We will be in the Netherlands for 11 nights. We prefer to stay in 2 locations and take day trips rather than move from hotel to hotel. We would consider one place in the Netherlands and one outside the country, or 2 different Netherland locations. We've been to the most popular surrounding destinations, Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges. We were considering Luxembourg, someplace easily reachable by train. Our trip is mid to end of May 2024. We would love any and all suggestions. Thought about possibly a coastal resort but haven't come across any yet. We like to walk and explore but also want to include some downtime to just relax in a beautiful area. Thanks in advance!
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776 posts
Posted by
85 posts
Do you want to travel by public transport only or are you willing to rent a car ? What exactly do you have in mind for the Netherlands? Little coastal towns are in general not very well connected by public transport. A city like The Hague is close to the sea and has good public transport. The city of Utrecht is the central train hub in the Netherlands and has the best connections as far as trains are concerned. Utrecht centre is very nice along the canals. Renting a car will give you more flexibility. You can stay in a small village and do your daytrips from there. And if you want to visit a city you could drive to a trainstation , park your car near a trainstation and take a train. Furthermore some cities do have P&R. It means you park your car on the outskirts of a city and take public transport from there to the city centre. We use that possibility when we go to cities like Amsterdam and Rotterdam.
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montara, ca, usa
5 posts
In June, We are staying less than 30 minutes from Amsterdam in Broek in Waterland. It’s our first trip to Netherlands and we wanted to stay off the beaten path. The place is called Bed in Broek, and we booked directly online. We’ll be there 5 nights. It has excellent reviews. Check it out. https://www.bedinbroek.nl/
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15591 posts
There are many towns in the Netherlands worth visiting for a day and lots of sights in A'dam. Friends stayed in Haarlem and commuted to A'dam, said it was much better (and cheaper) than staying in A'dam itself. The train system is very good, trains are fast and frequent. For a second base I'd say The Hague. There's a big beach, and you can explore the southern part of the country. I did that once and had no regrets.
I was planning another trip to the Netherlands and looked into visiting Luxembourg. It seemed to be a long way for too little.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thanks so far on the suggestions and input. We are not renting a car and enjoy taking trains whenever possible even though it may limit some of the great places. The first part of the trip we like to do more of the full day of exploring, full day trips to places and the second part of the trip we are hoping for a bit of R &R, staying in a more luxurious hotel, walking around and enjoying the local culture, less full day excursions. I’m going to reconsider Luxembourg as it may not offer as much for the first part of our trip. Any suggestions on location approximately an hours distance from Schiphol airport that might fit the bill for the R&R part of the trip? Again thank you for any and all feedback!
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11175 posts
I suggest staying in Amsterdam for part of your time.
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85 posts
It is in a totally different part of the Netherlands but nature is never far away and there’s loads to discover culturally in that part of the country: ‘s-Hertogenbosch. The town is 1.03 hour away by direct trainconnection from Schiphol. Have a look at: https://www.hotel-central.nl/en/ .
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6 posts
For the 'luxury' part of my trip in the Netherlands I stayed at Central Park Voorburg. It is a chateau, with lovely staff, a great breakfast and sits just on the edge of Central Park, which is a city park. Absolutely relaxing. The adjacent area has great walking, good chocolate shops, and a canal at the edge of the Park. I felt absolutely rested.