I am excited to be finally getting to the Netherlands. I want to see Amsterdam (Van Gogh and Rikksmuseum especially) then I want to visit Den Hague for the Escher Museum and see the Girl with the Pearl Earring. After that I am open to suggestions.
Need suggestions on where to stay. We will be flying into Schiphol and only using the trains and public transport.
I would like to see Leiden and Delft if time will allow.
Thank you in advance for any suggestions. This is a bucket list trip for me.
There are several ways you can do this. You could stay in Amsterdam the entire time and visit the other places on day trips. Or you could break things up.
You can get a direct train from Schiphol Airport to Delft. They run every half hour and the trip is just 37 minutes. Maybe consider spending your first two nights in Delft. You can visit The Hague as a day trip (in Dutch it's Den Haag; Den Hague is a fun mix of languages). Then you can go by train to Amsterdam on Day 3, with a stopover in Leiden (there are lockers in the train station where you can stow your luggage) And spend the last four nights in Amsterdam.
Or, as I said, spend all six nights in Amsterdam. You can combine Delft and The Hague in one day trip and do another day trip to Leiden (it would be too rushed to try to see all three in one day). Also, since you seem to be an art lover, do make it to Haarlem, which has an excellent museum dedicated to the work of Franz Hals, and is also a lovely city to explore on foot. It's also a short train ride from Amsterdam.
I can't give you advice on hotels, as I used Airbnb when I was there. But I am sure you will have a wonderful trip. Enjoy!
You can also have your accommodation in Leiden, which is more or less in the centre of all these cities, with trains running every 15 mins.
Consider buying an OV Chipkaart, which will make using the public transport (trains, metro, trams and busses) a lot easier.
Thank you, Lane! I will definitely add Haarlem to my list. I will start to look at options of places to stay in Delft. My issue will be I will want to get off the plane and go straight to the Van Gogh museum! Don't know if I can hold off till the end of my trip for that! : )
Thank you, tonfromleiden! I will definitely get the card for our travel. I have wonderful things about Leiden. I will get that out, also. 6 days won't be enough!
I would stay in Amsterdam and Leiden. It was so easy traveling to Delft, Rotterdam and The Hague from Leiden. It is larger than Delft thus offers more to do and places to dine and stay.
Vermeer’s “The Girl with the Pearl Earring’ is in Mauritshaus Museum, the Royal Collection, in The Hague. There are several other Vermeers plus works by other notable Dutch artists, a real gem.
Thank you, Suki. Great advice! The Mauritshaus Museum, the Royal Collection, in The Hague will be the third thing I want to see! I was in DC last year when they had a Vermeer exhibit and my children were misbehaving so badly I couldn't go! This time...they are being left at home!
The OV-card is a very good tip, certainly do that.
Apart from Amsterdam, Haarlem, Leiden, Delft and The Hague (and possibly Utrecht), I would recommend visiting Rotterdam in a day. It's about 30minutes by train from The Hague or Schiphol Airport.
The main difference with the other towns is that, during WW2, the old city centre was bombed and only a few old buildings/aereas remained (for example the old town hall, St Lawrence Church dating back to 1350, Hotel New York (former headquarters of the Holland America Line/make sure to visit the oceancruiser SS Rotterdam with a watercab), the "White House" (with 43mtrs even the highest building of Europe in 1897) and Delfshaven (were the Pilgrim Fathers set off to the USA).
Apart from the few old buildings, there's a lot of modern architecture to see (Cubus houses/Euromast/The Manhattan/Erasmusbrug), art to admire (Kunsthal/Boymans van Beuningen and food&drinks to enjoy (Fenix Food Factory/ Markthal), just to name a few. Together with the biggest port in Europe this all make it a lively city.
Thank you, Thomas!
That is an excellent suggestion. I think it would be great to take in the modern architecture of the area and see the harbor. At this moment we plan to stay 3 days in Amsterdam and 3 in Leiden or another area close to The Hague so a quick trip to Rotterdam does sound possible.
Thank you for your suggestion!
I just returned from 6 days in the Netherlands. Stayed the whole time based in Amsterdam (near Lelylaan Station). Most of Friday through Monday, I toured Amsterdam, although I did take a side-trip to Leiden Monday morning. Tuesday I caught the train and spent the first half of the day in Utrecht and the afternoon in Rotterdam. Wednesday morning I took the train to the Hague and then a tram to Delft. I bought an anonymous chip card when I got there (being from the US, the ticket machine did not like my Credit Card, but my Debit Card worked just fine) and topped it off as needed. Just remember, you need a minimum balance of 20 Euros to get on a train, but only 4 Euros for a tram. Most all of the train trips were in the 30 to 45 minute range in length, so getting from city to city is quick.
Thank you, econgator!
I have been stressing on trying to get it all in! I want to make it to Rotterdam, Gouda, Delft, Utrecht and The Hague in addition to Amsterdam! But this makes me feel better that I could make day trips from Amsterdam. We are torn now between a canal house in Utrecht or a house boat in Leiden. I'm thinking the Jordann area for a place to stay in Amsterdam. Thank you for the extra information on the public transportation card. We definitely will keep this in mind about the balances. Please let me know your thoughts on Utrecht vs. Leiden for a 3 day stay.
hey stodd
don't know if you have found a place to stay in amsterdam, here's a couple places to check out:
citymundo.com we stayed in an apartment on prinsengracht canal which was great.
houseboathotel.nl we rented a houseboat in jordaan area which was also nice.
amsterdamapartmentrental.com
read carefully, is it a room, you share bathroom and kitchen, minimum days to stay, lots of stairs/steps with no elevators/lifts to carry your luggage, linens included. early checkin or place to leave your bags.
public transportation is great, do you stay in one place or move around. when moving around it takes up at least half a day (get up, breakfast, pack up, checkout, get to transport station, buying tickets waiting then getting to next place). don't wanna be donna downer, it's reality. you will love amsterdam, very pretty. bikes bikes bikes everywhere.
thisisholland.com (ultimate virtual flight experience)
tripsavvy.com/indo-dutch-rijstaffel-buffet (sampurna.com, tempodoeloerestaurant.com, bojo.nl, restaurantblauw.nl) just a few to check out
martines-table.com
withlocals.com
canal boat ride, any company is good
albertcuypmarket a pedestrian only "swap meet" anything and everything, shops, souvenirs, produce, lunch wagons, restaurants, cafes. we had a great day there. stopped for appetizer and glass of vino and people watched, ate stroopwafels from food truck made fresh
took a private tour out to windmills and small fishing villages,
train to haarlem (had poffertjes, yummy) in the square
ENJOY
aloha
Wow princess pupule!
That's some wonderful help! I did just book an apartment in Jordann near the Foodhalle and a place in Leiden. Tough decisions!
The apartment is only one floor up and private...so that will be nice! I booked a canal boat ride and food tour! (This is a birthday trip so I'm going all out!) I will check out all your advice!
The albertcuypmarket sounds amazing! I plan to dive into stroopwafels and pancakes!
The private tour out to windmills and small fishing villages sounds really nice, also!
I am so appreciative of everyone's help! There are really nice people out there...it warms your heart!
As Lane@Seattle mentioned visiting beautiful city of Haarlem and its Frans Hals museum I totally agree/support..
You’re planning a great trip! My one piece of advice - if you are flying in on a redeye from the US or Canada, do NOT go to a museum on your first day! I did that last June - like you, really wanted to see the Van Gogh Museum - but I was stumbling around in a daze. Be outside on your first day, get a good night’s sleep, then do your museums.
We spent a night in Utrecht at the Mary K hotel recommended in RS Netherlands book, and loved it. There was a wonderful exhibit of medieval manuscripts at the Catharijneconvent museum so you might want to see what they have on during your visit.
