Planning first trip to the Netherlands

We have spent the most time on visits to The Netherlands in Amsterdam and Leiden and enjoyed staying in both places. Since you are not as interested in an urban setting, I recommend lovely Leiden. It is a university town which gives it extra energy. Both John Quincy Adams and Einstein attended the university there. And its Pilgrim history is very interesting too, as Leiden was their home for the ten years between fleeing England and arriving in North America.

In 2019 we spent two nights in Utrecht and two nights in Leiden. I recommend both towns as they are quite different from each other. Utrecht is "prettier" and more atmospheric than Leiden, with a central canal that serves as the main pedestrian zone. There are plentiful eating and drinking establishments in this area. Leiden, to me, has more of a scruffy college-town feel with a lively center and narrow streets to wander. If forced to choose, I'd take Leiden by a nose, but just barely.

We traveled by train between the towns and broke up the trip by stopping in Delft for an afternoon. We stored our luggage in the train station and then explored the town by foot. It's very pleasant but smaller than Utrecht and Leiden. I'm not sure I'd recommend it for an extended stay. We enjoyed the spacious main square as well as the Beestenmarkt.

After our pleasant forays in the quieter towns we were disappointed by Amersterdam. It was much too crowded for our liking.

I was there a few months ago (saw the tulips) and visited all the towns you mentioned. Utrecht is probably the most central. They are all walkable. Leiden is close to Keukenhof and is a lovely city. I stayed 2 nights in Delft and found it very peaceful. If you want to see some countryside, rent a bike in Amsterdam, take the ferry to the north (free) and in 15 or 20 minutes you'll find yourself in farmland. Be sure to bring a good map. Or you could rent a bike right outside Keukenhof (I did) and explore around there. You'll pass tulip fields galore.

Here's another vote for Leiden. I loved it and found it wonderfully charming. It is a university town and the perfect place for wandering aimlessly down canals and tree-lined cobblestone streets. The ambience is wonderful and it feels more like a real place where people live, work and study although there is certainly plenty to see and do. There are a number of attractions, also, including some good museums and botanic gardens. I could easily have spent a week there or longer.

We just came back from 6 nights in Leiden and loved that we finally had more time to enjoy its charm, amenities and history. On previous trips we’d stayed in Amsterdam and the coastal Zandvoort (house exchange). This time we focused on Leiden but made day trips by frequent trains to other beautiful towns around us. We were there for the twice weekly markets on the central canal, Wednesday and Saturday. We went to the Netherlands in 2018 to experience the tulip and other bulb season and Leiden would be an ideal base for a spring trip.

Any recommendations on hotels in Lieden or Utrecht? I would guess closer to downtown and the train station since we won't have a car and will be walking ? Do you recommend biking while in these towns or is there much to see if renting bikes and riding outside the towns?
I've saw several recommendations about going north of Amsterdam to view the country so we may stay a night or two there before we head down to stay in Leiden or Utrecht. We just definitely aren't looking for the fast paced, crowded areas on this trip. The small cobblestone streets and countryside full of tulips is the main reason my wife wants to go see the Netherlands.

Mona, do you mind telling me which towns you took day trips to and where you stayed in Leiden? Also what's the best way to get to the tulip fields from Leiden ?

In most of these towns, I'm finding a delightful common outline, which I'm using myself for our spring trip:

Canal tour
TI walking tour
Beer, cheese or chocolate tour
Bike tour
Visit a museum and church

Have a great trip!

OP we stayed near the train station at the Golden Tulip and liked the convenience of a 3 minute walk to the train station and a 10 minute walk to restaurants and views on the central canal. We paid a little extra for an executive room with breakfast, they have special rates from time to time. Our teenaged granddaughter stayed at the less expensive ibis, a 1 minute walk from the station. We took day trips to Delft, Den Haag, Haarlem and Zandvoort on this trip. It is also a 35 minute train ride to Amsterdam and trains run about every 7 minutes. It was a 15 minute train ride to Schiphol.

On an extended trip in 2018 we explored some small towns north of Amsterdam using the all day bus pass that was 12€ this year.

We’ve also rented bicycles in Leiden on a previous trip and ridden through the sand dunes to the sea and some cafes. You can rent bikes from the station, hotel and other locations in Leiden.

There is an extensive area of bulb fields directly on the train line between Haarlem and Leiden. Even this summer there were some bulbs being grown but not the spring variety of bulbs. All of those fields were bare and being readied for the 2024 season.

We love the beauty and vibe of Leiden. We appreciate that the train station in Leiden is an easier walk to restaurants and hotels than the lovely train station in Haarlem. All train, bus and tram transportation has been changed in the 5 years since we last visited to a tapping system, in and out, with a credit or debit card. It was easy and convenient. Most day trips from Leiden that we took were 5€+ each way.

Mona, thanks so much for the help. Out of those day trips which did you enjoy the most ? I really like that hotel you mentioned I'm going to check the dates on it for out trip.

We enjoy walking the little streets, canals, art and architecture so we really had no favorite day trip, they were all great!

Just a heads up for those planning April 2024 Netherlands trips that April 27 is a national holiday celebrating King’s Day. All towns and cities participate but Amsterdam is very crowded party central on the eve and day of the King’s birthday. I mention this also because in Delft and Haarlem in 2018 having an active carnival, stage and bleachers in the middle of the historic center made it harder to enjoy the architecture.

In reply to your question about transportation from Leiden to Keukenhof, frequent buses run from outside the train station directly to the gardens. It's very easy to navigate. We took the earliest bus, which I highly recommend, as we had the gardens to ourselves for a couple of hours before the hordes arrived. Leiden, as the kids would say, has a good vibe. I would say it has soul.