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Best home base?

Posted by (Pittsburgh, PA) on

Hello,

My husband and I are planning our anniversary trip - splitting 10 days (landing August 23 - leaving September 2) between Netherlands and Belgium. We have a loose idea of cities we want to visit, but are having a hard time determining where to call home base. We don’t mind hoping locations every few days, so ideally looking to stay in two - three locations.

Some background information - we like to stay in unique lodging options (We’re interested in staying in a houseboat, or at least somewhere with a beautiful canal view). We typically go for interested Airbnb accommodations. We enjoy quaint neighborhoods with interesting architecture and outdoor cafes; we are young and able to walk far distances; we like museums and being within close proximity to the major attractions; we’re interested in seeing windmills, open parks/markets, and taking a canal tour. We prefer “charm” over big city.

Here’s our rough itinerary:

Landing Thursday, August 23 at Schiphol
August 23 - 25 - Amsterdam, Haarlem and Edam/Waterland
August 26 - Delft, Leiden
August 27 - Rotterdam (trip to Kinderdijk)
August 28 - the Hague
August 29 - Antwerp
August 30 - Ghent
August 31 - Bruges
September 1 - last day to explore around Amsterdam, staying close to the airport
September 2 - fly home to Charlotte, NC

Please let me know if any of these could/should be combined, and which two or three locations work best for home base. We realize this isn’t nearly enough time to see Belgium, merely looking for a taste and planning to return at a later date. If anyone feels strongly we should trim out a city in Belgium, we’re open to that as well.

Thank you,

Katie

Posted by
2487 posts

Leiden would make a nice base for the first days of your trip. Historical city without the tourist masses which make Amsterdam less and less attractive. Trains for Amsterdam (35 mins), Haarlem (20 mins), Den Haag (15 mins), and Delft (20 mins) go every 15 mins. Schiphol airport is 20 mins away, also with 4 trains per hour.
Instead of Rotterdam I'd advice you to stay one or two nights in Dordrecht, oldest city of the Holland part of the country. Kinderdijk is close by with either river ferry (Waterbus) or a regular bus service.
For Flanders Gent would make a nice base. Lively city with frequent trains to both Brugge (30 mins), Antwerpen (60 mins) and - in case of a change of plans - Brussel (30 mins).
On the way back you can stay in Haarlem: 15 mins from Amsterdam and with a frequent direct bus service (every 10 mins or so) to Schiphol airport (35 mins away).

Posted by
5687 posts

Unless your flight arrives really late into Amsterdam, consider heading immediately south by train from Schiphol to your first destination. Then you can save Amsterdam for last and not need to split your time there.

You could use Amsterdam as a base for all of your Netherlands destinations and do day trips if you want. Some people really don't like changing hotels. I'd probably base in Delft though for a few nights to explore Rotterdam, The Hague, etc. Delft is a lovely little town, and it would give you a very different experience vs. spending all your nights in Amsterdam.

For Belgium, many people prefer Ghent as a base because it's so much less touristy than the tourist zoo Bruges can be especially at high season. I stayed in Bruges and loved it and day tripped to Ghent (which I also loved), but that was in May, and Bruges was not really mobbed with tourists when I was there. Some people seem to love Antwerp, but it wasn't a favorite of mine. I spent two nights there and found not much charm or (in May) nightlife of any sort. But the museums make it worth at least a day stop, and you could stop for a night or two there if you like on the way to/from Amsterdam. Otherwise, you could day trip from say Ghent by train - not hard, just backtracking over the same train tracks you will already take going back and forth to the Netherlands. Up to you how much trouble you find it to change hotels an extra time vs. extra time day tripping over the same train tracks. Even though I love trains, I didn't find the flat Belgium scenery from the train window all that amazing.

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