My wife and two teenage sons are thinking of flying into Amsterdam , going to Belgium and leaving out of Paris. We have never been to Holland or Belgium. We have been to Paris so we need only two nights there. Any thoughts?
Posted by
Chicago
7839 posts
go for it. Get a travel guide book and start researching and watch some Rick's videos on this site
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Is there anything that is a "cant miss".
What cities in Holland would anyone recommend, besides Amsterdam? Haarlem, Rotterdam? We were thinking of skipping Brussels and going to Ghent and Bruge, seeing Lille and heading to Paris for the flight home.
I have watched all of Rick's videos . Does anyone have a favorite city in this mix?
Posted by
OP
4 posts
10-12. Also a car be preferred or should we rely on trains?
Posted by
52 posts
Spend a few nights in Bruges. It is much more fun than Brussels.
You don’t need a car. Trains and public transport are more convenient.
Posted by
Truro, NS, Canada
3941 posts
Did this trip in 2017 - 5 nights in Amsterdam (with day trips to Keukenhof, Den Haag, Haarlem), 3 nights in Dordrecht (with day trips to Gouda and Kinderdijk and a quick stop in Rotterdam on the way to Dordrecht) and 3 nights in Ghent (with stops in Antwerp for a few hours on the way to Ghent, Bruges, Ypres and a few hours in Brussels on the way to Paris).
Four nights would probably be perfect for Amsterdam - if you don't plan on doing day trips, 3 would suffice. I really enjoyed Belgium, as we went with no expectations. Ghent was a nice central, lively spot to base out of. Lots of other great little towns in Netherlands you could stay in for a few nights - we had a lot more on our list we never made it too - Leiden, Delft, Utrecht, Edam...
Posted by
Wakefield, MA
82 posts
We did this in reverse 2 summers ago and had 13 nights. We spent 7 nights in Paris (had never been before), then took the train to Bruges for 2 nights, then train to Amsterdam for 4 nights with a day trip to Harlaam (I think it was about a 1 hour ride). We could have spent 3 nights in Bruges...there was still more food we wanted to eat LOL.
Posted by
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
4044 posts
Essential tool for rail travel research:
www.seat61.com
You probably know this, but to be sure: Use a multi-destination search function to get the best price for your long-distance air fares.