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Where to stay in Netherlands

Hello, my husband and I are going to the Netherlands. We'll be on there for 9 nights total. We want to see the major attractions (Anne Franks's house, Van Gogh Museum, canal cruise, etc) in Amsterdam and would like to spend some time in the cities surrounding as well (Haarlem, Delft - any other suggestions?).

Originally, I would have liked to just book one hotel in Amsterdam for the whole trip, but it seems like many of the affordable hotels are already sold out.

Where do you recommend that we stay (areas, places)? We just want a clean place that feels secure. I guess we'd prefer a regular hotel, not a hostel, but would consider a hostel that may have private rooms with bathrooms (if that even exists at all). It would be great to be by the canals, but we are okay with a short walk or train ride.

It does seem like we can book a room near the canals for a few nights and then could possibly get rooms in the other cities nearby that we plan to visit. Since our hotel stays might be a little choppy, we might also just go to Belgium for a night or two (Bruges and/or Antwerp). Do you have any recommendations for Belgium as well?

Thank you!

Posted by
1224 posts

If it were me, I would prefer to stay in different places for different parts of the trip (as opposed to traveling from AMS to somewhere-else every few days). Those outside-Amsterdam days would be grueling. So I would spend maybe 4 nights in AMS and take day trips north of AMS, like Zaanse Schans or Voldenham, and a day to Haarlem, 1-2 nights in Delft, and then do a day trip to Rotterdam, then you could make it from Rotterdam to Ghent or Bruges for 2 nights with your last night in AMS before departure. Of course, you could see more of the NL by going east, and not going in to Belgium at all...

I have always stayed at airbnb's in AMS, because we are budget minded--

Posted by
8091 posts

We once stayed at Hotel Schiphol which is a large business hotel out at the airport. They ran is to the airport where we caught the 12 minute train ride into Amsterdam. It was the nicest hotel we have ever stayed in, and the price was great But I understand most would stay in town.
We stayed three times in the suburbs out by the sportsplex--south of Vondelpark. We have found many area B&Bs have sold the rooms as condos.
A source of rooms often overlooked is Google Maps. Pull up a neighborhood you like and magnify the map a couple of clicks. Restaurant and Room icons will pop up. Click on the beds and the property info will pop up including their direct website. It is a great way to find rooms anywhere.
Or go to Booking.com and filter the search by low prices. B&Bs will often pop up in the lower price category.

Posted by
2487 posts

Try to find something affordable in Haarlem. Only 15 mins from Amsterdam with at least 4 trains per hour.
Changing of hotel in the Netherlands is a waste of time. Distances are short and the trains run amazingly frequently. Haarlem to Delft is 45 mins, also with at least 4 trains per hour.
For Belgium I would advise Ghent. Nice, lively historical university city, one hour from Antwerp and half an hour from Bruges.

Posted by
11247 posts

We spent a week in an apartment in Haarlem and found it a great location and value. Easy to travel anywhere by train, great restaurants for evening s when we did not want to cook. Prices were much lower then in Amsterdam proper.

Posted by
60 posts

The folks on the TA Amsterdam forum are remarkably helpful with lodging. If you have exact dates and budget in €, they’ll offer up suggestions.
AMS is getting to be awfully expensive. Vacation apartment rentals are limited to 4 persons per, which may be helping to drive up costs.

Posted by
3940 posts

We enjoyed staying in Dordrecht (after our Ams stay) and Ghent in Belgium.

Posted by
46 posts

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all of your suggestions! I think we are going to go to Delft (then see Rotterdam and The Hague - any other suggestions?). Then, we're going to go to Brugge and/or Antwerp. After that, we'll spend the rest of the trip in and around Amsterdam.

Posted by
2487 posts

Halfway between Delft and Rotterdam you'll find amazingly attractive Schiedam, famous for its gin industry.