Hello all. I've been doing much reading in guide books, blogs, and here in the forums (I found some fantastically detailed trip reports). I got plane tickets, lined up a broad strokes itinerary for a solo trip to the Netherlands for mid-April of next year to celebrate my 40th birthday and booked my hotels... and then looked at my plane tickets again and realized I had one less day than I thought I did. Whoops. I was excited with the itinerary I came up with, so I'd love some advice on where to now trim things down or anywhere you'd suggest a change. All of my hotel reservations are changeable, and I know I have loads of time to figure out details. Seeing tulips is a high priority for me. I prefer smaller towns, but was constrained in my hotel choices by wanting to use up some free night certificates from Marriott. I plan to use public transportation and hopefully rent a bike a couple times too. This will be my first trip to Europe as well as my first solo trip. I'll lay out my original plan and then would love advice on what to change around to make it fit into only 7 nights. Original plan was 3 nights Leiden, 2 nights Utrecht, 3 nights Amsterdam.
Sunday:
-Land in Schiphol at 6:00am (this was my error, I will actually land on Monday)
-Try to walk off jet lag by exploring Haarlem (leave luggage in a locker at the train station)
-If I have time and energy, try to get to Tulip Experience Amsterdam (actually located in Noordwijkerhout)
-Get to Leiden to check into hotel and have dinner
Monday:
-Keukenhof day - get there at opening and rent a bike after wandering the gardens
-Spend the late afternoon/evening exploring Leiden
Tuesday:
-Day trip to Delft
(Monday and Tuesday can be switched depending on weather)
Wednesday:
-Check out of hotel and stop in Gouda for a stroll before heading on to Utrecht
-Check into hotel and explore Utrecht
Thursday:
-Tour De Haar Castle
-Get to Amsterdam and check into hotel in the De Pijp neighborhood then canal boat cruise/museum/Vondelpark (see what I have time for)
Friday:
-Check out the Waterland towns either by bike or bus - Broek-in-Waterland, Edam, Volendam, and Marken.
Saturday:
-Full day in Amsterdam. Rijksmuseum/RS walking tour/wander along canals, etc.
Sunday (multiple options for today):
-Hoorn and Zuiderzee OR
-More Amsterdam museums and exploring - Dutch Resistance museum/Hortus Botanicus/Jordaan/I don't know yet OR
-Join a bike tour through tulip fields in Flevoland or North-Holland
Monday:
Fly home out of Schiphol mid morning