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Advise on 6 days Itinerary for Amsterdam, Netherland and Belgium

My family and I plan to visit Netherland and Bruges/Brussel this summer in July 2018. We are flying from London to Amsterdam. We will buy return tickets from Amsterdam to London. We are in a big group and will rent 2 cars at the airport before check in at bnb. We have 6 full days for this trip minus our 2 travelling days.

We plan to drive to these places and (1) discover Amsterdam and Netherland Countryside.
(2) discover Brussel and Bruges
We plan to stay overnight at Amsterdam and Brussel or Antwept . We have never been to these two countries and do not know the location. We don't understand Dutch language. English is our second language and we speak English very well.

I would like to get an advise on the best itinerary for the 6 days. On the 7 days we will fly back to London from Amsterdam. Thank you.

Firstly I wish you have pleasant journey to Amsterdam and Netherland. Brussel and Bruges are the awesome destination to travel. Your 6 days will become unforgettable in Netherlands. All the best.

Posted by
32750 posts

While the two cars may be good for keeping your large group together and they will be useful for discovering the Netherlands countryside (how many days for the countryside in your short 4 day trip?) they will be very difficult to use in Amsterdam, Brussels and Bruges (Brugge). Parking in Amsterdam is very difficult - narrow lanes with canals at one side, many many bicycles who have the right of way and take it sometimes when they don't, and trams who also have the right of way. In addition to being very difficult it is also very expensive when you do find some. The odds of being able to park the two cars close to each other are low.

Parking in Brussels is also very difficult, and the kerbs are both high and sharp. Brussels drivers as a whole are not known for their driving skill. There is little or no free parking.

Parking in Bruges (Brugge) is very difficult. There are two major underground carparks and a large one at the train station, but if you are going to use those you may as well use the trains and buses - you will have to for part of the journey. On street parking is difficult because of the cobbled streets and narrow roads and the lack of spaces. There are two zones, blue and white, you will want to know what your accommodation suggests or if they have a friend with a space for rent.

How large is your group?

You will find that not knowing Dutch is either no problem at all or only a very minor one.

Dutch motorways are crowded and not always fast. Do also remember that it was the Dutch who invented the automatic speed camera, and they have plenty of them at work.

Antwerp (Antwerpen) is known for its traffic snarl ups. There are two possible ways around and through Antwerpen, the clockwise way involving tunnels with tolls and much further around, but often faster overall, and the anticlockwise way nearer the centre but often very slow. I have never even attempted to try to park in Antwerpen.

I wish you good times on the trip and pleasure planning it.

Posted by
129 posts

Nigel is absolutely, 100 percent spot on. I was in Amsterdam for two weeks, and leave tonight for another week of business. I have yet to see two parking spots open on the same block in Amsterdam. I can also speak for Brussels--less challenging, but still difficult. Driving in Amsterdam is for the crazy--trams, buses, trucks, bikes, stoned tourists who don't know what a "Don't Walk" sign means. And that's in February...I can't imagine how crowded the city is in summer.

Please carefully consider taking trains. You're going to cities, so getting there will not be difficult. They are frequent and pleasant.
Driving will most likely stress you out, making your vacation much less enjoyable. Yes, it will be expensive and less flexible....but renting 2 cars will also be very expensive. Best of luck, and enjoy your time.