BOE 21 day tour starting September 24th

Bumping up your thread for others to see. One thing I've found is that very few folks on the tours seem to know about the forums.

This is such a fun tour. I know you'll have a great time!

Are you packed yet, lol!!

Hi Pam!
Thanks for responding!!! I would love to ask you some questions about this tour if you don't mind. I am getting in a few days before the tour, do you recommend staying in Amsterdam or Haarlem? Hotel recommendations? Also, any suggestions on what to do there that is not included on the tour?
Thanks for help!
Rachel

Well, I am lazy and I would probably stay in Haarlem if it's 2nights. If you've got 3nights I'd probably do 2 in Amsterdam and 1 in Haarlem. I stayed one night extra in Haarlem ahead of the tour and did not leave myself any time to actually do Haarlem. I stayed at the Ambassador which was the tour hotel.

There is a lot to do in Haarlem. I did not get in to St Bavo's cathedral nor did I get to the Frans Hals museum. There are some windmillI missed and I would have enjoyed just walking around there and of course the Corrie Ten Boom House.

In Amsterdam I did The Dutch Resistance Museum which I thought was really good. I did not get to the Van Gogh Museum and could definitely have spent more time in the Rijksmuseum. There is so kich to see in Amsterdam as well!

I love to talk about this tour. It was one of my favorites.

We stayed in Haarlem two days before the tour started. We had tickets for Corrie ten Boom house and really enjoyed it. It is easy to get into Amsterdam on the train to see the museums not offered on the tour. We did the Van Gogh on our own.
You are going to have a great tour! We did.

Diane,
Did you get tickets to the Van Gogh museum ahead of time? Also, did you go the Anne Frank house?

Thanks!

I did get tickets in advance for Van Gogh. Anne Frank was part of the tour.

janra - We stayed in Amsterdam for a week and Haarlem for two days prior to our 21BOE in October 2015. We loved Amsterdam so much that we returned for a five week stay this past winter. We will return there in October/November. Yes, I would live there if I could afford it.

Depending on your length of stay and how many museums you plan to visit you might compare ticket prices to the cost of a museum pass which covers the price of your admission at most of the museums in Amsterdam. The pass is around 65 E each and well worth it if you plan to see several museums. It takes 4-5 museums before you break even but you also don't have to stand in lines to buy tickets or purchase beforehand. We never reserved any timed entrances. With the pass we didn't need to. Because we had the pass, at the Van Gogh museum we were directed to an entrance on the back side of the building and stood in line behind three people.

Amsterdam museums I highly recommend:
Museum of Bags and Purses - I knew hubby wouldn't want to go here so as he followed me along the canal, somehow all of a sudden there it was ; ) I was so excited to see it he couldn't say no. He ended up loving the museum as much as I did. It is so interesting I will make sure to take my sister there this fall.
Royal Palace in Dam Square
Museum Van Loon canal house
Willet-Holthuysen canal house - I'd try to work in one of these canal houses
Stedelijk
Van Gogh
Rijks
Verzetsmuseum
If you belong to a cat then you might enjoy Katten Kabinet. It is cash entrance only (around 7E) but we missed our cats terribly, loved the art, and loved getting to pet and visit with a few felines.

Haarlem Museums:
Corrie Ten Boom Huis - go online and make a reservation for the English tour. It's free but they do ask if you would like to make a donation at the end. Much more personal account than AFH. In fact, I will be visiting there again this fall.
Archaeology museum (in Grote Markt)
Teyler's museum
Frans Hals

You're going to have a fabulous time on this tour!!!

Joining you on the BOE21 tour starting September 24th. I will send a private message.