Renting car for Netherland, Germany & Belgium trip, Good idea?

As you visit most of the time cities, use public transport in this corner of the world. Use a car for exploring the countryside, so in this case for driving along the Rhine it will make sense. For a single occasion like visiting the Efteling it takes too much time to pick up and drop the car. The park is well connected with nearby places like Tilburg or ‘s Hertogenbosch aka Den Bosch.

Railway stations are close to the historic centers of the mentioned places you like to visit. Can be at walking distance or a short tram ride is needed like in Ghent. Trains run very frequent and besides some delays it’s very reliable. No worries about traffic jams, loosing time driving through the outskirts of these cities and looking for a parking spot. Parking can be very expensive for instance in Amsterdam. Ghent is far from easy driving through with it’s maze of one way streets.

I’m not sure about a 10-day itinerary by car that includes Brussels, Amsterdam and Cologne along with more destinations. It seems unrealistic not even considering the distances involved or the fact that it can snow during March throughout the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Whatever your final itinerary ends up being— Take the trains. They will make your trip so much more enjoyable and relaxing— particularly in the cities you plan to visit which are in some of the most densely populated areas of Europe. Parking is impossible and you’ll find yourselves wanting to ditch the car after just two days.
Cologne has a metro population of 3 million; Brussels has 2.5 million, Amsterdam has 2.5 million. So, driving into the city center where most attractions are located is time-consuming and stressful. Quite simply— ten days is clearly not enough time to visit these destinations.
www.TheTrainline.com

Yes indeed. Here some info from the Efteling website: https://www.efteling.com/en/contact-route/public-transport

I'd return the car rental in Ghent. You definitely don't want/need a car in Ghent. And you definitely don't want it in Amsterdam. And the train from Amsterdam to Haarlem is about 15 minutes. Public transportation in the Netherlands is so convenient.

As several have stated, driving and having a car in Ghent and Amsterdam would be less than ideal, Brussels too. That’s why as I said in my OG post is that we wouldn’t have a car in Amsterdam, just would be picking up and dropping off at airport, wouldn’t have it for our last 4 day stay there.

As for Ghent, I found a hotel out of the city center with free parking and a minute walk to the tram, so we would rely on that entirely on our stay while in Ghent, not the car.

Brussels would be driving to just the one spot or even a park and ride, and if we wanted to go into the city center, we would take a tram, not the car.

Cologne could be similar to Ghent if it’s not an ideal spot to drive, where we park at the hotel, and take bus/tram around town.

The rental fees to get a car for just a portion would be alot more $ because drop off would be a different location or country.
A train would totally be possible, but with the weather in question that time of year (mostly concerned with rain), I’d like the car for luggage and not some of the longer walks from stations. Plus more flexibility on when we leave or arrive at destinations. Because where do we put our luggage say in Brussels for 1/2 a day? Would we have to pre purchase all the train tickets with specific times?

Just some random thoughts-
I'm don't know how much travel experience you have with your four-year old. Have you done cross-country trips in the US as a family? I think you're moving around too much even if you didn't have a youngster.
Also, it is functional to plan by nights, not days, and realistically estimate how long it takes to pack up, check out of a lodging, and do the actual travel, ( restrooms and nutrition, ) then upon arrival, get to a lodging, check in, get orientated.
The first day is a usually slow one, as you all will be recovering from jet lag. Actually, sleep schedules can be disrupted for several nights.
I can't recommend anyone driving after an international flight. Getting on a train - yes.
Also, renting a child carseat can be expensive, and taking a car across borders can add complications.
Can your child handle six- hour car rides , on more than one day?
Many castles have steep climbs and multiple stairs, so be prepared.
Most train stations have luggage storage lockers.
Trains run often to most destinations. These areas have built functional public transportation systems. The NL Tap system is great, no need to buy tickets in advance.
Many city centers do not allow cars, or have rigid traffic laws and one-way streets that can make car access difficult.
I find myself weary after about six days of day tripping, and need days with no plans, days of just wandering and no schedule. You seem to have ten nights, is this correct? I think three destinations should be the max.
Also, weather will be a factor, plan on cold, rain, and lots of wind. We were in these areas this past April, 2024. You need flexibility for weather issues. We had a great time in the NL, but the weather , especially the wind, can be fierce.
I'm not trying to be negative, just explaining some of the realities we have experienced. With solid planning, these realities can be mere speed bumps, not mountains.
Kudos for planning a family adventure and asking for input. I wish you well. Safe travels.

I agree with Pat, not a good plan to hire a car, for all of the reasons that Pat said.

Yeah, I’m considering now that maybe it is too much. Our son does do really well in the car, 6 hours would be fine, but having such a full schedule will probably start wearing on all of us, we’ve never done this extensive of a trip with him, maybe the longest being 6 days in the states.

Luggage lockers are a nice thing to know are easily attainable, and I looked closer at just staying at Efteling and it’s pretty reasonable so that may be easier too.

I’m thinking we’ll leave out the day on the Rhine. So maybe Ams to Cologne for 2 nights right away, then to Ghent for 3 nights, to Efteling for 1 night and lastly to Amsterdam for 4 nights with small day trips during our Amsterdam and Ghent days.

So with train tickets, do you have to pre-purchase everything or just the longer trips? Really not sure what the smartest thing to do with train bookings?

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/the-netherlands-belgium-april-2024-brought-the-rain-pants-needed-the-rain-pants

Attached is my Trip Report from April 2024. We stayed in both Leiden and Haarlem, ( but not Amsterdam). Lodging is much cheaper, each town is extremely charming, and it's still so easy to access Amsterdam. I have also discussed how we accessed trains in my Trip Report.

Attached to my Trip Report is Carrie's Trip Report, with additional info on transportation.

Have a great time in these wonderful countries- I can't wait to return. Safe travels!

Do you have already thought about Low Emission Zones?

If you pick up the (Dutch) car in Amsterdam and driving to Cologne / Köln and possibly other cities in Germany you will need a Low Emission Zone sticker or Umweltplakette in German. Best is to contact the car rental company if they can arrange that for you. Ordering such a sticker needs time, so best is doing this as early as possible. Or you can park the car or look for a hotel somewhere outside Cologne and use public transport for visiting.

As far as I know a Dutch car is not a problem in the LEZ of Ghent, (maybe Antwerp) and Brussels too. I know you are not going to drive through Ghent and Brussels, but it's always good to be aware of this. Nevertheless check this too, to be sure.

Bob, I do agree with the others about using public transportation. I've been to Cologne, the Rhine area, Ghent, Bruges, Leiden, Amsterdam and used public transportation for all of it. I get why you might want it for a portion of your trip, but keep in mind you're paying for each day and are several days where you wouldn't be using it.

In terms of Leiden vs. Haarlem, Leiden wins hands down for me. I really enjoyed Leiden, which is a beautiful university town. It is the home of Leiden University, which is one of the oldest universities in the country, and is quite lovely with charming cobblestone streets, 17th century gabled houses. It has many historic buildings but does not have the "touristy" feel of many other places. It's a much more livable feel. The city has many picturesque canals and waterways, which are lovely to walk along and there are boat tours you can take. And there are lots of parks, gardens, and green spaces in Leiden.

There are several museums, including the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (National Museum of Antiquities), which has an wonderful collection of Egyptian artifacts. There is the Museum De Lakenhal (Municipal Museum), and the Naturalis Biodiversity Center. The Hortus Botanicus (botanical garden), which was established in 1590, was the site of the planting of Holland’s first tulip bulbs in 1593. Rembrandt was born in Leiden, and Albert Einstein taught at Leiden University. St. Pieterskerk is quite historic and worth seeing, even if you just check out the outside of it. Rembrandt's parents were married and buried there.

In terms of transportation, Leiden has very easy access by train to other cities in the Netherlands. I really cannot recommend Leiden enough.

Leiden vs Haarlem- there is no wrong decision here. Mardee, I think I need a return visit in order to decide.....

Ha ha, Pat! I'd be happy to come along and help!

Leiden vs Haarlem

Both excellent choices. For me, Haarlem has won around 10 to 2 times, didn't count; for others it could swing the other way very easily. Very easily.

bobam56, the area you plan to visit (three countries, at least) is FREQUENTLY discussed here. The Search box top left, maybe blue, esp. on the Desktop view, will reveal dozens of long discussions that may be of great help to you. If you look at enough of them, you will also be reassured that the warnings against a car are not knee-jerk tree-hugging, but are based on how people live (and miserable traffic and parking conditions) in those cities and areas.

We did once rent a car at the edge of Cologne (which I like better than Frankfurt), specifically to go to a rural decennial Plant Show in Venlo, Netherlands. We drove on to Arnhem and Het Loo, but studiously avoided the many (jammed) landmark cities that are best visited by unreserved, low-cost, very frequent trains from a long stay in Amsterdam.

Just as a bizzare example, because you CAN'T park at the historic center of (Hanseatic town) Deventer, we had to accidentally walk through the sad little Red Light district of modern Deventer, to get to our actual, quite small, visit. No problem for adults, but a tough explain for grade-schoolers.

It is not possible to overstate how crowded the "highways" from Antwerp to Bruges are. You are also, perhaps inadvertently, mushing the Netherlands and Belgium together. They are often paired on a vacation, however.

Everyone has been very helpful. Thank you.

We’ve decided to just go by train between Amsterdam to Cologne, Cologne to Ghent, Ghent to Efteling and finally Efteling to Amsterdam with a few little side trips along the way.

So lastly, just need a little bit more advice on the train bookings for those travels listed above. Pre book all of them? Worth getting reserved seats? How much time do we need to give our selves from AMS airport to make the faster train to Cologne, there’s a faster train that leaves at 8:15, but we arrive at 7:50. I’m assuming that’s too tight. We’ll only have carry on’s, but not sure if we have a ways to walk to get to the correct train or terminal if it leaves directly from airport??

When I said unreserved seats, I was talking about local daytrips in the same country. Train tickets can be complex, especially if you (as advised on this board) use the national rail site to make the purchase. If you want ultimate flexibility, you can buy tickets that are not valid on the fastest trains, but that are good on every "slower" train all day. There is some risk in buying a non-chanageable "fast" ticket at an advance-purchase discount, in case your plane is late. These train tickets are sold just like air tickets (although much less expensive, of course.) So your airport-arrival decision is different than later trips.

Many premium trains are Reservations Required. Look at the sales website listings carefully to see this, maybe an asterisk?

Have you checked the routings? Many trains from AMS go to Brussels or Antwerp, so I would consider going there before Cologne, but you are in charge, after all. Cologne is extremely well connected with Brussels, and I got advance purchase, print at home barcoded tickets for a song for Antwerp-Cologne (change in Brussels.) Non changeable, non refundable.

I mean, if there are two changes for AMS-Cologne (I made that up), that's a compelling reason to start in Ghent or other Belgian city. Why not fly to BRU or Cologne? We got two-segment tickets from NYC pretty easily, because United is a partner of Lufthansa. (You did not tell us if you have some kind of free tickets to AMS, or what.)

I don't want you to take my word for it, but as someone who has visited Antwerp at least 8 times (wife's business .... ), I personally don't distinguish between the train time to Bruges and the train time to Ghent (from Antwerp.) You have to get to the station, buy the ticket, and get on the train.

It might be helpful if you said that you are prioritizing Natural Sciences museums for a child. Would that include acquariums and botanical gardens? And what is your home city/area? You did not mention Keukenhof, which might be of interest to the whole family. https://keukenhof.nl/en/ I only mention it because over 50% of Netherlands posters on this board mention it.

Have you dropped the "scenic Middle Rhine valley?" That is very doable by train and boat, but March may be too early for KD boats.