Amsterdam: is it good
for a family trip?
Yes, and it is well served from Boston. Delta, KLM and JetBlue all fly Boston to Amsterdam nonstop, year-round, and Bruges is an easy train ride away for frites and chocolate.
How Amsterdam & Bruges scored with our kids.
Six things we rate every trip on, out of 10, from our own family travel, plus our overall score, which is simply the average of the six. Flight ease and value are calculated the same way for every destination.
From our trip. We stayed in Bruges and absolutely loved the little chocolate shops, where the girls could watch pralines being made.
Flight ease
8.5/10About 7 hours nonstop from Boston. We score every flight the same way: start at 10, take off half a point for each hour beyond 4 (a quarter point per hour past 10), and a point for each connection. Delta, KLM and JetBlue fly Logan to Amsterdam nonstop, year-round. Bruges is then a train ride away, about three hours with one change in Brussels.
Kid friendly
8/10There is a lot to do and it is kid friendly: the NEMO science museum is built for kids to touch things, the Rijksmuseum is free under 18, the Jordaan hides playgrounds between the houses, and Belgium has plenty of chocolate.
Walkability
9.5/10You will not need a car in either city. Amsterdam is compact, and the Bruges old center is flat and walkable in an afternoon; the trains link the two.
Value
4.9/10The average cost of living index for the Netherlands (73.0) and Belgium (68.3) is 70.7 (Numbeo, mid-2026, where New York is 100 and the US overall is 69.7), about 1% above home. We score value the same way for every destination: costing the same as home is a 5, and every 10 points cheaper or pricier moves it a point. It is a country-wide average, so big cities and tourist hot spots run higher and small towns and villages lower. Amsterdam runs above this number; Bruges and smaller towns a little below.
Food
7.5/10Frites with mayo became the running joke of the trip (it took the kids about one bite to stop asking for ketchup), plus waffles and chocolate everywhere.
Weather
6.5/10Like Ireland and England: often gray, damp and cool. April to June and September are the sweet spots.
Overall
7.5/10Two storybook cities with no car needed; the weather is the trade-off.
Nonstop, then a train to Bruges.
Delta, KLM and JetBlue all fly Boston to Amsterdam nonstop, year-round. Paris works as an alternate gateway on the same airlines if the dates line up better. From Amsterdam, Bruges is a train ride via Brussels, about 2 hours 45 minutes to 3 hours.
A short, real routing.
Our full guide is built around flying nonstop into Amsterdam, then training to Bruges for frites and chocolate, and back out, a genuinely workable short trip rather than a stretch itinerary.
Search Vrbo rentals, already set to Amsterdam. Look for two bedrooms and a full kitchen. Where we would stay. Affiliate link, our disclosure.
What families ask us.
Is there a nonstop flight from Boston to Amsterdam?
Yes. Delta, KLM and JetBlue all fly Boston to Amsterdam nonstop, year-round. Paris is also a reasonable gateway on the same set of airlines if the dates work out better.
How do you get from Amsterdam to Bruges?
By train via Brussels, about 2 hours 45 minutes to 3 hours. It is a straightforward, comfortable ride for kids compared to a second flight or a long drive.
Is Amsterdam and Bruges good for a family trip with kids?
Yes. Our full guide is built around flying nonstop into Amsterdam, then training to Bruges for frites and chocolate, and back out, with real routing and costs.
Is this a good short trip compared to a full week in Paris?
See our direct comparison, Amsterdam or Paris for a Family Weekend, for how the two stack up for a shorter trip.