We plan to visit The Hague, Giethoorn, Zaanse Schans, and various places in Amsterdam. Do you recommend staying in Amsterdam or in Utrecht? I'm not sure which places we will take a train to, probably The Hague, and which we will take tours of, which appear to depart from Amsterdam.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
8755 posts
Utrecht is a nice city, good for at least two full days on its own. But I don't recommend that people visiting New York City stay in New Jersey to get a cheaper hotel. You loose time and money every day, commuting. I've been many places as train daytrips from Amsterdam, and that works fine as well. BTW, I don't find Haarlem as desirable as Rick Steves does.
I have visited both Den Haag and separately, (adjacent town) Delft as a train daytrip from Amsterdam, while my wife worked in Amsterdam on a business trip. But on a later trip, we spent three nights in Den Haag, and enjoyed it.
Posted by
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
5927 posts
If the budget allows, I'd recommend Amsterdam if this is your first visit. That keeps you closer to some of the things I assume you've come to see, and you can also experience it in the evening when there may be less tourists.