In April my hubby and I traveled to The Netherlands and Belgium. We did not rent a car this trip and used public transport instead. That was definitely the way to go. We both agreed the trains in Netherlands run smoother and are easier to navigate than in Belgium. We spent 4 nights in Amsterdam, 4 in Delft and 4 in Bruges.
In Amsterdam we stayed at a VRBO property in De Pilp. The area is fairly quiet though not too eye appealing. There were several eateries and coffee shops within a short walk. Our favorite was The Pizza Project. We were able to visit the Rijks Museum, the National Maritime Museum, central Amsterdam (canal ride), and the Albert Cuyp Market. We weren't able to get tix for the Van Gogh Museum before traveling so if you're going you need to get them way in advance.
Our only day trip from Amsterdam was Keukenhof and it was my absolute favorite experience the entire trip! I recommend especially to gardeners ;)
Delft was very pretty. Our accommodations were at the Hotel Grand Canal. The room was in the annex bldg. We had paid for the breakfast to be incl and it was OK. Our only negative about our stay here was the noise at night. Unfortunately for us the nights we were there was also the week university students were in town to celebrate. It wasn't too bad but between the hours of 9pm and even as late as 3:30 am there would be a group of students cheering and whooping and the sound just bounced off the walls of the bldgs and into our windows. My husband even noticed when we first entered our room that the earplugs provided on the nightstands were a bad omen. But to give credit to the hotel (Salina) they were understanding and provided a nice floor fan to use at night so we could close the windows. It really helped! Yet with all that we still recommend staying there and had a good night's rest every night.
A word on Delft itself. We found Delft to be very pretty, charming and clean. For the most part it's quiet and has many places to grab coffee or a beer and snacks. Our favorite spots for a beer were Three Sisters Pub, Delft Brewhuis and DeDelf. Our favorite meal and service was at DeDelf. It's a Rick recommendation and we agree it should remain in the guidebook! There isn't a lot to do in Delft but found the city walks in Rick's guidebook to be very worthwhile. The canals were quite picturesque. We walked to the Royal Delft museum and found it enjoyable and educational. Tip: we checked out the TI near the train station for info on the train and found great souvenirs reasonably priced. Delft is a great spot to use as home base while day tripping to other towns. Our day trips were Lieden, The Hague and Rotterdam. Lieden is a very pretty town and well worth visiting (but Delft is prettier). The Hague had our favorite museum, Mauritshius. Rotterdam was ok but we agreed we could have skipped it.
Next was beautiful Bruges. The trains and stations in Belgium are not as good. We managed fine, luckily. Bruges is very pretty and gets busy. For this stay we were at the Guesthouse Mirabel. It's a short walk from Market Square and a 10 minute bus ride from train station. A word on the train station and buses in Bruges. Not good. We found the train station to be dirty and not good signage. Figuring out which bus to take was confusing, to say the least. Once we figured out the right bus the ride was fast and bumpy. I joked it was like the Night Bus on Harry Potter ;) Departing Bruges we took an Uber to the train station and it was only 4 Euro more than the bus. Worth it. Restaurants in Bruges we would recommend: Murano (Italian), Diligence(Belgian) and De Halve Maan (beer hall). Again, did the city walk tour in guidebook, took beer tour at De Halve Maan and bought chocolate! Saw the Madonna and Child sculpture by Michaelangelo and loved the architecture. My husband loved the beer!!!
Places I would return to: Delft, Keukenhof, and Bruges.
Main tip: pack light and take a warm jacket in spring.