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Need help with Amsterdam!

We will be staying in Amsterdam for 2 days in late April 2020 and every hotel I try to book is either unavailable or they want you to book for 4-5 days. We are flying to Amsterdam on April 30th and would like to visit the tulip gardens at Keukenhof on May 1st and then leave to join our RS tour in Stockholm on May 2nd. Please recommend me some places that take 2 day reservations and is easy to travel to and from the airport.

Posted by
1582 posts

Don - Why not considered staying in the town of Haarlem, which is 20 minutes from Amsterdam by train and will be a lot cheaper accommodation wise.

https://wherels.eu/

https://visithaarlem.org/accommodation

Haarlem to Keukenhof:

Bus 50 from Haarlem station departs from the bus station located on the town centre side. You arrived at the Nachtegaal Hotel in Lisse. Main entrance to Keukenhof is only 5 minutes walk.

https://www.flipsnack.com/Tulips/bus-50-haarlem-keukenhof/full-view.html

Posted by
2073 posts

I just checked Booking.com and a few are left for $300+ for two nights. There are more that are much more expensive. I didn’t check Hotels.com.
Go to travago and put in your filters and you should be able to find a place.

Posted by
7834 posts

I have stayed many times at the Ibis Hotel at the airport. There is a bus shuttle to Keukenof and back to the airport

Posted by
143 posts

I am going in May of 2020 and am finding the same results. I would have thought looking 8 months in advance would not be a problem. I was looking in Delft. Sorry I have nothing to offer to help just commiserating with you.

Good luck,
Kathleen

Posted by
7834 posts

Or stay in Leiden. There is a shuttle to and from Keukenof that you can catch in front of the train station

Posted by
2469 posts

Donald,
We stayed in Haarlem and visited Keukenhof Gardens in April 2018. Super easy hop to the train station in Haarlem to Amsterdam and the airport.
Our hotel, Carlton Square, had large rooms and great breakfast, was a couple blocks walk from the bus stop where we took the bus to Keukenhof. Haarlem is a wonderful quiet place to stay.
Have a great trip! Scandinavia is on my radar maybe for 2021.

Posted by
6290 posts

Haarlem is a great base, and the hotels are less expensive. There's plenty to do there, as well.

And a couple of years ago we spent a week in Leiden, and can't wait to go back!

Posted by
237 posts

Donald: Last night we made reservations for two nights at a nice hotel in Haarlem. After reading your post, I used Trip Advisor to search for hotels in Amsterdam for April 30-May 2 and found numerous hotels available which are convenient for travel to the airport.

Posted by
307 posts

Haarlem and Leiden would both be good choices. If you don't want to stay there, try Zandaam, a suburb of Amsterdam - 15 minutes into the Centraal Station. It is a nice area and easy to get around.
We were able to go directly from Schipohl to Zandaam without a change in trains.

Posted by
16 posts

The reason rooms are book in May is that the winner of the equivalent to America Has Talent was from Amsterdam. So the show will originate from there next May. I book last spring for next May and got in just before the contest ended. There is also a huge Mahler concert series at the Concertgebow at the same time. The suggestion for Haarlem and Leidem are spot on. Get them fast before they too disappear.

Posted by
7 posts

If you can afford the time. I suggest staying at the Sir Albert in De Pijp near Vondelpark. Easy taxi ride to Schiphol. Also—stay at the Hilton or Sheraton at Schiphol if you want to be close to the airport. Either as an easy taxi ride to Centruum or you can take the train from Schiphol to Centraal station.