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Rain Alert! What to do in Leiden, Haarlem, or Rotterdam?

Posted by (Marietta, GA, USA) on

Help! My daughter and I just spent 4 glorious days in Amsterdam. We are now in Leiden. We spent today in Delft. Our original itinerary had us going to Haarlem tomorrow (Saturday), Rotterdam on Sunday, and then Kinderdijk for the day on Monday. We fly home on Tuesday. I just checked the weather and it looks like rain is heading our way. Sunday it looks like there will be thunderstorms all day. Monday looks like rain and quite windy! (20 mph) Soooo … I’m wondering if we should adjust our itinerary. Will we enjoy Kinderdijk if it’s storming? (Will there even be much visibility?) My main goal here was to see a windmill, which, by the way, I haven’t even seen the one in Leiden yet.

Is Rotterdam a good idea? If there are thunderstorms are there indoor activities we would enjoy there?

Should we go to Haarlem tomorrow? Or should we stay in Leiden instead? There’s a big festival here tomorrow - with dragon boat races, etc. On the one hand, that could be fun. On the other hand, it was super crowded along Nieuwe Rijn Canal tonight.

We are totally flexible. Just don’t want to be stuck in a downpour and wishing we’d chosen another town or activity. Thanks in advance!

Posted by
1524 posts

Definitely go to Rotterdam so that you can take the water taxi to Kinderdijk on Saturday; (is that an option?) which is such a wonderful site and experience.. But wouldn't be fun during thunderstorms, rain and wind. The windmills are quite spread out. Everyone usually walks between windmills. There is a boat that takes you close to a few. There may have been a shuttle bus there, but I don't remember for sure. You really want to see it in your best weather option. Poor visibility wouldn't be ideal.

We were staying in Delft on our free afternoon on a RS tour, took the train to Rotterdam, tram to the water taxi; water taxi to Kinderdijk; explored; then reversed course and made it back to the group dinner.

I love Haarlem. It is quaint and charming, but I wouldn't give Haarlem to the best weather in lieu of Kinderdijk. In Haarlem you can wait rain out in a charming cafe.

Enjoy!!!!

Posted by
4272 posts

The dragon boat races sound fun rain or shine. You could go to den Haag for some great art at Mauritshuis and the Escher museum.

Posted by
6646 posts

We went to the NL April, 2024. What you describe sounds like a typical spring April day in the area. Wind is pretty common. Bring your rain gear. Usually, the rain alternates with dry weather. Good luck!

Posted by
2006 posts

What source do you use for the weather? I ask because thunderstorms all day doesn’t sound right for the Netherlands. Yes, we do get thunderstorms of course, but they’re usually short. Besides that, the local weather apps and sites that I use don’t predict any thunderstorms at all tomorrow.
The go to weather source for every local are Buienradar and/or Buienalarm. Both show the radar images which predict rain. On days like this, everyone checks these app before leaving the house. But they also show a prediction per hour for the upcoming days. The other source that I use is the KNMI, the national meteorological institute.
When I check these apps, I see that the forecast shows typical Dutch weather; sunny and dry one minute, rain and clouds the next. However it’s not predicted to be as bad as you think and it certainly won’t rain all day.

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