12 days in Amsterdam

Of course you can take a last minute trip. The most important item for me would be a place to sleep every night.
So, I would quickly research for a hotel by going on booking.com and putting in my filters (price, breakfast, etc), picka hotel, read the reviews, read what is nearby (maybe the main train station) and check the map feature. The map will also show you where the center of the city is and other hotels available with prices. I usually book through the hotels main website though, but we do use booking.com too.
Just as an FYI, Rick’s tour groups stay in Haarlem which is a quick train ride into Amsterdam.

From Amsterdam Central station, the tickets to Haarlem, Delft, Leiden, etc can be purchased the same day. Also check out localbus.nl for a nice ride to different small towns.

You can always find something to do in any big city - a canal boat ride, rent bikes and ride in Vondel Park and bring a picnic, visit smaller, quirky murseums. Go, have fun!

I stayed in the de Pijp neighborhood, which is outside the city center but very easily accessible by tram or bus (I was about 5-10 minutes by tram to the major museums), and loved it there. There were lots of great restaurants; many ethnic ones, wine bars, cafes and pastry shops, the Albert de Cuyp street market, and so on. It was very vibrant and filled with lots of local residents.

I'm probably one of the few who did not care for Haarlem. I found it overcrowded and filled with tourists. I did enjoy seeing the Corrie ten Boom museum but that was one of the few things I liked there.

I enjoyed staying in Amsterdam because there was so much to do in the early mornings and evenings, along with all the sights. Plus I don't like having to commute in to a place - I like staying in the actual city. But that's me.

Sure, you can do last minute trip. You will be beating the Tulip season, and weather will generally be in the 50's F with a good chance of rain each day...so you are avoiding peak tourism time.

I think just about anywhere within the canal belts, and the Museum area is fine for a stay. Do not overlook other towns though, Haarlem and Leiden are smaller and popular for stays. I think the only places I would avoid, is places further out, not near a tram stop.

As someone else mentioned, booking.com is a good start. the map function lets you see where things are at, you can sort by price and amenity, and will see lodging types from hotels to apartments and houses.

Our Rick Steves tour stayed in Delft one night and at the Hotel Die Port van Cleve in Amsterdam for 3 nights. The Amsterdam location near Dam Square was convenient as was the tram was just outside but otherwise it was one of our least favorite hotel stays in many years. Hotel de Plataan in Delft was very quirky - I cut my hand on a cutout applique leaf on our room's door (how often can that happen?!).

Great ideas! Thank you! I did get some other feedback from a few folks. They cautioned us about visiting now because we can expect rain and it could be every day through the end of March. Instead, with some comments from this group, we are rethinking a visit starting the third week of April through May 9. Also, one probably travel to a few cities in the area and stay in two to three locations. However, I am still liking the idea of home base in Amsterdam. Thank you all!

You will be able to catch the end of tulip season, but that could present more of a challenge for lodging availability. Also, I believe you have a holiday included in the later stay, April 27. That's not good or bad, just a variable to consider.
Have a great trip!

There are a great many notable sites to see and things to do in Amsterdam, as you know.

Another thing in your favor here, though, is that there are literally 20-30 or more mind-blowing Dutch cities or towns within 30-to-60 minutes by frequent train.

In fact, nearly all of them are older than Amsterdam and blessed with the same Golden Age extravagance.

Our third visit to the Netherlands will be in late May. We are staying in Rotterdam this trip and will use the train to get around.

If you are interested in the most popular museums for March 12-26 and haven't reserved yet, you may be too late for the Anne Frank museum but can probably still get them for the Van Gogh and for the Rijksmuseum.

12 days is the perfect amount of time, in my opinion. Here's a brainstorm of thoughts:
- I highly recommend renting bikes for traversing the city. It is THE way to get around Amsterdam. That said, cycling in Amsterdam can be chaotic, so if you don't cycle much at home, you may want to avoid it. As an alternative, I would highly recommend an OV-card, which you can use on all the city trams, metro, and trains as well. You might want to get an OV even if you rent bikes (I do). On bikes, I would check out the scene for your first few days, and decide if cycling is for you.
- As someone else mentioned, you're too late to book the Anne Frank House. Bummer. Some sites that are sometimes overlooked but are great are the Dutch Resistance Museum, Our Lord in the Attic, and the Rembrandt House.
- Go to Kuekenhof! Your trip is perfectly timed for the best flower garden in the world.
- Catch a movie at the Tuchinski movie theater, or at least have a beer in the lobby. It has some of the best art deco architecture I've ever seen.
- Eat a Rijstafel. I like Cafe Blauw and Long Pura. Eat a turkish pizza (lahmacun) at Effendy. Eat fresh stroopwafels at Lanskroon. Drink dutch gin (jenever) at Wynand Focknick. Visit Cafe de Reiger for a classic dutch eetcafe.
- Do Rick Steves' Jordaan and City walking tours.