How Many Days In Amsterdam?

There is so much to do in Amsterdam and vicinity. Many day trips to take. I'd stay a week if I could. See Rick Steves' Amsterdam and The Netherlands guidebook for great itinerary ideas, but a couple of full days for the city itself including 2 or 3 museums, a day in the country for tulips, a day trip to the "Waterland," and another for Delft or Utrecht or any number of small towns worth seeing.

It sounds like Amsterdam and many charming cities nearby check all of your boxes and you haven't been before. It's a wonderful "gift" at a special time in the Netherlands. I too would recommend a week to unwind after your river cruise with a mixture of strolls, museum visits, flower field/canal bike rides, day trips, etc. I'd also recommend looking at Haarlem or Leiden for lodging if Amsterdam doesn't fit your budget or availability.

We are going to be staying outside of Amsterdam, near Haarlem, from April 11-29 and can't wait!

In 2010, we spent four full days in Amsterdam at the end of a two week adventure. Our first full day there was Queen's Day (April 27 or thereabout), and that turned out to be a perfect time to visit the Rijksmuseum. We had gorgeous weather for the first two days, but after that it was rainy, windy, and cold - making walking less appealing. Thanks to the bad weather, we spent a few hours in The Hermitage Amsterdam. Their art exhibit was one of the most truly spectacular exhibits I've ever seen - turns out the Fauvists are my faves. The Russian government will only allow works of art to be out of the country for six months so their exhibits are always changing.

By the end of the fourth day, we were ready to leave. But we liked it so much that our next trip to Europe will include Amsterdam. I am using TripAdvisor to narrow down our hotel options, and I'm fixing to post a question about a hotel that is not mentioned in the RS guidebook. We loved our small hotel in 2010 - but it has been sold and gets a lot of bad reviews nowadays.

We spent a week in Amsterdam last spring, and didn't find it too long at all. A week would definitely give you time for tulips and day trips to Delft, Harlem, and the water areas. Not to mention the wonderful museums. We stayed at the Seven Bridges Hotel and thought it was charming and well-located. We also used Tripkey to buy a transit card which was most useful, although we did walk a lot. The weather in mid-April could be chilly, windy, and damp, but if you are dressed appropriately, you should be fine. The trams are usually available if you choose not to walk. I'd be happy to return for another week just because it's so nice!

We spent six nights, five full days, in Amsterdam a few years ago. We saw most of what we wanted to, including a day trip to another city for my Dutch "bulbs" ("roots" to non-Dutch descendants). We're going back this spring, staying in Haarlem (which we didn't get to last time) four nights and expecting to spend at least a day, maybe two, mostly in Amsterdam. One of the things we want to see is the exhibit of Dutch masters at the Hermitage -- paintings returning "home" temporarily, a special chance to see them without going to St. Petersburg. We'll be arriving April 27, which is King's Day, and we've been told to expect big crowds in Amsterdam and elsewhere, lots of people selling their stuff in open-air flea markets, lots of orange clothing, and lots of celebrating.

Bottom line -- if you're interested in Amsterdam and the Netherlands, a week wouldn't be too long. And there should be lots of hotel choices, though King's Day will make it harder to get reservations, especially since it's a Friday and for some may morph into "King's Weekend."

We had 5 nights there last April, but after taking day trips to Haarlem, Den Haag (Madurodam was a blast) and a day doing Keukenhof and the tulip fields...I really felt we shortchanged Amsterdam itself. The one full day we spent in A'dam, we did a canal boat, walked around a bit, visited the Rijks, then it rained and we retreated to our room.

We did have some evenings and mornings wandering before doing day trips. We stayed in the De Pijp area - which was a great area - not that long a walk to the outer canal/Heineken (there was a tram line, but it was under construction to the centre - seemed almost finished when we left) and was only a few tram stops from the Rijks...and lots of restaurants and we visited the Albert Cuyp Market (less than 10 min walk from our airbnb)

I'd love to go back and just stay in A'dam proper - I think 3 full days would do the trick.

Here is one other possibility on lodging. Use Priceline.com name your own price and put in a 4 star in the museum district and see what comes up. Only bid the amount you would be comfortable paying. It may be that they don't feel any need to heavily discount in April, I just don't know. I do know that we paid around $100 a night for a hotel that would have cost us around $250 a night had we booked directly with the hotel in July.

There are some pitfalls. You pay for your room in advance at the time of reservation and there are no refunds. You don't pick the hotel, it is assigned to you. If someone accepts the amount you bid the process is over. (This is why I stressed 4 star, museum district- you won't go wrong with that).

I found 4 full days in Amsterdam just about right. I was visiting it after 2 weeks somewhere else much as you describe. I enjoyed it very much, but I found I was also ready to head home.

Blue439,
I'm planning a trip to Paris and then Amsterdam for April 18 - 29. We will arrive in Amsterdam on 4/23 and have paid in advance for our hotel in Haarlem. Carlton Square, on a friend's recommendation who stayed there last April. We paid 900 Euros for 6 nights which I think is reasonable - we paid for our room last June because we knew April is very busy. The trains run frequently between Haarlem and Amsterdam. We are museum people and like walking and people watching and seeing the sights and I am learning there is a lot to see in Haarlem, too.

I would stay at least a week, a little more if you can, especially if you are planning to visit other cities. In 2015 we spent one week in Amsterdam before a RS tour plus a couple of days in Haarlem and got to see much of what we wanted. We returned for a five week stay last winter and took several day trips as well as spending a few days in Zwolle. We returned for 12 days this fall and still found wonderful new things to do and STILL haven't seen/done some of what we'd like.

I Thank you all for your thoughtful and informative suggestions and recommendations.
The envelope has been unsealed - and the winner is - five days in Amsterdam.
My expectations are soaring - and this Amsterdam "add on" will be at the end of what will be an exciting lower Danube adventure.

Yeah! Glad you are adding this to your trip. I'll be interested to learn of your activities. I will be spending 2 full days there at the start of a three week fall trip. Looks like I will be staying in a canal row house while there.