summer trip to Germany and Netherlands

You will certainly not want the car during the time you are staying in Amsterdam, so what probably makes the most sense is to fly into Amsterdam and start your trip there, and then pick up the car when you're ready to move on.

That assumes, however, that you don't plan on spending more than a day or two in any one place and don't plan on visiting any other larger cities for several days, because having a car while you're staying put in a city is a waste and often requires that you pay for parking. If you're going to be mostly on the go every day except the few days in Amsterdam, that's a reasonable plan.

Another option would be to take a train from Amsterdam to somewhere in northwestern Germany where you can pick up a car, and then use the car only in Germany. That way you wouldn't have to backtrack to Amsterdam. You don't necessarily have to drop the car off at the same location where you pick it up; the main thing is to pick it up and drop it off in the same country. You could fly into Amsterdam and fly home from Frankfurt.

Hope that helps.

Thank you ever so much for your suggestion. I really like the idea of taking the train to Germany and flying out of Frankfurt. Any suggestion as to where in Germany to take the train? My granddaughter, 18, is interested in historical sights and museums. If possible, I would like to avoid going to Frankfurt first, to rent a car, and then immediately leaving town. I thought that I would have to rent the car in Frankfurt in order to leave it there before we fly out. I would prefer to go to Frankfurt last, since we will fly out of there. Is Eurocar the best place to rent a car, as far as flexibility, to pick it up in one place and then drop it off in Frankfurt? Thank you again so much for your previous suggestion.

You need not pick up the car in Frankfurt. Any major rental company will have lots of location options within Germany. There are direct trains from Amsterdam to Cologne (under 3 hours), where you could start to explore the Rhine by car. Or there are direct trains to Berlin (6.5 hours), which is another city where you don't need the car but could pick it up upon departure.

You'll get the best price by reserving the ticket 3 months ahead. How to Look Up Train Schedules and Routes Online gives you the DB train schedule link and tips for using it. Try www.autoeurope.com for a car rental quote.

Thank you for the info. The train info is great as well as the car rental suggestion. You mentioned reserving tickets ahead by 3 months. Was this for train tickets? Thanks again!

I have a couple of suggestions for things to see in Amsterdam area. On the other thread you mentioned that your granddaughter has an interest in the Holocaust. I think the Dutch Resistance Museum in Amsterdam is wonderful. To me it lays a great framework for the Ann Frank House visit so if you can do the Resistance Musuem first I would do it that way.

https://www.verzetsmuseum.org/museum/en/museum

Also, to me it is worthwhile to take the short trip out to Haarlem to see the Corrie Ten Boom house from her book The Hiding Place.

https://www.corrietenboom.com/old/information.htm

I would also try to work in a concentration camp memorial depending on how your Germany portion shapes up.

Thanks Pam. These sound like great ideas !

Here's an idea for the Germany part of your trip. There are amazing fireworks displays on the Rhine River every summer called "Rhine in Flames". If one of these fits into your schedule, I think you'll all enjoy it. We saw the display in St. Goar a few years ago, and it was one of the most memorable nights of our trip. You can watch the fireworks from the town, or buy a riverboat ticket and see it from the water.

John, the advance-booking discounts are for train tickets. Auto Europe often seems to be advertising a sale on car rental, but I don't know that there's a specific time restriction with those.