Ghent & Bruges Day Trip | Viator

Viator has fast become my go to place to check out the tours available in a particular destination! It's easy to navigate, their twitter team are great at answering queries and I find more often than not it's great bang for your buck. This was the first tour I'd ever booked with them and I found it stress free and I really enjoyed it. I had to call them to change the pick up point the day before and they were so friendly and accommodating so we were off to a great start! 

We had a 3 days in Brussels and we had Bruges on our list for so long. We questioned whether or not we should get the train down and do it ourselves, but we obviously choose the latter. We chose the Ghent and Bruges Full-Day Trip and I still can't get over the value! For €46 it's exceptional value. It's a full day trip, starting at 9.30 am and coming back at 7 pm. The meeting point is in their office in the centre of Brussels or you can opt for a hotel pick up from a selection of hotels.

GHENT

First stop the UNESCO Historic City that is Ghent. Ghent is a small city in the Flemish part of Belgium an hour away from the capital Brussels. Surrounded by gorgeous canals. It's so picturesque, extremely walk-able and should be added to your list pronto! 

 We walked into the main square with our guide who was so friendly, informative and most importantly approachable where he delved into the history of Ghent. Questions were encouraged and answered well! 

Ghent is absolutely gorgeous with a Medieval flair throughout the city, and It's honestly somewhere I'd love to visit again as we had just over an hour to take in the city, of course not enough, but nonetheless it gives you a great taste of this small quaint medieval city.

I absolutely loved wandering Ghent. I could have honestly wandered all day! It's so quaint, very chilled and because it was a Sunday it was nice and quiet. We grabbed a bite to eat we shared a breakfast and both got Hot Chocolates as it was absolutely freezing, and it came to €35, which was expensive for what we got - it was tasty and filled a gap mind.

I found Belgium on a whole, quite reasonable in terms of eating out, but maybe we just got caught out. Honestly it really wasn't long enough, but just long enough to leave a taste in your mouth. I fully plan on coming back to Belgium, just bypassing Brussels next time! (want to read my Brussels guide?, see HERE)

After our quick pitt-stop it was off exploring for the rest of our time. We came across a cute little Sunday Market. A lot of places were closed, so do keep that in mind if you're coming on a Sunday! We wandered back to meet the group in the arranged meeting point and off we went back to the warmth of the bus. It was an absolutely freezing day - my phone died multiple times due to my phone getting so cold! 

BRUGES

So after our short and sweet stop in Ghent is was on to Bruges. I've been wanting to go to Bruges for the longest time mainly after seeing "In Bruges" and it's somewhere I'd happily go back to! From Ghent to Bruges it was another hour, but the time flew in with our guides great commentary. Coaches/Buses aren't allowed in Bruges so it's about a 5-10 minute walk into the city of Bruges, but it's absolutely stunning.

We had an hour for lunch and there was a recommended restaurant where you could eat with the guide, at reasonable prices too. We weren't too hungry, so we opted to spend our hour wandering the vicinity and getting a Liege waffle, and another hot chocolate, which came in at about €3 each - an absolute bargain!

Our guide walked us to the main square, while giving us an in-dept tour on route. It's a small city, but it's got so much character too. Our guide talked to us all individually at one point or another, took a real interest in us and was fantastic! After wandering to the main square, we were given some more free time to explore Bruges!

We were lucky enough to witness the one day of the year that people can kayak and paddle board through the canals of Bruges! I didn't envy them as it was absolutely freezing cold! If you're looking to see Bruges from the canals you can always opt for an easy and (drier) way and do a canal tour. We opted to wander more as we didn't want to be too rushed.

Bruges is really easy to get around, it's easily walked but if you were staying for a few days I'd suggest hiring some bikes as it would be wonderful to cycle around!

Like I mentioned it was a Sunday so a lot of the big shops were closed but the little boutique shops and the chocolate shops were all open - so we weren't too disappointed!

We made our way to one of the most famous chocolate shops in Bruge - "The Chocolate Line". In here you'll find an array of chocolate in many different flavours and infusions. It's a chocolate lovers heaven, and while there are cheaper chocolate shops in town,  I'd highly recommend checking this one out, even if it's just for the experience. It's not crazy overpriced, but it does tend to get busy!

 After we ate our weight in chocolate we went back to the main square we we met with the group and walked the 15 minutes back to the warm coach. Now I would have personally like more time in Bruges, but what I find good with these tour is that if gives you a sense of a plane and a sense of a city.

 It was a quick taste, but more than enough to get a sense of the city. I'll definitely be back! I fully plan on coming back when it's warmer, renting out a cute Air BnB and cycle the city!