Hop On Hop Off bus vs public transport?

Hoho buses can be useful as a way to get an overview of a place. But they are terrible as a way to get from A to B.

The HOHO busses are useless in Amsterdam because they are too big to navigate thru the narrow streets alongside the canals. So instead they circle around the most beautiful part of Amsterdam.
The city center of Amsterdam is very compact and walkable, by far the best way to get around is on foot.

How mobile are you? Assuming - since you are going on a bike trip - you are at least moderately fit and mobile, Amsterdam is perfectly walkable and, for experienced cyclists, rideable.

I'd also say that a bit of a walk after standing in a museum is very pleasant. If the Rijksmuseum and Anne Frank House are the same day, they are a relatively short distance from each other - much paralleling one of the larger canals (also where canal tours start/end). You'll be a bit away from those places at the Centraal station, but the walk/ride from that area would take you through many of the areas in RS walking tour and also many other sites, restaurants, and shops.

Thanks for your replies and suggestions. Using our feet and public transportation sounds like the best option. Most of the time, we're pretty mobile (in our late 60s, mid 70s, but active)- just starting to slow down a little. Cycling through the countryside we love, but we've both had accidents so are a bit leary about riding through unfamiliar city streets. At least with the bike/barge tour, we'll be in a group. Any idea how busy the days leading up to King's Day will be? I booked the tour before I even knew what King's Day was but they say our barge will be leaving Amsterday by 2:30 the day before they celebrate.

Kingsday is a one day event. Some celebrations start the night before, but that’s it.
Be aware though that Kingsday 2025 is special. Normally Kingsday is held on the actual birthday of our King; April 27. There is one exception and that’s when April 27 is a Sunday. In that case, Kingsday will be held the day before. And guess what? In 2025 April 27 is a Sunday. This means that in 2025, Kingsday will be on Saturday April 26.

Regardless of whether Kingsday is held on April 26 or April 27, Amsterdam will be absolutely crazy busy. Not because of Kingsday, but because the blooming of the tulips and other bulb flowers peaks during the second half of April. The window during which the flowers in the famous flower fields bloom is very short, so everyone wants to visit at the same time. If this year’s crowds were anything to go by, it will be madness again next year.

I did see that the actual celebration will be on the 26th next year but that is ok since we barge out on Friday, the 25th, early afternoon. At least we'll have to be prepared for the crowds and I have already locked in a place to stay for the 2 nights we are there. That's why we are staying near Central Station, close to where the barges generally dock so we don't have to lug our bags very far. I'm not crazy about crowds but if we want to see the tulips then, not much can be done about it.

We arrived in the Netherlands on King's Day this year, but didn't get to Amsterdam until a few days after King's Day. I was surprised how dirty (lots of trash) Amsterdam seemed to have, but assumed that all or part of it, is the result of the King's Day celebration. Also, I think I assumed I'd see tulips and flowers all over Amsterdam. I expected to at least see potted spring flowers everywhere. That really was not the case, except we did see them at the beautiful Rijksmuseum garden. We ran out of time to see the botanical gardens. The place to see all of the gorgeous tulips/flowers is at Keukenhof Gardens. Defies description!

Staying near Central Station, the way to get around the city is on the tram. Tap in/out with your credit card. Everyone needs their own separate credit card. Pay attention to when tickets for your dates become available, particularly Anne Frank.

I heard that Amsterdam in the later half of April is the busiest time of year with tourists...as a result of the tulips! Then add in King's Day. Busy! But you'll be gone and on your barge by King's Day. King's Day was very fun in the small town we visited on that day. Fun to watch all of the locals celebrating! It looked seemingly like business as usual the next day when we arrived in Delft.

As our itinerary on the bike/barge tour has it, we should actually be visiting the Keukenhof gardens on King's Day next year so it might turn out to be the perfect day. We shall see. Even though it's a year away, I am setting myself alerts to purchase the necessary tickets when they become available. Cross fingersx. This forum and similar ones do so much to help with planning:)

I recommend walking if you can for the same reasons others have already mentioned. If you get tired, stop off for some appeltaart or bitterballen. Then, after you’ve polished that off, begin wandering again.

I am in Haarlem right now and will be spending a few days in the city. I have been here multiple times but this trip we are a family of 4. I downloaded the GVB public transport app. We plan to use the inter city trains, trams ect but as others have said, the city is very walkable. But large at the same time. It is important as was noted, each of you need to use a separate credit card to tap in and out of public transportation. That has presented us a few opportunities but that should be fine for you both. Look at what you want to see in the RS book and map out your walking day. Or just walk and enjoy wherever you land.

It's been a few years, but we stayed at either the Marriott or Hilton and there was a HOHO boat nearby that we used.