Stay in Harlaam or Amsterdam

I have stayed in both and enjoyed ea for diff reasons. If you plan on being in Amsterdam visiting more than 1 day then stay in Amsterdam. If not stay in Haarlem and use it as your base. train can get a little costly for 3 but amsterdam hotels are generally more expensive than Haarlem. The coffee/weed etc shops are in Amsterdam that might be tempting for yg males. But the canals, museums are great. The hustle bustle grittiness tho can be overwelming, I think.

How long in Holland, what time of year, is NL a stopover from/enroute to elsewhere or the main part of the trip, and what do the you/the boys want to do/see? There's other choices for sleeping besides Harlaam/Amsterdam depending on your itinerary & interests.

Sorry, Chris. Just associated this post with your other one where travel UK/NL was discussed. My choice would be Harlaam to sleep, day trip(s) to Amsterdam where everyone can get worn out but return to a peaceful refuge in Harlaam (where there's also night spots for the boys to kick up their heels to the extent they -and you- wish)

Haarlem has the benefit that you can observe and experience everyday Dutch people doing ordinary things.

Amsterdam is just one big tourist paradise. Amsterdam exists in its own world, Haarlem is far more representative of the Dutch culture.