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Stay in Amsterdam or Haarlam?

We are finalizing our plans for a June trip to The Netherlands and have decided to stay in Haarlam with day trips into Amsterdam. Our thinking is that we would enjoy the quieter atmosphere of being away from central Amsterdam but still have close proximity and easy access. We're not really urban people but do enjoy museums, restaurants and sights. So your insights and thoughts on this plan would be appreciated - Good idea or not?

On a related note, we are thinking of including a couple of days in Delft (particularly since we've seen Delft described as a quieter, slower-paced, and smaller Amsterdam). However, we are unclear if Delft would be too much like Haarlam and whether we should be looking at a different combination of cities for a week or so as part of our 2-week trip (the other week being in Belgium).

Thanks in advance.

Posted by
2788 posts

We have stayed in both Haarlem and Amsterdam and definitely prefer staying in Haarlem for exactly the reasons you mention. It is a quick train ride from Haarlem to Amsterdam and after spending time in Amsterdam, it is nice to retreat to Haarlem for some peace and quiet. When we have stayed in Amsterdam we felt that we were never away from "the action". We have also visited Delft but only on day trips. You might want to consider spending one night there. Hope you enjoy all of them as we certainly did and have returned to there a couple of more times.

Posted by
1005 posts

Much prefer Amsterdam over Haarlem. You can enjoy the Amsterdam nightlife and not worry about catching a train to get to your hotel. Haarlem is dull, dull, dull. Delft is better since it is a university town.

Posted by
1 posts

If you stay in Haarlem, it takes 10 minutes by train to the beach at Zandvoort.(northsea)
It costs about 6 euro a person.

If you like to enjoy the nightlife, Amsterdam is better to stay.

For Belgium you have to visit Brugge. It is the most romantic city of Belgium.
The buildings, food&drinks are like a dream. I'm not from Belgium. : ) from the Netherlands....

Antwerpen en Brussel are also nice places. But Brugge is the best place in Belgium!

Have fun!!!