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6 days near Amsterdam

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Hi! I would love some itinerary advice. My 15-year-old daughter and I will be in Amsterdam for 6 days (13-19 April). Should we stay in Amsterdam and the Netherlands? Or add train trips to Belgium or nearby countries? My daughter has only been to France, so I'd love for her to see more of Europe if we can. The two places she really wants to go are Amsterdam and Cologne, but I don't know if it's realistic to pack Cologne into the schedule.

Option 1: Netherlands, Belgium, & Germany
- Sun. 4/13 - Explore Haarlem. (Last day to see flower parade floats.) Maybe walk along Zandvoort Beach. Return to Amsterdam.
- Mon. 4/14 - Explore Amsterdam. (Anne Frank House, art museum, science museum, canal cruise, etc. Explore Jordaan and 9 Streets shopping area.)
- Tues. 4/15 - Explore Amsterdam & Zaanse Schans. (Morning at Rijksmuseum or Van Gogh Museum. Train to Zaanse Schans. Return to Amsterdam and explore more neighborhoods or markets.)
- Wed. 4/16 - Explore Bruges & Ghent, Belgium. (Check out of Amsterdam hotel. Take 3-hour early train to Bruges. Visit Markt Square, climb Belfry Tower, eat Belgian chocolate & waffles. Take 30-minute train to Ghent. Visit Gravensteen Castle and medieval city center. Stay overnight in Ghent or Brussels.)
- Thurs. 4/17 - Explore Cologne, Germany. (Take 2- to 3-hour early train. Visit Cologne Cathedral, Wallraf-Richartz Museum, and Flora und Botanischer Garten.) Short boat ride or walk along the Rhine River. Take 4-hour train back to Amsterdam for an evening arrival.
Fri. 4/18 - Amsterdam. (Rembrandt House, explore Albert Cuyp Market, relax at Vondelpark. Eat dinner near the canal.)
**Sat. 4/19 - Fly out of Amsterdam.

Option 2: Netherlands only
Sun., Mon., & Tues. are the same.
Wed. 4/16 - Delft. (Take 1-hour train from Amsterdam to Delft. Visit Royal Delft Porcelain Factory. Explore Markt Square, Oude Kerk & Nieuwe Kerk. Return to Amsterdam.)
Thurs. 4/17 - Waterland Day Trip. (Bus/train to Edam. Explore cheese market and canals. Visit Volendam. See the fishing village and historic harbor. Take a ferry to Marken, a picturesque Dutch village. Return to Amsterdam.)
OR On Wed. or Thurs., we could day trip to the Efteling theme park.
Fri. & Sat. are the same.

Are either of these plans good? Is there anything else we should consider doing? (I wouldn't mind an overnight train somewhere.) Thanks!

Posted by
1251 posts

Is your trip next month? If it is, I hope you already have your Anne Frank House and Van Gough Museum tickets.

Posted by
6054 posts

Just initial thoughts-
Option 1-
A idea: You can see the floats in Haarlem and go to Keukenhof that day.
4/16 is way too much. Sleep in Brugge. I can't imagine seeing Brugge and Ghent as one day trip.
4/17 Cologne too much. Sleep in Brugge.
Overall, slow down.
Do you have hotels booked? This is only six weeks away, and it's the week before Easter and during Tulip Season. Things will be crowded.
I love the NL and Belgium. You'll be seeing some beautiful areas. Have a special trip with your daughter.
Safe travels!

Posted by
1714 posts

Option 2 is way too much traveling. It’s already too much to do Ghent and Bruges in 1 day if you start in Ghent. If you have to train in from Amsterdam, it’s not realistic or enjoyable.

No matter which option you choose, make sure to go online on Tuesday March 4 (tomorrow!) at 10 am local time in Amsterdam to buy your tickets to the Anne Frank house. Tickets sell out extremely fast, so you need to be ready to grab them. Tickets can only be bought online at https://www.annefrank.org/en/museum/tickets/choose-your-ticket/

Posted by
343 posts

make sure to go online on Tuesday March 4 (tomorrow!) at 10 am local time in Amsterdam to buy your tickets to the Anne Frank house.

THIS for sure with EMPHASIS on at 10 am local time which will mean 3:55AM in the US (or earlier)! Set your alarm for 5+ mins early, get online and be ready to go. In fact, go today and do a "test" run so you are familiar with the site navigation and the tickets you want etc.

Overall, the #2 itinerary looks nicer to me. I like the one country, one focus thing nowadays, so your #2 is pretty similar to our first visit to the Netherlands. We were there for more days, and used bikes for much of our transportation needs (which I strongly recommend - fun, efficient, and a great way to see "between the sites").

As I've mentioned in other threads, the Anne Frank House, Corrie Ten Boom house (Haarlem) and the Resistance Museum (Amsterdam) make a great trio for understanding the situation in WWII in the Netherlands. CTB tickets are a challenge, so book them if you can. Also, any visit to the AFH deserves a re-reading of her diaries beforehand. Likely your daughter (at 15) read it relatively recently, but as an adult, it is a much different experience and well worth the time.

Posted by
3 posts

Thank you all! I really appreciate your help. I had a feeling we should focus on Amsterdam and the Netherlands instead of traveling too far away.
It took 3 hours, but I finally got Anne Frank House tickets when they were released this morning. The website was down for awhile - you could see tickets were available and it looked like they were in my cart, but the price would stay at $0 or $1. (My advice: When you see the correct total price in the cart, that's when you have the best chance of the transaction going through.)

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