Amsterdam
 

We are planning a trip for 4-5 nights in June. Please advise;

First 2 days wandering about the canals of Amsterdam and the historic highlights (Ann Franks house)
Day 3 rent bikes and do the countryside ( would love some interesting route ideas)
Day 4 take the train to Delft and perhaps rent bikes there also
Day 5 flight out to Norway.

Could I condense this to 4 days?

Also - I am hoping for some hotel suggestions ( 4*) .
thanks.

IMO it is better to take the train out of the city and then rent bikes. We took the train out, rented bikes a the train station and then rode out to the coast - a bit breezy but pleasant (altho we got a bit lost even with a bike trail map!). If no one else posts better info, I'll look for the name of the towns.

A price point might be better than *'s. I'd suggest a hotel on one of the canals, not far from the Jordaan. We liked the Canal House, the Toren is nearby and I think there is The Pulitzer that is even more upscale.

I would not shorten your stay - there is plenty to do for a week or so in Amsterdam! IMO but I am a bit of a slow traveler. My favorite activity in Amsterdam is sitting canal side watching the boats and bikers go past.

Check out Hotel Fita...clean, great breakfast (scrambled eggs and wonderful crepes included) free laundry service, a stones throw from the two blockbuster museums, easy tram line access, friendly and helpful hosts.

Consider the Van Gogh museum and the Rijks museum while you are in Amsterdam. Have a great trip!

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ite-things.cfm

been going to Amsterdam dozens and dozens of times on business for decades - here's mine and others takes on this amazing town!

Wow, PalenQ - those are some great blogs. We WON'T shorten our trip after reading these and the above replies. I am still hoping for a bike trip suggestion. We could easily cover 30 to 40 miles. Would it be a good ride to go to Haarlem and take the train back? Would this take us through the countryside with flowers and windmills? The Canal House our Toren both look great and I like being near the Jordaan. Or - is the 'Brewers Canal' a better location? Where is the Jewish section as I read it is quite lovely.
thanks --this trip will be great (from there we go to Norway :))

a new wrinkle --the flight from Amsterdam to Bergen seems to take 5-8 hours since there is a stop in Oslo or Copenhagen. Any suggestions on a carrier in the Netherlands --or , should we take the train to Copenhagen and depart from there?

Just a few things: The train from Amsterdam to Copenhagen takes 15 hours...'nuff said.

KLM flies nonstop AMS-Bergen, but it'll cost you!

While you walk around Amsterdam (which you should do a lot, it's the best way to let the city's character sink in), as you follow a canal on an overcast day you may not realize how it curves gradually around, and your sense of east and west etc. may get skewed. Remedy: A small compass. Beats the fancy electronic gizmos, and it's a lot cheaper.

Have some Indonesian food - it's very common due to the colonial history. But beware that the Rijstafel - if done right - is a festive multi-course affair, at least twelve courses, so don't order it unless you know what you want to get yourself into. But do try a dish, then another, then another!

You'll love Amsterdam, and not only for the obvious well-kown biggies, but the more time you spend, the more discoveries you make - chance events like seeing a piano being heaved up through a window into a top-floor apartment (that's what the winches are for that you see on the outside of buildings - the stairways are typically very narrow), picking a local's brain about the native cheeses in a small corner shop (there is more to Dutch cheese than Gouda...), being taught the finer points about various types of Genever by a friendly waiter in a small pub, and on and on.

Rijsttafel has lots of dishes, but mostly served all at the same time, so you can try lots of things. Try Kantjil on Spuistraat.

Get a Museum card in Amsterdam - it covers nearly every museum, and often lets you bypass the queues for the ticket office. Don't miss the Rijksmuseum.

Another area that's nice for cycling is the Vecht, between Utrecht and Amsterdam. Cycle past this small river, where wealthy merchants had their country houses, past towns like Breukelen, ending up in Muiden to see Muiderslot.

Not sure if anyone already said this, but buy tickets to Ann Frank's house online as early as possible. When we were there the lines were incredibly long. Amsterdam is great.

KLM fly non stop to Bergen. Book it early and it won't cost a packet. It is a small part of your budget, given your plans in Norway.
You can get the flybussen into Bergen from the airport.
If you are a member of Flying Blue, or I believe the Delta equivalent you don't pay for checked bags. You could always join FB just to get that privilege.

Another good destination for an afternoon's bike ride is to rent bikes at Central Station, then take the ferry across to North (ferries are free) and bike along Nieuwendammerdijk (make a stop at Het Sluisje for a drink and a snack), on to Durgerdam. According to your stamina you can either go back via Ransdorp or via Holysloot or even Uitdam or Marken. Cycling along the IJsselmeer coast is great.

I am still hoping for a bike trip suggestion>

I led bike trips around Holland for years and a classic bike trip would be IMO to rent a bike in Amsterdam and bike a Fiets ticket for the bike to put it on the train to Haarlem and gthen do a fantastic bike ride south from Haarlem right thru the heart of the largest flower fields - via the Keukenhof (closed them probably) to Lisse and onto Leiden - bike or walk around that neat old city and then put the bike on train to go back to Amsterdam.

This is a great bike trip IMO - get a good map at the VVV (Tourist Office) in Amsterdam opposite Centraal Station. There are plenty of other great bike trips I have taken and will report on them bit by bit.

I would eschew biking right in Amsterdam itself - lots of pitfalls - literally - like riding in rush hours when the bike paths can be mobbed - watching out for tram tracks - easy to get a bike tire caught in and just not that much fun - but just outside Amsterdam are many great rides - like the one south along the Amstel to Oudekerke, Abcoude and onto Breukelen.

another great bike trip IME goes from Amsterdam's southern edge along the Amstel River to Oudekerk and then inland via Abcoude to Breukelen - passing castles and small farms and villages until you follow one of the most major canals in Holland to Breukelen - who gave its name to our Brooklyn - you can follow the canal to Utrecht, a really nice city and put your bike on a train to return to Amsterdam if not wanting to cycle back - about 20-25 miles each way.

Awesome bike trip suggestions - thx. Since we have 5 days in the area, would we be wise to do 3 in AMS and 2 in Delft?

What are some thoughts on going to Delft for 2 nights? We don't leave fly out of AMS until mid afternoon. And, if this does look like a good idea, does anyone have any hotel suggestions there?
thanks!

I'd spend all five days in Amsterdam - especially if into night life - Delft is a nice town but you may find it too quiet - day trip out of Amsterdam and come back to some of the most eclectic and popular nightlife in Europe at night.

Relocating hotels inevitably takes a half day - basing in one place thus saves a half day.

Delft is a university town however so there probably is a bit of night life come to think of it!

We are not into night life but rather enjoy architecture and interesting walks or bike rides. We also tend to like small towns rather than the bigger cities. Has anyone stayed there?

Also --we are checking into The Canal House in Amsterdam. It looks lovely but the room for 285 Euro is small. Any other suggestions? I like the idea of staying in that area of town.

sorry - I got this mixed up with a current thread from folks asking about night life - Delft is not a small town but part of the Den Hague urban area - for a more really small town look at Gouda, from which you can also easily bike thru farmlands to Kinderdijk, the awesome group of windmills - the finest in Holland and a bike path goes right thru them.

Gouda is a sweet really regional town with a sweet town square and a bit smaller feeling than Delft. I've been to Delft many times and with its canals it is a beautiful place. You can't go wrong.

Anyway a super fine bike trip goes to Kinderdijk no matter from which direction you come.

https://www.google.com/search?q=kind...=1600&bih=1074

Thanks, Palen. The pictures of Delft look amazing and I really love the bike trip you suggested. Do you have suggestions for lodging in Delft? And, is it easy to catch a train back to Amsterdam to fly out early afternoon? Thanks.

Know nothing about hotels but trains from Delft to Schiphol go all the time - twice an hour direct trains taking 35 minutes right to the airport train station. About as quick as coming out from Amsterdam given that in Amsterdam it would take likely longer to get to the train station for airport trains than in smaller Delft.

https://www.google.com/search?q=delf...=1600&bih=1074

These are images of Delft - the others were of Gouda - but Delft is a really neat old town - don't miss the Porceleye Flex - the original factory of the famous Delft porcelain. Lots of shops in the town center but make sure they are selling authentic made in Delftware porcelain - the factory is a few miles out of town - it is a nice walk along a canal!

http://www.royaldelft.com/index.asp?lang=2

Cycling around Delft could get you into Delfland, an "old" area of polders, and a new area of hyper modern mega greenhouses. Around Delft, Biesland is a good destination, with wonderful Uylenburg to stop for lunch. Towards the coast, you could do a tour of Westland, and stop at Op Hodenpijl for lunch or dinner.

Uylenburg is also a hotel (something entirely different than staying in Delft itself, it's completely rural, yet within a 15 minute cycle ride from the centre of Delft)

http://www.uylenburg.nl/

Op Hodenpijl is also well known locally for its series of concerts.

http://www.ophodenpijl.nl/

Come to think of it, Op Hodenpijl is also an inn, but it's further away from Delft

http://www.ophodenpijl.nl/landgoed/348/Herberg_/

I think it would be a nice short enough bike trip from Delft to Kinderdijk, the windmill complex.

https://www.google.com/maps/views/vi...ch=110&fovy=75

neat picture of the bike path that goes right thru the heart of Kinderdijk's vast windmill complex - since it is an easy bike ride from Rotterdam is must be an easy ride from Delft as well!

I don't think it's short to be honest but you may be better trained than I am. Remember you have to get back too, and that's at the end of the day against a head wind. Delfland has its own rewards, and if it were me, I'd put the bike on the train, take the fast ferry from Rotterdam Erasmusbridge to Alblasserdam an tour Kinderdijk and Alblasserwaard. De Krom is a lovely stop along the Graafstroom river, where one can rent a whisper boat to explore further. At the end of the day it's easy to cycle back to Alblasserdam and take the fast ferry back to Rotterdam.

http://www.dekrom.info/content/

they say they can easily cover 30 to 40 miles - I just thought via Alblasserdam or whatever crossing point they could get there in 20 miles but I really don't know.

I know on the bike trips I conducted for years in Holland we easily - groups of up to 50 - went from Dordrecht to Kinderdijk and to Rotterdam in one day. Have to look at our old day route maps and years later all is rather hazy.

Oops I got Delft mixed up with Dordrecht - yes from best to go back thru Rotterdam and taking the boat menachem mentions could be a lot of fun (it would be for me!).

sorry about the brain malfunction - perhaps too many daze in Amsterdam?

I'd put the bike on the train, take the fast ferry from Rotterdam Erasmusbridge to Alblasserdam an tour Kinderdijk and Alblasserwaard.>

Having ridden bikes many times between Rotterdam and Delft it is a snap - mainly along a busy canal to Shiedam, then you could go to the ferry that would seem so fun and bikes and all transported to the Kinderdijk area.

Avoiding the train will save a lot of money as the fiets or bike tickets cost about $10 each I believe (not sure but used to) and it is an easy ride between Rotterdam and Delft IME - always neat to bike along a canal - a busy one at that!

6 euros, and the fare between Delft and Rotterdam is small.

me, I don't like the stretch between Delft and Rotterdam much (Rotterdamseweg), although Overschie is nice. I'd always choose to save my energy for where I can most make use of it, so I'd rather ride in Alblasserwaard and make that count. But to each their own.

I agree just saying it was an easy bike ride from Delft to Rotterdam if one is into biking but agree by far not the best biking venue in Holland but not bad either - on bike paths and winding thru Rotterdam can be fun and experience city cycling with zillions of others.

But doing more cycling in the Kinderdijk area is a great recommendation - saving energies and time for that - could I think end up in Dordrecht, a nice old historic town and take the train back to Delft from there.

Book marking

Still hoping for lodging ideas for Delft. It will be hard to choose the perfect bike rides but we sure appreciate the various routes. Shaping up to be a fun fun trip!
Thanks!

OK, now back to thinking we mihgt just do day trips/rides from Amsterdam. Has anyone rented an apartment in Amsterdam? We'll be there for 5 days and the Jordaan area looks like a great spot to located ourselves.
Thanks.

We enjoyed taking the train out to an art park and biking around.

Check July 15th on my Amsterdam report -

http://www.rimerson.com/Netherlands0...erlands09.html

a nice option for those without bikes - take the train to Ede-winningen and then a bus to the Otterloo entrance of Hooge Veluwe park and hop on free bikes to ride to Kroller-Muller art museum and sculpture park - thanks for Robim for mentioning that in her/his above post.

Has anyone rented an apartment in Amsterdam? We'll be there for 5 days and the Jordaan area looks like a great spot to located ourselves.>

Lots of reports of folks renting house boats in the lovely Jordaan area - check them out for a unique stay similar to a flat.

Ede winningen = Ede - Wageningen

Bookmarking for a future trip

Has anyone rented an apartment in Amsterdam? We'll be there for 5 days and the Jordaan area looks like a great spot to located ourselves.>

We just rented an apartment just north of the Jordaan through Airbnb. Since our visit is in May, we obviously cannot comment on the specific place or the general experience. We have rented apartments in Barcelona and Edinburgh with good results.

The picture of the fellow who rents the apartment, however, has a pleasant demeanor. (Insert ironic and hopeful smiley face.)