gilbmar777

big thank you to all contributors!!!
the final trip as following:
18-21 Jul Copenhagen
21Jul flight to Brussels arriving 1:30pm
rent a car at the airport and off to Luxemburg
2 nights to Lux, little switherland,
23 Jul depart early morning to Durbuy, then Rocherfort, then Dinant;
Sleep in Dinant
24 Jul - 1/2 day in Dinant, then to Ghent, sleep Ghent
25 Jul - to Brugge, return to sleep Ghent
26 Jul - 1/2 day in Ghent, return car to Brussels airport,
sleep Brussels
27 - 29 Jul in Brussels, 1 day trip to Michelen
Depart 30 Jul to Amsterdam with stopover for 4 hours in Antwerp (can we have a stop over with Thalys train ticket to Amsterdam??)
30 Jul arrive to Amsterdam and stay there for 6 nights
3 days for Amsterdam
1 day for Haarlem and Alkmaar
1 day for Den, Delft and Hague

is it doable?? are we missing a lot? any suggestions???
THank you

gilbmar777

also, can you suggest reasonable good hotel in Brussels?

gilbmar777

and would you suggest alternative day trips (instead of Delft and alkmaar??)

PalenQ

know little about good hotels in general and especially in Brussels. Will come back and give my impressions of your Dutch towns and Amsterdam plans - thanks for the nice comments.

menachem

Buy a THALYS ticket to Antwerp, have your stopover and then buy a "turn up and go" international ticket to Amsterdam at the station. You'll change to the Intercity Direct in Rotterdam, but that's easy. You can't have a Thalys journey with a hiatus, because you book an assigned seat.

Great Belgian itinerary: The Ardennes are great and Durbuy and Dinant are great towns to explore, with stunning countryside. Also Gent is a very lively university town, with great nightlife (and beer of course)
Mechelen, not sure though not that interesting IMO. You might want to stay in Antwerp on the 26th, instead of Brussels.

Side note: there isn't a town called "Den". It's Den Haag - The Hague.

PalenQ

and then buy a "turn up and go" international ticket to Amsterdam at the station>

Is this a regular full fare IC trains ticket or some special deal?

I assume just a regular full-fare ticket that you can use on any IC train to Amsterdam, including stopping say in Rotterdam for a few hours and then boarding any train.

Thanks in advance for clarification.

lavandula

Hotels in Brussels are expensive - if you can time your stay with a weekend, the rates will be considerably cheaper, as the weekday business / government people are all away from Brussels. This is particularly true for the hotels in the EU district. (Areas such as Place Jourdan, the Gare du Luxembourg area, Square Ambiorix, Maelbeek, Etterbeek will be safe, if empty on weekends)

You might find that staying in an area other than the centre has slightly cheaper rates, as these are the tourist hotels. Try Louise / Place Stephanie (Ixelles / St-Gilles) or Place St-Catherine as areas on a website like www.booking.com ; possibly exercise caution in an area like Rogier (Saint-Josse-ten-Noode) or near Gare du Midi (really recommend you don't stay here), as these areas will be cheaper but are also slightly seedier.

Lavandula

gilbmar777

thank you for valuable hotel info. Next doubt: we have been in Amsterdam briefly few years ago, therefore thought either to spend in Brussels 2 full days instead of 3 and stay 1 day in Antwerp OR include 1 day trip to Leiden (does it worth it?) and spent 2 days in Amsterdam? thank you.

janisj

>>18-21 Jul Copenhagen
21Jul flight to Brussels arriving 1:30pm
rent a car at the airport and off to Luxemburg
2 nights to Lux, little switherland,
23 Jul depart early morning to Durbuy, then Rocherfort, then Dinant;
Sleep in Dinant<<

Are you flying into Copenhagen on the 18th? If so you only have 2 full days in Copenhagen (plus a bit of jet lagged/getting acclimated time on the 18th)

Then you have one free day in Luxembourg. I don't think you are accounting for travel times and logistics.

HappyTrvlr

Leiden is a very worthwhile city to visit. Lots of history including the Pilgrims, pretty university town where Pres. John Quincy Adams studied.