we pleased, plus lunchtime in Bruges.
Review by: CECILIA V, November 2017
I enjoyed the day tour, our tour guide was not very enthusiatic, but overall it was not bad. I will definitely do one of your tours again. Regards Cecilia
Review by: carrie, November 2017
Awesome tour! Guide was knowledgeable and really funny. Long day but worth it.
Review by: monicaangeladiaz, November 2017
It was a really good tour. Made our easy and fun.
Review by: Rafael A, November 2017
Very good, but we could have more free time in both cities
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