Amsterdam: 2.5 days or 3.5 days

If you just wanted to see the sights you listed in Amsterdam, you could see them in 2.5 days by running around, and having a reservation for the Anne Frank House (get this as early as possible). But Delft and Haarlem each take a day. I guess, if you were on The Amazing Race, you could get to both in one day, but there would be no point. Much of the reason to see places outside Amsterdam is to see the slower pace and quieter ambiance; if you're rushing around, you'll miss this, and might as well stay in Amsterdam. So, even on a rushed schedule, allot 2.5 days to Amsterdam; if you have an extra day and you insist, you can do a day trip to ONE city. Again, you CAN do more than this, but you wouldn't want to.

You could easily spend a week in Amsterdam, so 3.5 seems quick to me. BTW, the Van Gogh museum may have already moved their treasures to the branch of the Hermitage in AMS when you visit- your hotel will know.
Also, the Rijksmuseum only has about 200 items on display, the entire museum is not open, but the entry fee is the same. You could do Dellft and Haarlem in one day, though it would be fast. You may think it odd but one day when my feet complained, I enjoyed a ( gasp) big bus tour for the simple convenience. That wintry day took me to Zaanse Schans, Edam, Volendam and Marken.

Thanks Harold & Melissa. I went to search and found out both VG Museum & Rijksmuseum are under renovation. Do you still recommend to visit Rijksmuseum with the limited display item? Will all the items in VG museum relocated to Hermitage? is there online ticketing to Hermitage that we can reserve ahead of time? what else do you recommend to do in AMS? thanks!

That "half day" isn't the day you arrive there from the US, all jetlagged and zonked out, is it? If so, that day is pretty much useless, so I'd suggest you dont count it. In that case your question becomes, "Amsterdam: 2 or 3 days?"

Hi David, we were planning to use the half day (the day we arrive AMS from London) to go to VG museum because it opens late until 8pm on Friday. But since VG museum is under renovation, YES, the first day we arrive AMS will pretty much be useless.

The Rijksmuseum has almost all of their highlights in the "small" display, so it's even better than usual. All masterpieces, in a few rooms. So yes, it's VERY worthwhile. I can't speak to Van Gogh; I was there in April 2012, and nothing had been moved to the Hermitage. As for what else to see, take a look at Rick Steves Amsterdam, Bruges, and Brussels. Choose from his listings according to your interests. I liked the Amsterdam Museum a lot, but if the Hemp Museum or one of the two Sex Museums is more your style, go for it.

If you want to see some of Haarlem, stay there, near the RR station. It's a quick trip to Amsterdam.

I think 2.5 days is fine if you are ambitious. I disagree that arrival day must be worthless. We were just in Amsterdam and our flight arrived at 8 am (direct from Seattle, BTW). We had the whole day to use! We ped our bags at the hotel since they weren't ready for check in and immediately dove into Rick's walking tour, popping into a couple of churches and enjoying the views of the canals and such. We had a short nap back at the hotel, and then visited the Amselkring museum before a casual dinner and bed. A most excellent day. The Rijksmuseum was well worth it. All of the good stuff is on display and far less tromping around through a huge museum. It's like a greatest hits tour. We arrived 15 min. before opening and were 2nd in line. I had purchased advance tickets to avoid the line, but there wasn't one anyway. Definitely get AF House tix ahead of time.

in May 2012, Day 1: We arrived from Glasgow and checked in around 12pm. We spent the rest of the day walking around the core of Amsterdam (every single RS suggested self guided walk, excluding the museum area and red light district) then had a 6:30pm reservation at Anne Frank's house, and walked some more after that. Day 2: We left the house around 10am. Went to the top museums including: Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh then did the museum area walk, at night we did the red light district walk. Day 3:
We did the Historic Triangle + the open air museum, got back around 6pm, had some dinner, did some more night time walking and couldn't wait to get out of Amsterdam the next morning. I am sure Delft and Haarlem can easily fill your day. In my opinion, the core of Amsterdam is trashy, full of young foreigners that destroy the city. 1.5 days is more than enough for me and my wife. We did enjoy the Jordaan area. We stayed at an AirBnB apartment by the Waterlooplein Station. My background: I am 32 my wife is 28, we walk a lot when traveling by a lot I meant about 8 miles+ a day base on our pedometer, and most people think our style of traveling as insane. So what worked for us, may not work for you.

Also Rijks is well worth it with "The Night Watch" alone. I gladly paid 12-14 euros per person through online reservation to stand in front of that painting for 15 minutes.

I would definitely allow 3.5 days. Delft and Haarlem are nice and can easily be seen in a day. One you did not mention that is worth a stop, most likely in conjunction with Delft, is Den Hague. All three are easily reached by train and merit about 1.5 days in total. That leaves 2 days for Amsterdam, which is by no measure, too much.