lyricalmotion

Day 1 Amsterdam
Day 2 Amsterdam
Day 3 Amsterdam -> Haarlem (Day trip)
Day 4 Amsterdam -> Delft (Day trip)
Day 5 Amsterdam -> Kinderdijk (Day trip)
Day 6 Amsterdam -> Brussels
Day 7 Brussels -> Brugges
Day 8 Brugges
Day 9 Brugges -> Cologne
Day 10 Cologne
Day 11 Cologne -> Bruhl (Day trip)
Day 12 Cologne -> Cochem
Day 13 Cochem
Day 14 Cochem -> Burg Eltz -> Rudesheim
Day 15 Rudesheim (maybe visits to smaller towns down river)
Day 16 Rudesheim
Day 17 Rudesheim -> Frankfurt Airport

Couple questions.
Staying too long in Brugges?
Is it better to replace Rudesheim with Heidelberg? since i am already going to cochem (mosel valley) will Rudesheim (rhine valley) feel repetitive?

Thanks and any suggestion would be helpful

artstuff

I like your itinerary. However, you are doing a lot of repetitive train travel back and forth from Amsterdam to Delft, Kinderdijk and when you move on to Brussels. Have you considered staying in Delft Day 4 & 5, then moving on to Brussels from there? You'd spend less time travelling and more time seeing the sites/sights.

The Mosel and the Rhine are different kinds of rivers, so they both lend a different feel to the valley. I suppose it depends on what your interests are, and what you want to see - a castle in a larger city, or small towns with timbered buildings amongst the vineyards. I'll throw another twist into your planning... have you considered visiting Trier, a wonderful old Roman city, easily accessible from Cochem? Again, it depends on what your interests are.

When will you be taking your trip?

Robyn

PalenQ

Yes I would consider replacing Rudesheim with Heidelberg - use Cochem as a base from which to hop to the Rhine for a day on the K-d (k-d.com) boats. Are you going by train? If so you are traveling enough to warrant looking at the Benelux-Germany railpass - valid on trains in Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg - hop on virtually any train anytime except Thalys trains which you do not have to take (hefty supplement with railpasses on Thalys trains).
For lots of great info on trains in those countries (if going by train!) check out these IMO fantastic sources - www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com and www. seat61.com.

lyricalmotion

thanks for the reply
@Robyn
hmm i shall consider that.. do you think it would be better to just stay at Hague since it seems like a bigger city for day 4 5 (day trip to Delft) and 6?

Thanks for the tip on Benelux-Germany railpass @PalenQ

PalenQ

that pass is also fully valid on K-D boats on the Rhine and Mosel rivers. Just hop on.

artstuff

I prefer smaller towns, so we stayed in Delft on one of our trips, and took Tram #1 into den Hague for a visit. We stayed at Hotel de Emauspoort, which is located in a canal house behind the Nieuwe Kerk. Plus, they have a bakery on site. Yumm!! You can check out their website - they have a nice little video on Delft.

http://www.emauspoort.nl/

Just curious, how are you getting to Kinderdijk? Is that on a bus from Rotterdam? Have you thought about doing Kinderdijk on Day 6, your travel day to Brussels. You can always stash your luggage in the train station while you go out to Kinderdijk. That would give you a full day for Delft and a full day for den Hague (although, the last time I looked I couldn't find any good deal on their tram system for one day of travel within the city).

Robyn

PalenQ

If into biking at all you can take a train to Gouda, a wonderful old regional town and rent a bike at the train station and cuycle the flat 10 or so miles to Kinderdijk - having the wondrous experience of biking in Holland, one of the world's biggest biking countries and then also be able to ride bikes through the far-flung collection of behemoth wooden wind mills - the largest cluster of such in the Lowlands.

Russ

On Day 14 you'll have no place to place your bags as you visit Burg Eltz. I suggest that on Day 12 you head to Cochem, check in, drop bags, and visit Burg Eltz that afternoon. Day 13 should be alright for time in Cochem. Day 14 could then be spent in Trier - leave bags in a locker there - and you can proceed to Rüdesheim, or Heidelberg, or wherever that evening.

I would actually prefer some time on the Middle Rhine to Heidelberg, which is nice but not extraordinary - but probably not 3 nights in Rüdesheim, which tends to be touristy and overpriced. If you stayed instead in Oberwesel or Bacharach, you'd be in a more scenic part of the Rhine Valley in a historic village (love those old town walls in Oberwesel) and have access to lots of wineries and other villages. Staying in Oberwesel offers the advantage of SIX DIRECT regional express trains to FRA between 5:30 and 11:30 a.m. (trip takes one hour.) From Bacharach there is only one direct train at 6:54 but the others require a change. All trains from Rüdesheim to FRA require a change and 80 minutes.

PalenQ

If it's too difficult to get to Kinderdijk by public transit consider Zaans Schanse - a similar grouping of old windmills but not as extensive or awesome IMO as Kinderdijk - but right on Amsterdam's front door - a 20 minute train ride or so and a 15-minute walk brings you to this national historic site on the former Zuider Zee with museum of old-tyle life in the Zuider Zee.

http://www.zaanseschans.nl/


https://www.google.com/search?q=zaan...=1600&bih=1075

PalenQ

Day 6 Amsterdam -> Brussels
Day 7 Brussels -> Brugges

are you taking this longer route to see a bit of Brussels en route - if not take the more direct route via a change of trains in Antwerp, which also makes a neat few-hour stop en route to Bruges.

MaloBalo

In case you have never been to Aachen, I'd suggest to stop there en route to Cologne. It'll be no time lost, and some great experience won for sure.

PalenQ

Actually on the day trip to Haarlem from Amsterdam - I stay often in Haarlem and it is a gem, right up there with any Dutch regional city in my book - anyways probably a half-day there is enough for most and then you can visit Zaans Schanse on the way back to Amsterdam.