Is it crazy to try Amsterdam during tulip season?

Not crazy. The only problem is the lodging is going to cost you more booking this late. You should say how much you want to spend a night to get a realistic idea of your lodging options in and around Amsterdam. You might even stay in Haarlem it is only 20 minute on the train from Amsterdam Centaal train station.

Not crazy, an incredible experience! It is a once in a lifetime experience.

We'd like to keep the hotel under $200 per night, if possible. $250 would be a hard limit.

We'd also prefer to try and stay near the main attractions. My wife has bad knees and bad back, so being close to things is a help.

Try this Hotel see if fits
http://www.ibis.com/gb/hotel-1556-ibis-amsterdam-centre/index.shtml

That looks nice and it's close to the train station....but at about $300 per night for a double. it's a bit out of our budget.

Thanks anyway for the idea!

Popular time maybe u could find a pvt rm at a hostel or stay in nrby Haarlem.
It is a very interesting town a short train ride away.

Hotels in Amsterdam are never particularly cheap. It is likely that you are seeing prices more because of the closeness of your travel and the base high prices in Amsterdam anyway, rather than much of an uptick due to the tulip season.

I understand your knee issue but you might consider Haarlem. It is usually less than Amsterdam and has good transportation connections.

Immediately adjacent to Rotterdam Centraal station is a very modern Holiday Inn Express which is usually between €100 and €150 a night with breakfast included and a very short walk to the trains which take you everywhere. You do need to factor in the higher train fares to get to the bottom line.

Last May we spent several nights at the Barangay B & B. It is about a ten minute walk from Centraal, on a quiet street...we never experienced noise, and I’m sensitive to that. A sumptuous and huge breakfast was delivered to the room, it varied each day of our stay. Close to major restaurant/commercial street and tram. The room was well stocked with coffee, tea, snacks....coffee being vital to our existence, a big plus. We traveled with another couple, one of whom has walking limitations. We asked for and received the patio rooms...down a short flight of stairs, no long climbs involved. Amsterdam rivals Paris for my ultimate affection so I am biased, but YES, Go! We have visited Amsterdam 4 times in spring over the years. If we return this August I will try to get back to the Barangay. Safe travels.

What dates are you looking at?

In case you can't find anything reasonable in Haarlem, you can look further in Leiden and Utrecht.
Leiden is an interesting historical university city in its own right and only 35 mins by frequent train (4 per hour) from Amsterdam (and 20 mins by direct train from Schiphol airport). Just across the railway station you'll find some perfectly adequate hotels, among which one of the French Ibis chain with a price well within your budget. And if you're interested in the tulip fields themselves: at the railway station you'll find the Keukenhof express bus.
Utrecht, also a very attractive historical city, is about the same distance from Amsterdam and also served by an excellent rail connection.

The dates are a bit fluid, but we're hoping to be in Amsterdam sometime around April 17-19.

My wife is a retiree with Delta Airlines, so we fly almost free (need to pay the taxes). The downside is that we have to fly standby, and being retired, we get listed below active Delta employees and other retirees with earlier original hire dates.

As such, we have to fly when it appears that there will be space available for us. So we can't even make hotel reservations until we know for sure that we'll be able to get on the damn plane!

hey paul & melissa
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Thanks! I appreciate all the info!

Not at all! I went last year and it was a highlight of my trip. Just stay away from King’s Day which in late April. It looks like you’re going before that which is good. We didn’t know that when we booked last year and couldn’t figure out why hotel prices were so high.

Hey Paul & Melissa
You’re welcome
Aloha