Go Back  Fodor's Travel Talk Forums > Destinations > Europe
Reload this Page >

Help needed for Netherlands itinerary please

Help needed for Netherlands itinerary please

Old Jul 27th, 2016, 12:51 PM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 416
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Help needed for Netherlands itinerary please

My husband and I are planning a trip to the Netherlands next April and possibly into May. We are retired so our timing is flexible. Often our trips have lasted 3 weeks. I need assistance in planning our itinerary. From my research, it seems that, at least for the first section of the trip, using trains and buses would be preferable to renting a car. I do wonder whether we would be best off renting a car to drive to the Arnhem area and keep the car for the rest of the trip. Also, any suggestions on the best date to arrive in the Netherlands would be appreciated. I know that April has Easter (April 16 and 17, 2017) and King's Day (April 27, 2017). Our entire April is clear as is the first week of May in 2017.

My husband loves to take photos. We prefer to travel slowly and see as much as possible because we go with the thought we will not make it back to any of these locations. We are in our early 60s.

Fly NYC to Amsterdam. I thought we would need about 4 days to see the sights of the city. For day trips I want to go to Enkhuizen (could we or should we see Hoorn on the same day?), Edam together with Volendam and Marken, and Haarlem. Should we try to make it to Alkmaar or any other places as day trips from Amsterdam? With the day trips, we would need at least 7 full days in Amsterdam, I think.

We would travel by train to Delft or The Hague using one of those as a base for the next few days. One day we would go to Leiden and Keukenhof gardens. One day for The Hague. One day for Delft. Perhaps see Gouda on one of those days. One day for Rotterdam, Dordrecht and Kinderdijk. One day for Utrecht. That would mean 5 full days in this area.

I was thinking that this might be where we should pick up a car rather than continuing using public transportation because it would give us more flexibility but perhaps you will suggest we continue using trains instead.

Travel to the Arnhem area. My husband is a WWII scholar so we need one day for a battlefield tour and the airborne museum. One day for the National Park de Hoge Veluwe and Kroller-Muller Museum. One day for Appeldorn and the Palais Het Loo. That would mean we would need 3 full days in this area. Any suggestions on the best town to base ourselves in? I've seen recommendations for Appledorn and Otterloo.

I would like to go to Zwolle (I've seen recommendations to use this town as a base) and visit Giethoorn, Kampen, Zutphen and Deventer. How many days would we need to visit this area without rushing from place to place?

That would bring us up to about 18 days. Unless there is some place else you highly recommend, I think we would go back to Amsterdam and fly home.

I would really appreciate any help you can offer.
theatrelover is offline  
Old Jul 27th, 2016, 01:11 PM
  #2  
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Well for train info check www.ns.nl - Dutch Railways official site and trains do go everywhere and buses pick up the slack. But i get the idea of having a car, especially for some of the places you are heading - for lots of great train info and suggestions on where to go by train check www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com (check out their online European Planning & Rail Guide for lots of itinerary suggestions in NL - Belgium is so close - Antwerp is a gem as are Gent and Bruges -

Cars in many cities are a bane - hard to find parking perhaps and cities are very walkable.
PalenQ is offline  
Old Jul 27th, 2016, 01:17 PM
  #3  
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 17,892
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I would do Utrecht from Amsterdam.

Otterloo would be a good base for what you want to see in the Veluwe/Arnhem area.

You don't mention visiting Friesland, Drenthe or Groningen at all. If you have a car I would certainly add at Least Friesland to the mix. you could then return over the Afsluitdijk, maybe visiting Enkhuizen or Alkmaar on the way back to Amsterdam.

In addition to Giethoorn consider Blokzijl, maybe Urk (a former island) and Schokland, another former island and Unesco site. There will be plenty of bulb fields to enjoy in that area too - more in fact tan in the traditional bulb areas. You could then follow the Ijsselmmer coast up into Friesland, perhaps visit the Wouda pumping station at Joure, and head for Harlingen and Franeker, before returning over the Afsluitdijk.

ALternatively (or in addition!)you could head south into Brabant and Limburg.
hetismij2 is offline  
Old Jul 27th, 2016, 01:25 PM
  #4  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 416
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thank you so much for the quick and helpful responses. We have already traveled around Belgium so this trip will be just the Netherlands. Thank you for the detailed suggestions, hetismij2. Those are definitely ideas for the last section of the trip.
theatrelover is offline  
Old Jul 27th, 2016, 01:55 PM
  #5  
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
In April be sure to drive or take a train or bus thru the heart of the Dutch flower belt as see tulips in bloom for miles around - good route is between Haarlem - a real gem of a smaller city and Leiden - the Keukenhof is of course world famous - open only in April and early May - THE annual exhibition of the Dutch horticultural industry.

http://www.keukenhof.nl/en/

With a car I'd go to the Kinderdijk windmill complex - the largest in Holland - nice drive down from Gouda, another gem of a regional town:

https://www.google.com/search?q=kind...HaIaBTIQsAQIGw

Holland -so small yet so so many neat towns and regions to explore!
PalenQ is offline  
Old Jul 27th, 2016, 01:55 PM
  #6  
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 468
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
You've got a well-thought list of things to do. I'll limit myself to a few remarks and a tip.
Volendam and Marken are very touristy. Enkhuizen en Hoorn are much more interesting. Giethoorn is also getting crowded.
You can combine a trip from Amsterdam to Utrecht with the wonderfully preserved fortified town of Naarden (a 20 min walk from the station Bussum-Naarden).
http://9292.nl/en# is a good addition to www.ns.nl/ It does all public transport, including the ferries from Rotterdam via Kinderdijk to Dordrecht.
tonfromleiden is offline  
Old Jul 27th, 2016, 02:09 PM
  #7  
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 4,760
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
The integrated travel planner covering NL is not the NS railway site but the following. As buses can be used too.
http://9292.nl/en#
When using railways you can also hire bikes too. So look into that. However that service is available from certain stations.
Also read this about new tourist transport tickets.
http://www.holland.com/global/press/...t-launched.htm
If you are thinking WW2 I would suggest you change your dates to Sept. Then there are a few commemorations for operation Market Garden.
http://www.lichtjesroute.org/
http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/...WAR%20CEMETERY
http://www.betuwsoorlogsmuseum.nl/
http://airborne-herdenkingen.nl/en/
http://www.nationaletaptoe.nl/2016/


However on the 4-5th May The Dutch have a Liberation Day public holiday. There too you will find a lot of activity commemorating WW2.
http://www.4en5mei.nl/
https://www.defensie.nl/organisatie/...ale-herdenking
more information for 2017 is sketchy at the moment but do a search for Nationale Herdenking
ribeirasacra is offline  
Old Jul 27th, 2016, 02:44 PM
  #8  
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
WW2 - Check out the Dutch Resistance Museum in Amsterdam - some disturbing photos and artifacts.
PalenQ is offline  
Old Jul 27th, 2016, 02:51 PM
  #9  
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
http://liberationroute.com/the-nethe...n-war-cemetery

Not far from Arnhem,near Nijmegen if interested in WW2 battles.
PalenQ is offline  
Old Jul 27th, 2016, 04:03 PM
  #10  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 416
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Wow, you are all so wonderful! Thank you for taking so much time and giving me so much information. I will definitely sit down with my notes and the map and work all these ideas in.
theatrelover is offline  
Old Jul 27th, 2016, 04:19 PM
  #11  
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,862
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Ditto on the Dutch Resistance Museum...extremely well organized and packed with great displays.

Also...Haarlem is a great town. The best part was the Frans Hals Museum.

To be honest, I did not expect it to be very good – IMHO after the first dozen Hals paintings (they’re great), you’ve pretty much seen it all. However this museum actually did a better job of describing Haarlem in the 17th C. than the history museum did – very extensive. We had lunch in the Hals Museum café. I had a smoked salmon club and Linda had a great tuna sandwich on dark bread. [This is a quote from my 2010 trip report.]

ssander
ssander is offline  
Old Jul 27th, 2016, 05:01 PM
  #12  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 416
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thank you ssander. The Resistance Museum is now definitely on our list to see. My husband will love that.
theatrelover is offline  
Old Jul 27th, 2016, 11:46 PM
  #13  
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 17,892
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
There are also three concentration camps you can visit in the Netherlands - in Vught, Brabannt, Amersfoort, near Utrecht annd Westerbork in Drenthe, which is where Anne Frank was first sent after her capture.

If you decide to go south then there is a very moving WW@ museum in Overloon https://www.oorlogsmuseum.nl/en/home/ and teh huge American cemetery in Margraten near Maastricht.

A more touching war cemetery is the Russian one in Leusden, which has been cared for by locals since the end of the war. Of course for many many years no family members were able to visit these graves, so local children adopted them. It is not far from the Amersfoort camp and the two can easily be combined, possibly with the NAtional Military mseum in Soeserberg https://www.nmm.nl/en/, and if you are there one the right day and have had enough of war Soestdijk Palace, former home of Juliana and Bernhard https://www.paleissoestdijk.nl/

I would second Tom's suggestion of Naarden Vesting and recommend a visit to the Church there, which has an interesting painted ceiling.

For something a little different, as a trip out from Amsterdam you could visit the Historische Tuin in Aalsmeer, which explains the history of the vegetable and plant growing industry. If you use the audio guid you will be listening to mu husband!! http://www.historischetuinaalsmeer.nl They use Google translate on the website, but the audio tour was translated by a friend and native speaker, and DH spoke it in for them.
hetismij2 is offline  
Old Jul 28th, 2016, 02:51 AM
  #14  
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,169
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
We were in the Netherlands in April, 2016, with a lot less time and a lot fewer destinations than you have. We are jealous but consider our trip a scouting trip and plan to return in 2017.

April 17 is the statistical height of the tulip season. Keukenhoff was spectacular but a madhouse by 1 PM, even in the rain. Get there early.

Weather: it was windy and cold with rain, sleet and hail, on five days and some sun on four. We were equipped because we live in an area with cold, wet Springs, but many tourists were unhappy. 2017 may be completely different.
Ackislander is offline  
Old Jul 28th, 2016, 02:57 AM
  #15  
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 17,892
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I certainly hope next year is different. It was an exceptionally horrible spring this year.
Glad you are planning a return trip. The Netherlands is so much more than Amsterdam, tulips and weed.

Oh and theatrelover it might well be worth your while buying a museum card, which is valid throughout the country. Nowadays you have to have a photo on it, but if you buy it at a museum you can get a temporary one which is valid for a month before it needs swapping for a photo version.
hetismij2 is offline  
Old Jul 28th, 2016, 04:16 AM
  #16  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 416
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
You are all so wonderful. Thank you so much. You have given me so many ideas we might need to make a return trip. Ackislander, we are used to bad weather on our trips. When we were in Ireland, it was so cold and rainy even the Irish were complaining. Amazingly, we were in Croatia for 3 1/2 weeks last month and only had one morning of rain. We couldn't believe it! Thank you all so much!
theatrelover is offline  
Old Jul 28th, 2016, 06:08 AM
  #17  
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Aalsmeer of course also has the famous flower auction house -

https://www.royalfloraholland.com/en...tion/aalsmeer/
PalenQ is offline  
Old Jul 28th, 2016, 06:35 AM
  #18  
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 17,892
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Their combi-ticket includes the Historic garden.

The auctions will not be there much longer I am told by those who work there - it is nearly all done remotely now, or directly, by-passing the auction all together.
hetismij2 is offline  
Old Jul 28th, 2016, 06:44 AM
  #19  
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,862
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Amsterdam also has a satellite branch of St. Petersburg's Hermitage Museum with rotating exhibits.

http://www.hermitage.nl/en/

When we were there in 2010 they had the best Matisse collection I had ever seen. Here is the exhibit for April, 2017...which may or may not interest you:

http://www.hermitage.nl/en/tentoonst...ure_programme/

If you have the Amsterdam city card, it is free...as is the Resistance Museum and many of the other museums in the city (except the Anne Frank House and the Rijksmuseum for which there is only a 2.50€ discount).

ssander
ssander is offline  
Old Jul 28th, 2016, 06:48 AM
  #20  
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,862
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I will say that, unless you visit two or three major sites a day and use the transport a lot, the Amsterdam Card might not be worth it...you have to do your own math.

ssander
ssander is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -