Itinerary Critique - Netherlands and Belgium

Delft is a just a day trip not worth changing hotels for one night

You don't mention Amsterdam in your itinerary except to say that you are visiting the Rijksmuseum - are you doing Amsterdam as a day trip? If it were me, I would spend 4 nights in Amsterdam and visit Haarlem and Delft as a day trip. I was not overly thrilled with Haarlem - I found it crowded and hyped up a bit much. That's not to say it's not worth going to, but I think its main attractions (like the Corrie Ten Boom museum) could be seen in a day. Of course that's me - I like cities and loved Amsterdam a lot but I know other people prefer staying out of them.

Leiden is worth a visit - it was beautiful and wonderfully charming. I wish I would have spent more time there. And I haven't been to Maastricht, but absolutely loved Ghent (more than Bruges).

If you have a decent stopover in Antwerp, it's definitely worth seeing the train station - it is beautiful.

Thanks for the thoughtful response Mardee. Yes, Amsterdam will just be a day trip from either Haarlem or Utrecht. Those dates both fall on holidays (Easter weekend and Kings Day), so Amsterdam hotels are 50-75% higher than Haarlem or Utrecht. That’s why I’m staying in the other places, but day trips will be 15-30 minutes only to get into the city. I do have tickets for several museums, including the Ten Boom House.

We’ve had an extremely mild winter in the Netherlands. In fact I wouldn’t even call it winter, it felt more like a prolonged autumn. This means that spring has sprung early. Two weeks ago the Keukenhof was interviewed about this subject and they showed a field of beautiful blue/purple irises that were already in full bloom. By the time the Keukenhof will open its doors for the 2022 season these blooms will already be bloomed out. There will of course be other flowers too in the Keukenhof, so don’t worry. There won’t be much of a difference in terms of blooming between Easter and Kings Day, so I would just pick a date that suits you best. I would not visit the Keukenhof at Easter Sunday or Monday though, the crowds will be insane.

I would also cancel your 1-night stay in Delft. It’s an easy train ride. Not worth all the hassle of checking in and out of hotels and carrying luggage around. Definitely add Leiden to your itinerary, it’s a lovely historical city.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/belgium/day-trips-from-brussels-768c7c85-75b9-4374-ad13-ae36967bc521

I have not been to Maastricht, but it is out of the way from a travel point of view. How about Den Haag (which includes Delft by tram) or Rotterdam? I suspect that you are flying in and out of Amsterdam, instead of, say, going home from Brussels. That wastes touring time. As does hotel changing. I understand about cost saving, but I would not prefer to sleep in Haarlem. Does the Haarlem train line include any of your interests without changing in Amsterdam?

I happen to like Antwerp, and I think it has much more to do than Ghent. You're not really taking advantage of local day trips by train in locations that are especially suitable for them. For example, the fact that Mystic Lamb is one of the few 7-day attractions in Belgium reduces the need to sleep in Ghent. While I believe Utrecht is worth sleeping in (unlike, say, Amersfoort or Alkmaar or Delft), I have visited Utrecht as a daytrip from Amsterdam. I have heard that it's a good place to bus to Keukenhof, but it's not the only option. (Corrected by a local, next post. More likely, the advice I remembered was about Leiden, as nice a visit as Utrecht.)

Edit: Depending on your train from Delft/Haarlem, you might end up in Antwerp (higher price and faster) or Brussels (lower price and speed, usually) as a first stop. Could that affect your sleeping location?

Keukenhof is an engineered product, if a very nice one. It is not a bulb farm field. They know how to chill and mutiplant bulb beds so that the product lasts all season. Daily Facebook checks are not necessary for a good visit there. Crowding is a problem.

You will get better answers if you mention specific interests, like art museums, beer, outdoor sculpture, or whatever.

“ I have visited Utrecht as a daytrip from Amsterdam. I have heard that it's a good place to bus to Keukenhof, but it's not the only option.”
I’m not sure what you heard, but Utrecht is not a good place to bus to the Keukenhof. It’s too far away and there are no direct busses to the Keukenhof. There are direct special Keukenhof Express busses from Haarlem, Leiden, Amsterdam and Schiphol. For details, see the website of the Keukenhof https://keukenhof.nl/en/ov/

Thanks everyone! Since I posted this 6 weeks ago, I’ve already cancelled Delft and added that extra day to Haarlem. Will have 7 total days now in the greater AMS area (Haarlem and Utrecht), so that should be plenty of time to see all the main sites I missed my first trip. All museums and sites are reserved, and Keukenhof says the tulips will be in peak bloom in mid-to-late April, which is when I’ll be there. Appreciate all the tips!