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How many day in Amsterdam at end of cruise?

We will be taking a cruise next summer that ends in Amsterdam and want to stay several days after the cruise to see Amsterdam, Delft, Utrecht, The Hague &/or Gouda. How many days should we stay and is it best to be based in Amsterdam and do day trips or ???

Posted by
3551 posts

6 days sounds gd. Your stay will be more costly in amsterdam but more convienent to transportation
As most trains hub in ams.

Posted by
11052 posts

We did those day trips and stayed in Amsterdam a week. It was wonderful. We have since returned and spent a week in Leiden. It is near Delft and I encourage you to visit it too. The Pilgrims lived there for ten years before sailing to North America. Six days would work well.

Posted by
2281 posts

hey BLL
6-7 days is good. when does this cruise happen and how many people? Have been to amsterdam twice, once in an apartment and once on a houseboat. Haven't been to those other cities but i think they could be day trips.look at places to stay and if you find something worthwhile book it. amsterdam is expensive, gets crowded, but a lovely place. do your research since it's an old city, lots of bikes, places with steep stairs to carry your luggage up, lots of walking so bring comfortable shoes, canals are pretty so take a canal cruise. let me know if you want some places to check out.
aloha

Posted by
5 posts

The cruise is next July - we'll be in Amsterdam at the end of July and have to be back in L.A. on August 5th.

Thanks.

Posted by
2487 posts

As said, Amsterdam is expensive and very crowded. Consider staying in Utrecht or Leiden: both attractive historical cities and with the excellent train system everything is within fast and easy reach, including Schiphol airport for your return flight.

Posted by
307 posts

We took a river cruise last spring to and from Amsterdam.
We came 3 days early and rented a house through VRBO in Zandaam, a suburb and very nice town outside Amsterdam just to adjust to the time changes before boarding the cruise. It helped us to enjoy the cruise more because we were more adjusted to the time change.
I would stay based in or near Amsterdam and day trip.
Would recommend Martine's Table for dinner near the Red Light district in Amsterdam if you can get a reservation.
Keukenhof Gardens are worth the trip.
Have fun! (We did!)

Posted by
228 posts

In 2019 Keukenhof opens on March 21 2019 and closes on May 19 2019 .

Posted by
2281 posts

hey BLL
i'm putting together some stuff for you and will message you.
look at upper right hand corner for unread message and click. give me a few
aloha

Posted by
1576 posts

Hey BLL,

You might also consider staying in Haarlem which is 20 minutes away by train to Amsterdam Central. Haarlem will be a much cheaper area to stay then Amsterdam as far as hotel cost and dining. It is a beautiful town with interesting sights to see. You can use Haarlem as a base and take day trips to explore Leiden and Utrecht. Haarlem's train station has trains that goes directly to Leiden and Utrecht and both cities are less then an hour from Haarlem. Give it a try

Posted by
129 posts

I would vote for Haarlem too. Think of a quiet, mini-Amsterdam with a wonderful square and lots of really good restaurants. There's a hotel right at the train station, or several around the square, which is an easy walk from the station. You'll need to change trains at Sloterdijk to get to the airport, but it's easy and you'll rarely wait more than 10 minutes. The hotels are not super cheap, but compared to Amsterdam they seem a bargain.

Downtown is a zoo in July...OK to visit and pop into the museums, but staying there and fighting the crowds for a table is not fun (I was just there in July--woof). Check access from Haarlem to those other locations...might require a train change for some of them.

The only caveat I'd throw out about Haarlem is your departure time from Schipol. If it's early morning, you might want to consider packing up and spending the night at an airport hotel. Getting to your gate is something of a time-consuming hassle, so you'd want to arrive at least 2 hours prior to departure.