10 nights in The Netherlands & Belgium

What month are you going?

You don't mention wanting to see anything in Haarlem, so I would recommend staying in Amsterdam.

You could easily visit Leiden as a stop on the way from Amsterdam to Delft. As I recall, there's a place to stow luggage at the train station there. That will give you a full day in Delft, and if you decide you don't need that much time there, you could take a short hop to Rotterdam, which is a very different city from all the other places you are visiting.

There's no need to change hotels between Bruges and Ghent. Pick one and stay there. It's an easy day trip to the other. Personally, I'd recommend staying in Ghent and daytripping to Bruges.

But since you say you don't mind changing hotels, that works too.

You know your mother best, but this is a very fast pace. Both Amsterdam and the Brussels area are great for daytrips by cheap, unreserved local trains. You're not really going to see much of Amsterdam, which is good for several days just within the city. I like all these towns, but it's a brutal pace you're setting. Is she okay with walking so much? Note that some historic centers (like Ghent and Brugge) are not right "at" the train station. Of course, you can wait a few minutes for a city bus, but it's a nice enough walk, just not through historic streets.

Just an example, you have research to do on Brussels. "Grand Place walk" is about 10 minutes. If you're not going to see the famous art in Bruges or Ghent, there is less reason to see both of them. I don't think it is necessary to visit both Leiden and Utrecht on a first visit to the Amsterdam area.

Lane- Whoops! I edited it to include that we are going the second half of April 2025.

Re: Haarlem, I feel like Rick, and several posters on this forum, really recommend staying there. It is obviously cheaper than staying right in Amsterdam, and I like the idea of perhaps staying in a less crowded area. But, I'm torn. The Corrie Ten Boom is already booked solid for the entirety of our trip and I am not sure that there is anything else that I would REALLY want to see there.

Re: Ghent, we would only do a day trip there, not change hotels.

Tim- thanks for your reply. To clarify...

---"You know your mother best, but this is a very fast pace"

Our plan is to walk around the cities/towns; taking in the architecture, enjoying good food, popping into local shops, chatting with locals etc. She does not appreciate art, so most of the art museums would be lost on her. I would like to see Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, but won't be terribly upset if I don't. I also hope to return to Amsterdam someday, whereas this will likely be her only trip.

Also, for reference, we visited Scotland in May 2023. We spent 12 nights and I drove just under 800 miles. We both loved it, saw a lot and didn't feel rushed. I do wish we could've had a bit more time on Isle of Skye, but I would rather get to see some of it than none at all.

---"Is she okay with walking so much?"

She and I are both avid walkers. And we will use public transportation of course (definitely from train stations so we don't have to schlep luggage).

---"Just an example, you have research to do on Brussels. "Grand Place walk" is about 10 minutes."
Brussels is mainly to sleep since we fly out of there. But yes, I need to research everything more.

---"If you're not going to see the famous art in Bruges or Ghent, there is less reason to see both of them"
They both look extremely charming, but we may just stay in Bruges. We would be perfectly content to walk around, take a canal boat ride, and eat lots of chocolate.

All of that said, do you think it's still too fast paced? Would you add more time to Amsterdam and cut a night from someplace else? Thanks so much :)

I like your itinerary. Maybe stay in Amsterdam - it's not such an intense city in most areas. Delft is great. Two nights is about right for it. Bruges is lovely. You could stay in Ghent instead, but on the whole six of one, half dozen the other.

I like your itinerary. Maybe stay in Amsterdam - it's not such an intense city in most areas. Delft is great. Two nights is about right for it. Bruges is lovely. You could stay in Ghent instead, but on the whole six of one, half dozen the other.

Poster above is right that Leiden works better on the way to Delft. From Delft I would day trip to Gouda, or better Kinderdijk if it's not heavy rain.

Hi there, sounds like a fun trip! The one day that looks like more than 20,000 steps would be Day 4- Keukenhof & possibly Rijksmuseum. I would do Keukenhof and skip the museum, as you said your mom isn't really keen. OR on Day 2 you could go to the Rijksmuseum first thing in the morning for a few hours, without crimping on a boat tour & Anne Frank Museum. (I understand from friends there are lots of steep stairs inside, FYI.)

There are also some big holidays during 'the second half of April'. Easter Weekend is Friday April 18th through and including what Europeans call 'Easter Monday'. And Netherlands Kings Day is April 26th. Except for that last one, I believe according to what Forum posters have said, many tourist destinations will be open, but given your short trip, I would check every venue. I really liked Delft, stayed 2 nights at the Best Western Museumhotels. Rented a bike nearby on a canal & rode everywhere. The Delftware pottery museum is a walk away from central, was glad to have a bike.

Some of your questions and maybe logistics will be answered by Pat's thread here https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/the-netherlands-belgium-april-2024-brought-the-rain-pants-needed-the-rain-pants. Have a great trip!

Hey, Emmye, I think you have a wonderful itinerary and you will love the Netherlands and Belgium. I agree with Lane that Leiden is definitely worth a stop. I loved my visit there, as I just really enjoyed walking around. It had a wonderful vibe and the town was just so beautiful and charming.

I would also recommend staying in Amsterdam as opposed to Haarlem. I found Haarlem overly crowded and not really to my liking, although I did enjoy seeing the Carrie Ten Boom museum.

Since you’re spending three nights in Bruges, I might suggest a day trip to Ghent, which I really loved. There’s a lot to see there and it’s another charming small city that’s not overly crowded. In fact, I actually preferred it over Bruges, although I know I’m in the minority.

Either way, I know you’ll have a fantastic time!

I would definitely stay in Amsterdam, not Haarlem. You will already spend very little time in Amsterdam, having to train in and out there from Haarlem will only eat more time away.
Overall, your itinerary would be too rushed for me, but it’s doable and you seem fine with a fast paced itinerary.

Ok, I think we will stay in Amsterdam, based on everyone's recs. I am totally fine switching around the days/activities planned for Amsterdam and will likely do so based on what makes the most sense.

Is Leiden definitely worth a stop or more just a 'nice to see it if you have time'? I know everyone's opinions are different of course.

Staying in Bruges vs Ghent seems to be a popular question, so I just chose one because there's no way to know which one we will prefer until we are actually there. They both seem lovely, so I am sure we will be happy with either.

Hi Mardee!!! Hope you're doing well :)

Thanks to all who weighed in.

Oh, what does everyone think about Zaanse Schans? Worth it?

In doing research it seems that most prefer Kinderdijk for windmills, but ZS is much easier to get to/convenient, which I why I chose it. I do think my mom would enjoy it, but we can cut it if we prefer to stay in Amsterdam city more.

Okay, here's my opinion about Leiden and Zaanse Schans.

First, yes, in my opinion, Leiden is very much worth a visit. I absolutely loved it and found it had both atmosphere and charm. It is the home of Leiden University, which is one of the oldest universities in the country, and is quite lovely with charming cobblestone streets and 17th century gabled houses. It has many historic buildings but does not have the "touristy" feel of many other places. It's a much more livable feel. The city has many picturesque canals and waterways, which are lovely to walk along and there are boat tours you can take. And there are lots of parks, gardens, and green spaces in Leiden, not to mention some wonderful cafes and restaurants.

I also really really enjoyed Zaanse Schans, and I think your mom would, too. I have a friend who lives outside of Amsterdam and she came and picked me up and we visited there, because she thought it was a must see. It really was charming, very scenic and definitely worth a visit, in my opinion. :-)

My mom was very similar to yours, so I get it:)

This past February my daughter and I did a trip to Amsterdam. The hotel we stayed at was the Hotel Estherea and it was gorgeous! It was perfect for a mom/daughter trip. Very central, quiet, beautiful, easy to walk everywhere (never took the tram), and an exquisite breakfast. My daughter found a promo on their instagram page that included breakfast, so that was a huge savings.

We went to Delft for a day trip and loved it. I wish we would have stayed at least a night. We went to the Royal Delft Factory and Museum and figured we would just take a short trip through it as mom was nuts over this stuff. We were both very surprised at how much we enjoyed it. We spent a lot of time there and did not even realize it. BTW, the restaurant in the main square called Monastere is not to be missed. We arrived before the restaurant opened, but the bar was open. The owner said he would open the kitchen for us, and we tried to explain that the bar snacks would be fine, but he insisted. He had the kitchen staff open an hour early just for us. I am still in awe. He was so gracious and the food was excellent as was the service.

For the canal boat tour, skip the usual ones and go with Jack. Our hotel recommended him and I can see why. You have the option of joining in with up to 8 people or a private tour. We opted for the 8, but were the only 2 so that was especially nice. The ride is 90 minutes and he was a joy to chat with. He is in his early 30's and very engaging, and a local. We did regular cancel tour as well and they did not even compare, not at all. I have recommended it here many times and if you look at reviews here, you can see that others loved it as much as we did. Oh, and at the end he dropped us off right in front of our hotel. Talk about service:) This is his website. http://amsterdamprivateboattour.com

We also did a day trip to Gouda, which you don't have listed but might consider. We loved it.

As for Zaanse Schans, we did a day tour there that also included Marken and Volendam. It was awful. The places were fine, but the tour was just plain bad. Not enough time to even scratch the surface, and at the last place where they make the wooden shoes, the machine broke and the poor guy could not fix it. He was so gracious though. Instead of the tour letting us use that extra time to wander they made us get on the bus and took us back early. So if you do this, do it o your own vs a tour. We rarely do these types of tours, but our trip was the week after my mom passed, so I was not up for doing in depth planning.

Mardee- Thanks for your input! I'll keep Leiden on the list and Zaanse Schans, time permitting of course.

Mikliz97- Thanks for the canal tour rec and the restaurant! Adding both to my notes. I did think Gouda sounded fun, but worried about fitting it in to an already busy schedule. We will likely just see what we feel up to and decide on the fly!

emmye--That is what we did, our day trips were on a whim and it was nice to go and not have any agenda for the day besides getting back to our hotel that night;). In Gouda, on the way from the train station into town is a sweet little store/cafe called Flossy. Hard to describe, but we loved it.