Dutch Weather in November

Thanks, Steve! And yes, I know Thanksgiving isn't a Dutch holiday :-) I was thinking of Christmas and New Year's. I appreciate the quick response!

You may get cool, damp, windy weather, but no snow. If you're there into early December, you'll be right in the middle of the main Dutch celebrations of the Christmas season. They exchange gifts on the eve of St. Nicholas Day (December 6th). In the weeks leading up to that day, St. Nicholas (Sinterklaas) goes from town to town to see if the children have been "naughty or nice." Many towns and cities have "St. Nicholas" parades. Christmas Day itself is a very quiet and sober day in the Netherlands, when people concentrate on the religious observance of Christ's birth, not gift-giving.

Sorry for the confusion. I'll be travelling in late November 2010 so I've got lots of time to research and ask questions. Sounds like I won't be in conflict with any Dutch holidays and that the weather will be very cold, but not too bad. I'm really looking forward to this trip!

It probably won't be that cold (but not warm either), but expect overcast skies, fog in the mornings, short days and at least some rain. For planning purposes, the biggest factor to consider are the shorter hours of daylight. This limits how much you can see in the countryside, but usually not the cities.

I spent the 2nd week of Nov 2007 in Amsterdam where it was cool & overcast everyday with a little rain. I was comfortable wearing winter weight pants, a long sleeved t-shirt, a lightweight cashmere sweater & my raincoat which is made of a med to heavy weight rainproof, windproof fabric. Some afternoons I could skip the coat. I also had a warm scarf. The temp was probably somewhere in the 40s to low 60s.

I just returned from another week there & the weather was unusually warm & sunny according to the locals. So, you never really know. Layer & prepare for rain is the best advise I can give you.

Keep your rain gear or umbrella handy even if the sun is shining at the moment. It can change quickly from sunshine to rain and back and back again.

I'm not aware of any holidays at the end of November in the Netherlands. And yes, it is low season in large part because the weather is what I'd consider ugly: grey skies for most of the time, sometimes fog, often rain. It's very unlikely that you'd see any snow. And it's very unlikely that the temperature is below 0 C during the day. But with the humidity in the air it will feel very cold and uncomfortable.

I lived in the area (well in Germany very close to the Dutch border) for half my life. And end of November was by far my least favourite time of the year. But in terms of travelling it certainly has some advantages incl. pricing and lack of crowds.

I went to Amsterdam last year in late November. It was cold (I live in Florida). It was rainy, so bring some rain gear.