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Tulips & Windmills River Cruise- help with daily itineraries

Hello! We are a group of two couples, doing a Viking river cruise in April 2025. Our stops are:
1-Amsterdam
2-Amsterdam
3-Enkhuizen
4-Arnhem
5-Kinderdijk
6-Antwerp
7-Middelburg
8-Zeeland
9-Amsterdam
10-Amsterdam

I have a lot of information on Amsterdam from RS book, but looking for suggestions for things to do at the other stops, and if there are day trips that we should consider, either from Amsterdam or from the other stops. Also any info on how to do Keukenhof appreciated. We enjoy both culture & history, and also enjoy being active (walking tours, biking, etc.). Thanks in advance!

Posted by
1028 posts

If you plan to visit the Anne Frank museum, please look at the website now to get a look at the specific timing for purchasing tickets. They sell out quickly. You can't wait until morning your time. They go on sale on Tuesdays at 10am (Amsterdam time) about 6 weeks out; though it's more nuanced than that.
I don't know if it's part of your cruise ship activity (I assume yes) or on your own, but you will be in Amsterdam in April; so Keukenhof is the must see...tulips, tulips, tulips. I would assume advanced tickets are required. We went with our RS tour, so I'm not exactly sure how that works for purchasing tickets. If it's not part of a group activity, you'll want to research getting there. I believe you can purchase tickets with a bus trip. Others will probably have concrete suggestions on how it works.

Also, advance tickets for the Rijksmuseum and definitely the Van Gogh museum as well. We thoroughly enjoyed Haarlem which was about 20 minutes by train from Amsterdam. You'll really enjoy Kinderdijk. We saw the river cruise ships docked while we were there.

Enjoy!

Posted by
5834 posts

Keukenhof has their own very helpful website and their own Facebook group you can join. The gardens run buses from various towns, including Amsterdam, Haarlem, and Leiden. ( The buses are usually in front of the local train stations.) You can buy combo tickets which include the timed ticket bus ride and admission. You can also rent bikes for viewing the private bulb production fields outside the gardens. It's all very easy, I purchased these tickets last January for our 2024 visit. The gardens are fantastic - 7 million flower bulbs! You are in for a treat! Safe travels!

Posted by
8463 posts

I've never been to Enkhuizen but it has long been on my radar. In the 17th century it was a very important port for the Dutch East India Company.
And also for me (don't know if Easter is too early) there is what I am told is a wonderful circular trip- by historic ship to Medemblik,
then the steam streetcar to Hoorn for a modern train back to Enkhuizen.

One to investigate anyway.

Even if the above is not operating, Enkhuizen is supposed to be a very interesting place to visit- https://www.visitenkhuizen.nl/en/

Posted by
357 posts

On the Viking website, it looks like there is an included tour to Keukenhof on Day 9 of the Tulips and Windmills cruise. That might not give you the longest amount of time there, but it would certainly be the most convenient transportation on the assumption that the cruise will take you there and back.

Posted by
8247 posts

Honestly, on the days of the cruise, what excursions they provide are probably sufficient. Before and after, depends a bit on your interests, but Leiden and Delft are nice visits, The Mauritshaus in The Hague is a must for Vermeer lovers. Haarlem has some interesting sights. If you are interested in good beer, I could probably give you a long list for Amsterdam and Haarlem.

Posted by
330 posts

Viking includes some excursions in each port, so those will fill much of your time in the days not in Amsterdam. In Amsterdam - with several days - you can both take advantage of the Viking tours, but add to your own list of "must sees" - perhaps gleaned from RS guide books.

It looks like an Amsterdam canal cruise and a trip to Keukenhof are included excursions, so it just makes sense to take advantage of them. Having done both, they are very nice to do. Amsterdam is deep in history and art options, with the obvious ones being obvious because they are genuinely very good. The AF house and the Resistance Museum are a great pair (and add in Haarlem's Ten Boom house). The assorted art museums like Rijksmuseum and the other museums clustered around the Rijks are an easy win.

We enjoy wandering cities, and Amsterdam is one of those that is quite nice (and easy) to wander. Find restaurants and bars to relax and have tasty food and drinks. There a MANY good food and drink options. RS has a couple walks that are easy, but those would just be "starting" points for several days of exploration.

Personally, my wife and would immediately be renting/borrowing bikes and getting around that way. Amsterdam has fun cycling options in all directions from the downtown, and getting rapidly out to the slightly less dense areas is easy. If the weather is agreeable, I'd dedicate at least a day to riding outside the city's heart.

One fun and relatively easy ride we did from Amsterdam in May was a recommendation from RS for the Wetland Safari canoe adventure. We rode out from the city, had a lovely time canoeing with the guide/owner, and then she gave us a great suggestion for a longer but very fun ride back. With longer days in early May than in April, we had plenty of sunlight to take advantage of.

If you haven't already, maybe look at the timing of in port & leaving port. That will give you a better sense of how much extra time you have once you have also taken the included Viking excursions.

Also, pop over to Cruise Critic and start looking through the Viking posts and the Roll Call for your cruise plus past cruise recaps.

Posted by
15 posts

Thank you all for your helpful advice!

Looking at our day in Arnhem..
we are doing a ww2 tour in the morning but will be done by noon. Wondering best way to spend the afternoon-
Any advice/opinions on the open air museum in Arnhem, or Kroller museum?
Our ship stay in Arnhem that night so we have the rest of the day to fill.
Thank you.

Posted by
2111 posts

We liked the Open Air Museum in Arnhem and have visited several in our travels. The KM offers Van Goghs and a beautiful sculpture garden as well. As I recall, the bus between Arnhem and the KM museum near Otterlo wasn’t difficult nor time consuming, but get that advice from someone with a better memory. It also may allow time to ride the free bikes in the nearby national park. Don’t know how these options fit in with your time allowances or cruise logistics but we enjoyed both these activities. Safe travels. And this… I don’t know how to post links, but an 8/06/23 post by deebaxster addresses some of these questions.

Posted by
161 posts

Somerowans - Who is your morning World War tour with?

Posted by
11700 posts

My favorite place was Kinderdijk with its many (19?) 18th c. windmills. We walked along the canal but you also could go by boat. Don’t miss it!