Rescheduled trip: seeking itinerary feedback

I’m sorry you had to reschedule your trip, but it seems that the extra time gave you the opportunity to do more research. It clearly shows! You have put together a great itinerary.
At first glance I see nothing wrong with your plan.
One thing you may want to do is read up on May 4 and May 5. May 4 is Remembrance Day where we remember those who died in wars since WW2. At 8pm a nationwide 2 minutes of silence will be observed. May 5 is Liberation day, where we celebrate our freedom. The festivities end in Amsterdam with the traditional open air concert on a floating podium on the Amstel river with our King and Queen in attendance. If you’re up to it I highly recommend you to attend.
More details about the May 5 celebrations in Amsterdam can be found here; https://www.iamsterdam.com/en/whats-on/calendar/festivals/events/liberation-day-amsterdam

Thank you, Dutch_traveler, for the encouraging and helpful reply. I had no idea about Remembrance or Liberation Days. The day we move from The Hague to Amsterdam falls on Liberation Day, so it is especially helpful to know that ahead of time.

You’re welcome! Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have additional questions.

I forgot to mention that, while they are considered holidays, May 4 and May 5 shouldn’t impact your stay here. Restaurants, museums, shops etc will be open and public transport will continue to operate. The only exception to that is during the 2 minutes of nationwide silence on May 4 at 8pm. Public transport will come to a halt and people everywhere will stop what they were doing to observe the 2 minutes of silence. If you happen to be in a restaurant or somewhere else, it could be that they will ask all guests to stay silent for 2 minutes.

A follow-up question on my itinerary: On May 1, we plan to explore Utrecht. Amsersfoort is 20 minutes away by train. Is it realistic to think we could fit in both cities that day?

you travel faster than me so I won't comment on leaving Utrecht early to visit another town. (I like Utrecht a lot)

I will suggest that you allow the weather to dictate the day of visits to outdoor weather dependent places like the Keukenhof and Kinderdijk. I visited the Keukenhof in both rain and shine, and shine is better. One year it was so wet that we stopped for lunch at the La Place over the motorway nearby and as we ate the clouds all cleared and the sun came out and we went to the Keukenhof. It was even more fun seeing the drops on some of the tulips and especially on the tile statues/artwork. That was the year of the big fish statue. Good fun.

Kinderdijk is even more exposed to the elements than the Keukenhof which at least has the pavilions. And if you want an extra dose of rain and wind at Kinderdijk you can arrive by boat bus from Dordrecht or Rotterdam.

That's what I would do anyway....

Nigel, I will be in the area mid-April.
I'm trying to balance out buying tickets to the tulip fields in advance with weather variability. In your experience, how far in advance do the tulip field tickets sell out? I've considered just buying two different dates, and hoping one day is clear.
Thanks so much!

@Pat; you can’t buy tickets to the tulip fields. The tulip fields are the private property of the tulip farmers and they are strictly off limits.
You can admire the endless rows of tulips from the road, but you don’t need tickets for that.
You can buy tickets to the Keukenhof. The Keukenhof is an exhibition park showcasing tulips and other bulb flowers. You need to book a time slot to enter the Keukenhof. These time slots can sell out, especially on busy days like Easter and on the day of the flower parade. When do you plan to visit the Keukenhof?

Dutch traveler, I meant Keukenhof, but at the time I wrote the post I was being lazy and not looking up the correct spelling, I used the generic tulip fields term. Thanks for the correction, and I will learn to spell it. We will be in the area May 7-21, and will catch the Flower Parade April 20, while we are staying in Harlem. We start in Leiden, travel to Belgium, and back to Harlem, so we can visit Keukenhof either at the beginning or end of the trip. Because we had so much rain last spring during our May Italy trip, I'm trying to build a Plan A and Plan B, based on weather. Hopefully we don't have nonstop rain this year, I realize last spring was unseasonable. I have been checking ticket availability on the website, and it's still good. I also want to visit one of the workshops that are building the flower floats .
From reading here, it seems that biking around the area is a nice option, I'm uncertain if one can bike thru the gardens themselves.
I reserved our hotels and air last summer, and now that the holidays are over, it's time for me to work on the details of our daily schedule.
I'm very excited to visit and explore your beautiful area. Your input is invaluable. We are two seniors in great shape, so hope to and bike and enjoy all things Dutch!

@Pat; you have so many specific questions that I would like to suggest you to start your own thread about the Keukenhof and the tulip fields.

Dutch traveler,
Thanks, will. Start my own thread, I need to organize my questions in the next day or two. Thx so much!