My husband and I will be staying a couple of days in Amsterdam next May and he has difficultly walking much. I had heard there are hotels that provide bikes for their guests. Any recommendations? While we prefer smaller places to stay, that's not a limiting factor. We really don't want to pay more than 250 euro/night. We've been to Amsterdam a few times, so we don't have to try and see everything on our short layover. We may spend a day at the Keukenhof if we can get a wheelchair there, but otherwise there's just so much to see at the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh museum to keep us busy.
Posted by
The Netherlands
1992 posts
You can rent bikes all over Amsterdam, so I wouldn’t limit your options to the few hotels that provide them to their guests. Your choice will already be limited because your budget is tight. Perhaps even too tight for Amsterdam during the peak tulip season. Have you thought of staying in Leiden or Haarlem?
I do have another concern though. You say you’ve been to Amsterdam before. Was that in the last couple of years? I ask because the city center of Amsterdam has gotten really busy. How well can your husband handle himself on a bike? What if a fellow tourist suddenly steps in front of him on the cycle path? Unfortunately this is not a hypothetical situation. A tourist or two stepping in front of your bike is 100% guaranteed to happen if you bike in central Amsterdam during the tulip season. I’m Dutch and have been riding a bike since I was very young, but I find biking in Amsterdam to be no easy task. You need to have your wits about you at all times and need to know where you’re going and what you’re doing. And even then accidents do happen. Maybe wait until you get here before renting a bike?
Posted by
Haarlem, Netherlands
161 posts
Maybe consider a Bolt or Uber instead of renting a bike? As Dutch_traveler mentions cycling in Amsterdam can be quite an experience with unwritten rules, tram rails people get stuck in, relative steep bridges and masses of bikes competing for space on cycle lanes combined with unruly taxi drivers. It may involve quite few stop-starts at traffic lights as well. Of course, electric bikes could reduce the physical effort.
Not to scare you off but to ask yourself whether bikes are the best mode of transportation in your situation. Plenty of tourists will have had amazing experiences with the freedom to go where you want when you want and enjoying the little bit of anarchy that comes with it.
Posted by
Arctophilia, Northamptonshire, England
35533 posts
just to mention that the Keukenhof will close on 10 May 2026.
Posted by
OP
Utah
3 posts
Thanks to all for your input. I think we'll plan on using Uber to get around. We're both fine on bikes, but I do know how crazy us tourists can be on the streets of Amsterdam. Also, thanks for the heads up on the closing date of the Keukenhof in 2026. That actually makes planning our short stay much easier.