Spending 4 Nights in Amsterdam

In addition to any advice you get here, you should look at websites more specifically geared to your situation. Here are several:

Lonely Planet Thorn Tree: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/europe-western-europe/netherlands

EuroCheapo: http://www.eurocheapo.com/amsterdam/

Hostelbookers: http://www.hostelbookers.com/

Hostel World: http://www.hostelworld.com/

I went to a couple of different museums the last time I was there as it was a second trip. One was Museum Van Loon. It's a canal house from the 1600's that was owned by a merchant. It was very interesting. The second was the Dutch Resistance Museum. I thought both were very interesting and not packed with people. I think that there were only two of us in the canal house and it was July!

Another thing to do that is free other than transportation is to take the train to Haarlem and doing the walking tour. It was very good. You can get a map at the TI.

Pam

Thanks for the help, I've booked much of my trip, but still looking for much advice concerning this last leg in the Netherlands!

If you enjoy art you'll enjoy the Netherlands: Dutch museums are well-organized and are easily accessible for English speakers. The three main art museums, the Rijksmuseum (for art up to the early 20th century), the Van Gogh Museum, and the Stedelijk (modern art) are next to each other on Museum Plein. Take Tram 2 from Central Station. Lines for Van Gogh tend to be long, but if you get there when it opens, it's quick to get in. You can also buy a museum card on line which lets you in without waiting in line. A relatively new Amsterdam museum is the Hermitage, a sister museum of the Leningrad Hermitage. It's a beautiful building: https://www.hermitage.nl/en/. Another great museum is the Mauritshuis in The Hague. It houses Vermeers and the "Goldfinch" having recently gained fame through the novel of that name. Our favorite museum, however is the Kroller-Muller Museum. It is roughly one and a half hours away by car in a national park and houses a large number of Van Gogh and a wonderful sculputure garden. The beauty of the museum is its location: at the car parking lot you can pick up a free bicycle allowing you to cycle through the woods and fields to the museum which is deep within the woods.

Thanks for all the advice. I had a wonderful time in Amsterdam. I stayed in Zaandam and biked back and forth to the city. I visited the Rijksmuseumn the Van Gogh Museum, and The Anne Frank house while there. I also took day trips to Delft and Brussels. It was Great!

We bought museum passes, which let you cut the queue (we have them for re-sale).

Amsterdam is a big and busy city (similar to ny). it took us a day or two to relax and feel the vibe.
Look both ways before crossing the street. NO kidding. Even in shopping areas, coming out of stores; my dh almost got run over (bikers fault)