swetz

Hi All,

We are planning a summer trip to Belgium-Holland (about 10 people incl. kids). Since we have kids with us and because we like to stay at least 2 nites in most places - this is is what we have come up with :

Belgium-Holland :

Day 1 : Arrive Amsterdam (Base in Netherlands) Explore Amsterdam
Day 2 - Explore Amsterdam
Day 3 : Amsterdam (Suggested day trips : Edam/Alkmaar (cheese markets), harlem/leiden,zanse schans)
Day 4 Amsterdam (Suggested day trips : Edam/Alkmaar (cheese markets), harlem/leiden,zanse schans)
Day 5 - Amsterdam with day trip to The Hague (1 hour train ride from amsterdam)
Day 6 - Fly Amsterdam to Brussels (Base in Belgium) - Explore Brussels
Day 7 - Explore Brussels
Day 8 - Day trip to Antwerp (1.5 hours by train from brussels)
Day 9 - Day trip to Ghent (30 minutes by train from Brussels)
Day 10 - Day trip to Bruges (1 hour by train from Brussels)
Day 11 - Fly out of Brussels

Questions :

1. Will the above work or should we spend more / less time in certain places
2. Is there a train between Amsterdam and Brussels that we should take instead of flying?
3. Should we add places which are not on here or remove places?

In all we can spend about 14 days including travel time - so the current itinerary does leave us with a couple of days in hand

LunaBella

2. Is there a train between Amsterdam and Brussels that we should take instead of flying? Yes. Check Thalys: https://www.thalys.com/be/en/

Sassafrass

I would take the train and probably use Ghent or Bruges as a base. Bruges is especially pretty in the late evening. I would do three or four nights Ghent or Bruges and one or two nights Brussels.

From Bruges, it is only about 15 minutes by train to the beach at Oostende, and it is a really neat beach town, fun for an afternoon.

In the Netherlands, we also enjoyed Delft and the Maduradam.

joannyc

I wouldn't spend those nights in Brussela. Loved Brugge, so would base there. Liked Ghent very much and spent a couple of nights there too. Do day trip to Brussels from either of those locations. Close to each other by train.

As mentioned, yes, there is a train from Amsterdam to Brussels, better than flying.

tower

Swetz:
kids as well as adults might enjoy a day trip to Kinderdijk the windmill (Moulin) village. Delft porcelain factory tour might bore them, though. There is a small boat trip to Damme from Brugge which can also be done by rental bike. The gardens at Kieckenhoff (but tulip season will be over) are a perfect half-day or less tour for you. Short train ride from Amsterdam.

See pics below which could serve to familiarize you with the two countries. (I purposely left out the Amsterdam red light district pics full of four letter words and graphic neon signs).

Seven Bridges hotel/b and b on the Regulier Canal in Amsterdam, The Egmont hotel on it's garden-like grounds, easy stroll into downtown Brugge, are my recommendations for you. Have a great trip....
stu

tower

https://picasaweb.google.com/stuartt...jijtPg8r6L6QE#

https://picasaweb.google.com/stuartt...russelsAntwerp


It's the Egmond Hotel in Brugge

swetz

Hi Everyone - thank-you for some great suggestions!

@lunabella - thank you for the train link - they don't have information on timetables in july yet - but i'll check again. That said - since both sassafras and joannyc are suggesting we make ghent or bruges our base - is there a train from amsterdam (or even rotterdam) to ghent/bruges? The Thalys link only shows connection between amsterdam and brussels

@sassafras - I'm going to check on Oostende and keep it in my back pocket. I'm traveling from California and i want to escape the beach and explore the cities for their art or architecture! That said - with kids a day's break at the beach might be needed

@stu - thank-you for sharing your pictures! They are so lovely…I'm really looking forward to this trip! I'm going to suggest Kinderdjik to my friends.

Does anyone know if zanse schans or The Hague are worth a day trip?

hetismij2

Take the train to Belgium. Either Thalys, which you should book as early as possible to get cheapest tickets, or just the intercity which you don't need to book in advance. In the end it won't take any longer than flying and be better for the environment, nor cost any more.

The cheese market in Alkmaar is only on a Friday, and only from April to the beginning of September. The cheese market in Edam is only on Wednesdays from 1 July to 19 August, with one Saturday evening market on August 8th.

I don't have time for further suggestions now, I will try and return to this later.
Consider a day in Den Haag and a visit to Madurodam, Panorama Mesdag, and maybe the beach at Scheveningen.

bilboburgler

I used to run a business on the Belgium/France border and once rode a bike to Bruges from Vlissingen. And I found Damme along the way.

Damme is a little gem, medievel, with walls, canals etc, really worth a few hours.

Yes, take the train Amsterdam to Beligium

Vote to base in Bruges, the cost of hotels will be a small hit but the place at night is good. Do go and search out the lace making and the perfect little church in the lace museum shows how much money was made by this stuff.

hetismij2

Personally I would stay in Gent over Brugge or Brussels, but there isn't much in it.
You can get hotel rooms in Brussels for a good price in the weekend and in August when all the Euro mob are on their hols.

Further to Den Haag - I forgot of course the wonderful Mauritshuis. You can also have a look at the parliament buildings, the Binnenhof and Ridderzaal, which date from the 13th century. You can book a tour or just walk around outside. Wave to the King, though he probably won't be at his work palace. He lives nearby in Wassenaar.
It is an underrated city and certainly worth a visit.

Depending on the age of your children they may enjoy NEMO in Amsterdam - a wonderful scince museum, or a trip out to Muiderslot castle. Maybe a day trip to Hoge Veluwe national park if you want to get away from cities - you can use the free white bikes to get around or reserv bikes for a small fee to be sure of getting ones which fit, and are still there after you have been in the Kroller Muller museum for instance. Spot wild deer and swine, and just enjoy a day away from the city.

I would choose Kinderdijk over Zaanse Schans, though it is trickier to get to. Zaanse Schans can get very crowded, which somewhat spoils it. If you opt for Zaanse Schans then you could also visit the Czar Peterhouse in Zaandam, which is where Peter the great lived.

Utrecht might also appeal - there are some good museums, it is home of Nijntje (Miffy), and has the Museum Speelklok, www.museumspeelklok.nl/?Language=en, full of musical boxes, street organs and the like.

tower

On your daytrip to Antwerp, you'll be in Diamond City. When you leave the train station, turn left on Pelikanstratt where all the little diamond and gold kiosks are lined up. They are manned by very religious Jews and all or most are closed on Saturday I was told. The diamond museum ("DiamondLand", no less) is an interesting take-in, and above all you can walk to the Rubenshuis along Kaiserlei (Antwerp's main street). The 17th century house/museum/gardens larger than you'd expect and is a testimony to the popularity of Antwerp's "own"...we found the lecture and exhibition of "assembly-line" painting which Ruben fostered, to be fascinating. Henry Ford built automobiles in that way, and Ruben "built" paintings! No unions?

There is also Hoffie's Famous Deli on one of the side streets off Pelikanstraat which is as close as it gets to a New York style kosher deli....including kasha varnishkes! For a sinful Belgian chocolate dessert, next to DiamondLand there is the small "Del Rey" cafe.

There is a red light district in Antwerp, but seen one, seen them all!

The train ride is a quick one and runs very frequently.

If you decide to stay in Brussels, I'm reommending a colorful, fun place with excellent menu, and Russian, Hungarian Gypsy and Yugoslav music. You'll want to visit The Grand Sablon upscale district anyway...
shops, boutiques, pastry shops and beautiful window displays.
Restaurant (loaded with ambience, good food and music) ..."Le Grands Mayeur"..there is also a cute little place in the "poisonerie"(fish markets) in a riverside harbor area...."Le Quai"...family-run small restaurant....I had "Brussels Mussels" and grilled salmon, Roz hhad a cold lobster plate. Exceptionally reasonable, less than $30, with beer.

The "Rodeo Drive" of Brussels can be found on Avenue Louise, quite attractive...lunch therein at a lovely, homey place, "La Delire" ....


Enjoy your trip.
Stu

ribeirasacra

No one has talked about Mons, European Capital of Culture 2015
http://www.mons2015.eu/en
Even without this event it could be worth seeing.
http://www.trabel.com/mons/mons.htm
The name of the city in Dutch is Bergen

menachem

you don't have to take Thalys to Brussels. After years of rotten train service by regular international train, the Brussels service is back, more or less: Amsterdam - Rotterdam by IC direct, same platform connection to International service. You don't need to book reservations and it's much cheaper than Thalys. Does take longer though.

How old are the children who are traveling?

For day trips: you already have Haarlem and Leiden.

Utrecht is half an hour from Amsterdam by train. Rotterdam is a good access point for a trip to Kinderdijk. Rotterdam is 40 minutes from Amsterdam by train (IC direct, small surcharge between Schiphol and Rotterdam). Rotterdam is an interesting destination in its own right. The most un-Dutch city in the Netherlands.

To get to Kinderdijk: from the Erasmusbrug stop, take the waterbus to Ridderkerk - change to the Kinderdijk ferry. The trip along the river by fast ferry is a nice thing too.

In Rotterdam, Katendrecht is increasingly popular, as is the Botersloot - Pannekoekstraat area and of course the superlative Markthal, only recently completed, is a great place to have a semi picknick lunch in a stunning building.

swetz

wow! Thanks again everyone - you guys are awesome..

I"m going to look into Den Haag and Mons. Also the hodge vuluwe national park sounds awesome! suddenly i'm not so sure if i can do everything i want to in 14 days

I'm working on researching the above and will post an updated plan for you guys to review in a week.

also @stu - thanks for all the restaurant recommendations..those will come really handy..my husband and i love tasting local food/beer/wine and asking for restaurant locations was next on my list once i had a plan

papillon20

Make sure to eat all the food in Belgium. Everything there is so tasty and they have great brunch places in Brussels and the chocolate really is to die for and the waffles are no joke, although I prefer Liege ones.

Tulips

In Antwerp the Diamond area near Central Station is interesting, but a pretty ugly part of town. Unless you're particularly interested in diamonds, I would give it a miss.

Continue along the Keizerlei and Meir to get to Groenplaats and Markt. Don't miss Hendrik Conscienceplein and the Carolus Borromeus church. It's the prettiest square in Antwerp. Rubens had a hand in designing the church and decorations.

On the Meir visit the Chocolate Line shop, that is located in the former Royal Palace. The inside is beautiful, and the chocolates are amazing. There's also a cafe in the Palace.

And if you have time, take in the MAS - it's a museum about the Antwerp Port. It's a wonderful building, with a great view from the top.

ribeirasacra

***Make sure to eat all the food in Belgium.***
But then you would explode ;-)

fourfortravel

We spent a week in Amsterdam in 2011 with our children (then, almost 10 and 15) during the spring holiday; and DH and I just returned a day ago from a 24 hour whirlwind return visit for a family event.

In Amsterdam we rented bicycles for two days, one of them being a cycling route through Broeck-in-Waterland, flat and picturesque. The other day we cycled around Amsterdam.

Our children really liked the day trip to The Hague. We toured Binnenhof and the Escher Museum, and then trammed for a little time at the beach in Scheveningen. Though the water was still cold, we all loved feeling the sand in our toes and collecting pretty North Sea shells.

We took a long day trip to Bruges, as well, and even though the day was rushed, we were glad we took the trip. The sun was shining; the skies were blue; and our lunch of moules et frites in the main square was perfect. DH and the children climbed the tower while I investigated chocolate shops; and afterwards we all walked around the city before returning to Amsterdam. In retrospect I would have liked to spend a night or two in Bruges, but sometimes that just doesn't work out.

On the visit this past weekend, DH and I rented a car and visited Kinderdijk. We had a pretty day and the windmills were spinning, but we were glad that we hadn't tried to visit using public transportation. The location is a little remote for those without a car.

Our daughter's visiting orchestra group (ages 12-14) was turned loose in Delft for several hours one day during the past week's rehearsals, and her SMS to us read, "Delft is a charming city!" DH and I stopped in Delft on our return from Kinderdijk and had to agree: we only had time for a brief walkabout the city and a quick lunch, and were glad we had that. The city was vibrant; we toured the WaresMarkt in the main square and the Farmers Market, and otherwise just roamed about.

menachem

Kinderdijk is easy enough from Rotterdam: fast ferry (Waterbus) to Dordrecht from Erasmusbrug, change to the Kinderdijk ferry at the Ridderkerk stop: the two ferries wait for each other there, also on the way back. From the ferry stop to the mills is about 500 meters. For coffee etc, there's a souvenir shop that's almost always open and there is a cafe right inside the mill area that's decent and a newish place that's just opened last year after having been closed for a while. Also a nice place.

One word of advice: the main path to the mills has a bike lane and a pedestrian lane: if you're on foot, stick to the pedestrian side of the road! I cycle there a lot and it's hairraisingly scary, people stepping out in front of my bike, with their backs to me, taking selfies.

Sue_xx_yy

i came very close to a day trip to zaans schaans because there is a cookie museum there that sounded interesting as well as the windmills. in the end we toured a windmill in haarlem and also took a bike ride from haarlem out to the beach. haarlem is a short commuter train ride from amsterdam, and much less hectic.

we also spent a night in each of antwerp, brugges, and ghent. we bought our thalys ticket as 'any belgian station' which enabled us to travel at no extra cost between brugges and antwerp, provided we connected to the thalys in antwerp (we were going the reverse direction, to ams) within 24 hours.