Amsterdam with Family in November

Your ideas on what you want to do are fine. I'd just let the kids go out bar or club hopping on their own in the tourist areas given all the info on the web that they can research on their phones instead of spending money on guide.

When you say you “want the kids to have fun” what ages are the kids?

I just took my 4 kids, ages 7 to 15, to Amsterdam in March and we did all of the things you mention except the Ajax game. We didn’t do Ajax because we were in Paris before Amsterdam and we did a PSG game in Paris. We had a great time with the things we did in Amsterdam and we loved the PSG match as well. Strongly recommend going to soccer matches as a cultural experience. We’ve gone to matches in England, Spain, Germany and France through the years and had a great time connecting with locals and the culture. Really fun and highly recommended!!!!

I think it can be hard to get Ajax tickets so check well in advance. Every club (team) has procedures for how to buy tickets and so that’s part of the fun is figuring out how to get tickets you want (for us it was even more challenging to find 6 together).

Really fun interacting with the maestro Rick Steves, too!

Just to be clear, this is a Rick Steves stan account, not the Maestro himself. I was actually surprised that the name was accepted when I created it.

Thanks for the advice on seeing Ajax, Travelin' Man, I'm really excited to see them. My kids are all in High School and I can imagine it will be a ton of fun.

And thank you Jazz+Travels, I think you are right to let them just go and explore.

Personally, I think the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh in one morning is a little ambitious. You could easily spend 3 hours at the Rijksmuseum and another 2 at the Van Gogh. That's a good recipe for museum fatigue. Much more enjoyable to save one for another morning. It's a very good idea to get to both of them right at opening as both museums can get very crowded. Make reservations.

If you are interested in checking out another destination on your way to Paris, you might want to consider Bruges, which for many is the highlight of any visit to the Low Countries. It would involve a change of trains in Brussels or maybe Antwerp, but not a very long ride from those places.

Agree that you should do VG and Rijks on two different days. Then AF and a canal cruise on the respective afternoons. This could be Monday and Wednesday, leaving Tuesday for Kinderdijk, etc. Last Eurostar train to Paris is at 17:08 so you can get a full day in Amsterdam on Wednesday. There is a Cafe on the Eurostar.

With your group, book a rice table for one of your dinners. Ask your hotel for a recommendation.

As for your kids going out ono their own, I am not a fan of that idea in any large city. I doubt if a reputable club will let them in since the drinking age is 18. If a club would let them in, I would not trust them going their. .

Both Rijk and Van Gogh are fantastic museums and should be high are your Amsterdam list in my opinion. You know your family best and can decide if both can be done in the same day. There are geographically close. Unlike the other posters, I think Rijk and Van Gogh CAN be done in the same day because my family did it with the 4 kids, ages 7 through 15. We broke it up with time in the Albert Cuyp and Vondelpark. I will say that we spent about 2 hours in each. One could probably spend all day in Rijk. Either way, enjoy and if you like apple pie, a stop at Patisserie Holtkamp near Rijk would be nice.

Thank you kblur9 and jkh, I am torn about the museum timing. There is a tension between my kids short attention spans and their perception that museums are 'taking up the whole trip' if they see stops on all three days. I've got some ideas about how to approach one trip to the museumplein which Travelin' Man has fleshed out and I think it'll work out ok.

kblur9 I have looked at getting to Bruges because of all the stellar recommendations, I'll revisit and see if it can work.

jkh, thank you so much for the additional thoughts on timing and a rice table is something new we will explore. Appreciate your caution on clubbing, I know they'd love it but I see they are still too young. In the states we have some 'all ages' clubs which are sometimes available in the bigger cities.

Thanks for the apple pie tip, Travelin' Man - my favorite trip would be just taking in all the food recommendations

You didn't state when you are traveling in November. But if over the US Thanksgiving period ..you mentioned stopping in Brussels. Perhaps spend a night there. Since at the Grand Place area there is a Christmas Market with a light show in the evenings. If you are unable to do an overnight and if your tickets allow, and if you can store luggage at train station, take a few.hours to wander the the Grand Place area. I am not enamored with Bruges. It is a cute town with canals and during holiday time an over rated market. Getting there will involve train change as well. I know I am in minority on Bruges though
Daylight is shorter so remember that
Enjoy