We will be cruising from Basel, Switzerland to Amsterdam from 9/23 to 9/30 (flying round trip from US to AMS). (I will get a flight to Switzerland separately.)
Originally, we talked about doing a couple of days in Lucerne before the cruise, and then a few days in Amsterdam after the cruise, but now I am thinking about the time of year, and wondering if it would be best to focus on Amsterdam before the cruise and then head straight home after the cruise.
Any thoughts??
Also, not that I want to cut it short, but what would be the minimum number of days to get a sense of Amsterdam and the surrounding area while we are there?
Thank you!!
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
5716 posts
Given that we're only talking about a week time spread, it won't make a blind bit of difference whether you extend your trip before, after, or both. And depending on what you want to see and do, I would think 2-3 nights would be the minimum for A'dam. Same for Lucerne, since you can't predict the cloud cover on the mountains. I'm not sure what your concerns are about Lucerne at the end of September.
If you haven't booked tickets yet, consider a multicity ticket with flights into Switzerland and home from A'dam.
Posted by
44 posts
If you haven't already purchased your airfare, I would suggest flying open jaw. into Zurich and out of Amsterdam. The train station is in the lower level of the Zurich Airport. You can take the train to Lucerne, stay a few days, then train to Basel. I wouldn't want to miss Lucerne. There are hotels within walking distance of the train station.
I would stay a a couple of days in Amsterdam at the end. Be sure and get tickets to the Anne Frank house ( if you want to go there) before you leave home. I would also get to tickets to any museum before you go. Enjoy your cruise.
Posted by
OP
Oregon
5 posts
Thank you for your responses.
I think we have FOMO.
We tend to enjoy spending more than just a couple of days in one place so we can get truly get the feel of it, especially at the start of a trip because of the time zone change.
At the same time, we don't want to miss an opportunity to visit an area we haven't seen.
Posted by
108 posts
Hello,
I understand your FOMO and I might have a strategy that will help.
On our most recent trips last year and the year before, we flew in or out of cities we hadn't visited before. One was Madrid and the other was Amsterdam. Both deserving of long visits, correct? However, we didn't have time for that as they were more or less a stopover because of our flight options.
I decided that the probability that we will need to stop in those cities again to be high, so we just stayed a couple of nights, saw a few things, and made a mental list of things we will see next time.
We prioritized days in locations we are less likely to be near on later trips. I am assuming that you will often have an opportunity to fly nonstop PDX to AMS on your future trips. (Or AMS to PDX on your way home). So I like your 1st idea: maybe 3 days in Lucerne at the front end and 2 nights in Amsterdam on the way home.
We will be using a version of this strategy this spring: flying into AMS, stopping for a couple of nights because Kuekenhof Gardens will be open, maybe visiting a museum we didn't see last year on our first visit, then buying a separate ticket on to Athens.
I hope this helps. Whatever you decide, enjoy your trip!
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
8265 posts
Personally, even with lots of trips under my belt, I like to have a night or two on arrival just to get my clock set right, add to that, you really do not want to arrive and try to catch a separate flight to Switzerland the same day. There is risk in missing your flight, and having a healthy buffer makes for a long day.
I would be tempted to spend two nights somewhere in the Netherlands, Leiden would work great, with the focus on relaxing, some walks, etc., then catch a flight to the Basel area to start your cruise, then spend time needed in Amsterdam after the cruise to see what you want.
Posted by
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
4724 posts
Maybe I'll have a better answer for you in June. We're doing an Amsterdam to Basel Cruise in late May. We're spending 3 days in Amsterdam pre cruise and then post cruise, 3 days in Colmar, 2 days Lucerne and 2 days in Zurich before flying home (KLM with a connection in Amsterdam).
Posted by
Bellingham, WA
553 posts
I want to echo SunnyBlueFlax's comment. My strategy is to find the transatlantic flights that suit me best. Lately this has been Condor's SEA-FRA RT. First time, I used my Alaska miles to get a business class seat, and this time, I was able to get Premium Economy without breaking the bank. I'm very tall and fat, so having extra space on the flight is very important to me, but I'm also cheap. Then I build the trip around the flight. So last summer, for my trip to Ireland, we flew into FRA, got a car and spent 1 night in Wiesbaden and 2 nights in Enkirch on the Mosel before flying to Belfast. This time, I'm visiting London for a job fair. Again, flying into FRA, then taking the train to Amsterdam, Eurostar to London, then flying to Ireland for a few days before returning to FRA to fly home.
My other approach is to take the absolute most time I can possibly take. This is usually based on my travel partner's work schedule. If you have the time, take it. I don't like to stay anywhere for fewer than 3 nights, especially if I am traveling by public transport. So for me, that's 3 nights Lucerne, cruise, 3 nights Amsterdam, minimum.