September or October

The Netherlands is a maritime /oceanic climate and it rains throughout the year. There's no dry season. And plenty of wind. In April when we were there we had days when it was the rain and 40's and sunny warm days in the 70's. I've actually heard that October is the rainiest month of the year, but I don't know if it's actually true.

September is better. October is one of the rainiest months in Amsterdam with temperatures dropping as well. In Antwerp, the average high daily temperature in September is a pleasant 66 degrees; in October that average drops to 60 degrees with some days falling into the 50’s. In Brussels the September average high temps are 66 degrees. In October the average highs drop to 59 degrees with lows dipping into the 40’s October brings not just more rain— it also brings more windy weather which can really make it less pleasant to be outdoors.

The weather in the Netherlands is difficult to predict because it’s a sea climate. And unfortunately average temperatures, average rain fall etc mean nothing in our current times. Let me give you an very recent example. The average temperature for November is 7 C. On Thursday November 21 2024 however there was a cold spell with an average temperature during the entire day of just 0.9 C. That’s just a bit above freezing temperature. Yesterday Sunday November 24, only 3 days later, it was the complete opposite with the warmest November 24 ever recorded. Temperatures reached as high as 19C and everyone was sweating in their winter clothes and jackets.

Also, restaurants etc in both the Netherlands and Belgium stay open during the entire year. This isn’t a destination that closes shop in the winter months. If you plan to go to Amsterdam and Bruges and expect less crowds in September or October, I’m afraid you’re going to be shocked and disappointed. On top of that, Amsterdam is host to the IBC, a huge conference in mid September. Hotel prices will skyrocket just before, during and just after the convention.

In case you visit Bruges, know it's crowded all year around. But not if the weather is really bad like you can have in February. We have a whole lot of pensioners who like to travel during shoulder season, so in September and October. Weather is still good enough for most to travel around. Together with the autumn holidays in October in Belgium and surrounding countries it keeps causing a serious and steady flow of visitors.

So you have to live with that if you want to travel to here during these two months. The good thing about Bruges is that the daytrippers and that’s the majority of the crowds arrive later then around 11 a.m and leave in the late afternoon. Outside these hours Bruges can be surprisingly quiet. The same for the streets outside the beaten path. If you want to stay in the historic center the best time is daytripping to other places during these “tourist rush hours”.

I was in the Netherlands and Belgium last year from Sept. 23 – Oct. 7. I thought it was the perfect time to go.

Here’s what I said about the weather in my trip report:

My streak of near perfect travel weather continues, with only 1 day of
rain on my travel day from Bruges to Haarlem and a brief 10-minute
shower when I was in Antwerp. It was cooler in the morning (usually
50s-60s) and warmed up in the afternoon (60s-near 80s a couple of days
in Bruges). The later sunrise of after 7:30 am did not work well for
me as I like to get up and out super early. But, I did get out before
sunrise a few times to take some early am pictures.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/solo-in-the-netherlands-and-belgium-my-trip-report

Bruges was the only place I found to be slightly crowded, but I was there over a weekend. I think it would be less crowded if you can plan for weekdays there.

Appreciate this information. We’re getting pretty adept at traveling in the era of climate change and crowds and will plan as best we can around these considerations.