March 17-March 24 Netherlands Trip for 4 Gal Pals

I'd suggest getting a RS Guide book, reading the posts here on the Forum under the Netherlands and Belgium, along with reviewingTrip Reports posted here. Carrie just posted hers a few days ago, and it's well-written and very helpful. Many posters have found Leiden and Haarlem to be less expensive and quieter alternatives to lodging in Amsterdam. Public transportation is easy to use.
The tulip gardens have their own website with current info.
There's a wealth of info already here. Happy planning.
Have a great trip.

Thank you so much, Pat. We have the RS guidebook and other books and have read through the posts below. Really interested in hearing others' personal thoughts and experiences. Probably one of our biggest questions is whether or not to use Amsterdam (or Haarlem) as the home base and travel daily from there or to stay in one or more places during the week?
Thank you again. ---Laura

1) Should we stay in Amsterdam the entire trip and take day trips?
- Which city is ideal as a base depends on what you want to see and do. How many days do you want to spend in Amsterdam? What day trips do you want to take?

2) Is it worth staying in Giethoorn for canal, etc. authenticity for a night or two?
- Whether or not something is worth it, depends on you. I personally feel you can see all of Giethoorn in half a day, but you may wish to stay longer.

3) Is the Keukenhof tulip garden/place worth the visit or is there a better place to see the tulips (Lisse, for example)?
- During your visit the tulips in the tulip fields won’t be in bloom yet. Your only chance to see tulips is in the Keukenhof.

4) We want to visit Zaanse Schans. Good idea?
- If Zaanse Schans interests you, it’s definitely a good idea.

5) Other areas we are definitely interested in visiting include (possibly) Delft, and Haarlem....other towns suggested?
- The Netherlands is much more than just the densely populated area in the west. Other cities that are well worth a visit are Zwolle, Utrecht, Maastricht, Groningen, Den Bosch.
If you want to stay in the western part of the country, you can also look into Leiden or The Hague.

6) Is it true that we can only get Anne Frank house interior tickets 6 weeks from the date of arrival or is there an easier way that we can purchase those sooner (now)?
Yes, it’s true. The website of the Anne Frank House quite clearly states this.

7) What area of Amsterdam would you suggest staying? (In Haarlem instead? In Central Amsterdam? Outside of the Central area?)
Where to stay depends on your budget. Ideally I would recommend to stay within the Canal Zone. However Amsterdam hotel prices are very high, especially during tulip season. You might get lower rates outside of the Canal Zone or in other cities.

8) Suggested scenic bike route/tour?
How comfortable are you riding a bike? Have you biked in a busy city before?

Thank you, Dutch_Traveler--
1) We want to see the Anne Frank House, Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum for sure in Amsterdam. We also want to see Haarlem, Delft, and Zaanse Schans areas. Do you have a favorite town(s) in the areas outside of the obvious Western choices?
8) We don't plan on riding bikes in Amsterdam or larger cities. Primarily we're interested in biking along scenic routes (canals, small towns, to sites, etc.)

We appreciate all of your advice and suggestions and look forward to further planning. Thank you again.

---Laura

I can only remark on the Keukenhof question. Yes, by all means go. Even if you are not a gardener. The colors and textures are absolutely beautiful. It opens next year on March 21. If you are on FB, follow their page...they started planting bulbs on October 5. They plant them 3 deep so there will be something in flower for the whole 2 months or so.

https://keukenhof.nl/en/

https://www.facebook.com/visitkeukenhof

Great info! Thank you, Pam!
--Laura

Stay in Amsterdam.
The one day trip I would eliminate is Zaanse Schans, not worth the time to visit a created village. Instead go to historic Kinderdijk and walk among 19 authentic windmills in their original locations.

With all due respect Suki, Zaanse Schans may not be worth your time, but that doesn’t it’s worthless altogether.
Yes, Zaanse Schans is a created village because some of the buildings that are there were moved there from other locations. That doesn’t mean it isn’t worthy of a visit. At Zaanse Schans you can see windmills, learn how cheese and wooden shoes are made and much more.
Kinderdijk is also a nice place to visit, but it’s much more time consuming to reach from Amsterdam.

In addition to the RS guide book, if you are considering staying or visiting places more than a day trip away from Amsterdam, the Lonely Planet or Rough Guide books will be helpful especially for towns RS doesn't cover.

if you enjoy the vibrancy, activity, and/or nightlife of a major city, then do stay in Amsterdam at least part of the time. Leiden was much, much quieter and, in my experience this October, not that much cheaper. I found staying in the Leidseplein area of Amsterdam very convenient for walking to museums with numbers of cafes and restaurants nearby besides the very touristy ones; also convenient for trams. Walking around central Amsterdam, I was most attracted to the Jordaan neighborhood as a possible place to stay there in the future.

I agree with many of the answers above - but I'll chip in my little bit from several visits ...

q 1 - if it were me I would stay close to the things you want to see instead of a load of day trips. Amsterdam Centraal station has and will have a lot of changes to the tracks and station into the next while so will make some train trips inconvenient.

q 2 - I saw everything I wanted to see there in an hour or two. One or two nights there would be more than I would need. You may want to spend more time there than I.

q 3 - It is not only the best but likely the only place you will see any tulips. Probably in the pavillions rather than in the gardens - you are intending to visit very very early in the season (best displays around a full month later). Unless the winter and early spring are very warm you probably won't see more than leaves or maybe closed flowers in the gardens, more likely hyacinths and crocus.

q 4 - If you want to go, go. It is ok if you don't want to go to Kinderdijk, with more show and tell. It is relatively easy to get to. I have been once but haven't need to return.

q 5 - I like both Delft and Haarlem. So early in the year Delft can be cold, as can other towns, so wrap up well. I haven't seen Leiden on the list - for me well worth a visit.

q 6 - I'm afraid you have to be patient - I don't know of any shortcuts or back doors.

q 7 - pass - see my q1 answer

q 8 - pass. Wrap up really well. There will be a cold wind and on a bike it will be even colder.

I hope you have a great trip

You also have to jump on the Anne Frank tickets when your week is released. They sell out quickly.

To me, it's a plus to avoid changing hotel rooms unnecessarily:

Do you understand that all of the places you want to see can be done with a daytrip (often by train) from, say, a hotel room in Amsterdam? Even Delft, which is not next door, I have been to twice on the train from Amsterdam. However, if you develop an interest in Den Haag (for the Girl With a Pearl Earring, for example), Delft is just a city bus or tram ride away from a hotel room there. I don't rate Haarlem as highly as Leiden, Delft, or Utrecht. BTW, is your group all interested in Museums? Leiden and Utrecht have some superb, smaller museums. Those two are built-up university cities, not remote villages. Amersfoort still has a hint of village charm, but is also a modernized small city. It's easier to find special temporary busses to Keukenhof closer to opening day, but I'd recommend taking a special bus for ease of travel.

I have not been to Zaanse Schans, but did see the Kinderdijk windmills, which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. However, I'm sure one windmill visit is enough. Keukenhof is very popular, so expect crowds by lunchtime every day, and try to avoid a weekend visit. Unless it is a very cold spring, they will have plenty to see during the opening week.

We went on a countryside bike tour with We Bike Amsterdam. I would recommend going on a bike ride in the countryside but was a little disappointed in the company.

We also went on a bus tour to Delft, The Hague and Rotterdam. Hindsight, I would have gone on a day trip to Delft so I could spend more time at the museum/factory/gift shop but at that point I was burned out on planning and wanted to just relax on a bus all day.

We stayed at the Nadia Hotel on the westside in the canal zone. It was within walking distance of everything we had planned to do and close to Dam Square and tram lines.

I visited the Netherlands for the first time last spring and Keukenhof was one of the highlights of my trip. Try to go early on a weekday. We arrived at opening on a Monday morning and practically had the place to ourselves for the first hour or so. The place is beautiful. You can only buy tickets to go into the Anne Frank House from the website itself. I suggest playing around with it a little to familiarize yourself with it and once you figure out the exact date your tickets will become available set your alarm, considering the time difference, to purchase. It will only take a few minutes then you can go back to sleep. They do go fast. I stayed in Leidensplein. I was able to walk to Museumplein for the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum. I took a nice walk through nearby Vondelpark before dinner one evening. Since you will be there during tulip season you should also look into buying your museum tickets ahead of time. I took a half-day train trip one afternoon to The Hague from Amsterdam to visit the Mauritshuis Museum (Girl with a Pearl Earring). Easy to walk to the museum from the train station. It’s a small museum but very, very nice. I spent a couple of hours, had a coffee and pastry at their lovely cafe then walked back to the train station. Enjoy your trip!