Possible Amsterdam trip March/April 2024

Nice that you know what you're up against with your pending surgery.

Why don't you wait until after the surgery to plan your trip. We usually go the end of March into April when things are not that busy.

Let me warn you that Amsterdam is a city of steep steps in the smaller hotels. If you go, you might want to stay in a place that has elevators. And with all the canals, it's a walking city.

We're leaving in 3 weeks with a wife that's somewhat mobility challenged. We're sticking to places we are familiar with--and are taking a cruise to the Greek Islands. She can handle that with her personal mobility scooter.

It depends on how and where you want to see the tulips. The Keukenhof generally opens around March 23. With the help of greenhouses and special planting techniques the gardeners of the Keukenhof make sure there will be flowers on display right from the start, but it could be that it’s only the early blooming flowers like hyacinths and daffodils at that time and no tulips at all.

The flower fields are a completely different thing. The flowers in these fields are there for the growing of bulbs. The blooming of the flowers in these fields depends on mother nature. The first flowers to bloom in the fields are daffodils, followed by hyacinths and finally by tulips. The timing depends on the weather and temperature in March/April, but even if we have an early spring, there won’t be tulips in bloom in the fields at the end of March or early April. That’s just too early for tulips. If you want to see the tulip fields, you need to aim to be here in the last 2 weeks of April.

Hi Mikliz...well..I love Amsterdam and encourage you to go. That being said know that Amsterdam is a city for walking and lots of cobblestones... However very doable. Be prepared to arrange for perhaps some outside transport if the day just gets too hard on the knees. Regarding the gardens and the tulips... The tulips were not in full bloom as you imagine but the gardeners and the arborists do such a marvelous job with presentation and care of the plants. It was still a joy but if you are looking for the full tulip experience I remember it being just a bit too early. It was also very cold and most days let me know that we were definitely on the North Sea! So dress warm... But when the sun came out the sky was glorious and the light was beautiful.

David--Yes, I will most likely wait to book anything until after the surgery, mostly because I am too busy now and we have a big trip right before my surgery. We hoard our miles and this would be such an easy trip to use up some of them. So depending, I may at least book the flights using miles, but then wait on everything else. Thank you for the suggestion of making sure a place has an elevator. We normally book smaller hotels, more pension style, but will probably go for larger more business class this time due to the elevator issue. I think I will be fine on the cobblestones and such, and will be sure to pace myself.

Dutch Traveler--I appreciate all this information. Honestly I have no idea where we would go to see the tulips as I just came up with this trip idea:) We have talked about it the last year or so, but nothing serious. I really want to have something to look forward to and to help inspire me during rehab. So it looks like I should aim for mid to late April instead.

Linda--Thank you for the tip on the weather being cold. I actually love the cold and prefer it;) I am one that loves Iceland in the winter, to give you an idea.

“ Thank you for the tip on the weather being cold. I actually love the cold and prefer it;) I am one that loves Iceland in the winter, to give you an idea.”

Just want to warn you that we’re having an unusually cold spring so far. The fact that it’s cold this year, says absolutely nothing about how the temperatures will be next year. To give you some idea how unpredictable our weather is: March 2022 had the most hours of sunshine of all the months of March of the last decades. This year, the month of March had the least amount of hours of sunshine of the past decade.
Those who visited in March 2022 will tell you that spring in the Netherlands is warm and sunny. Those who visited this year will say it’s cold and rainy. And there’s no telling what next year’s visitors will say….

I checked our pictures from our 2017 Netherlands trip and full fields of eye blinding tulips were visible on several train trips between Haarlem and Keukenhof in mid April that year. It was also was a warm year.

Mikliz97, I have had several friends who have had knee replacement surgery, and both of them were traveling 4-5 months after the surgery. In fact, one of my friends spent three months in France beginning in mid January and her surgery was mid October. That said, I think a lot depends on your situation and how quickly you heal. Make sure you do all the PT exercises the physical therapist gives you to do at home. Both of them said that this really helped them heal more quickly.

I will say that in my opinion, doctors tend to give you the worst case scenario, so I wouldn’t necessarily take what he or she is saying at face value. 😊 And my daughter, who is a PA, agrees with me.

Dutch Traveler--Sounds like here at home. I think this past April was our wettest on record, or close to. It sure reels like winter, not spring. Every year is so different.

Mona--Thank you:)

Mardee--Thankfully, or not, I have had 3 knee surgeries so far so know how important p/t is. I have a great one that is less than 5 minutes from home, so even better;) I appreciate your help though. I know my surgeon was being cautious when he said 6-8 months, but I am glad he does that so that I don't think I can go climb a mountain at 2 months out;) I am not allowed to fly for 3 months after the surgery, and will do that at that time to go see my mom. That is just a short trip from Seattle to the Bay Area, so will be a good test for me to see how I fare.