Dublin or Amsterdam ?
 

Hello,

I am back to trip planning and I know there will be some good suggestions. Here is my dilemma. I want to travel to either Dublin or Amsterdam for appox 8-10 days in August. I am not sure which city I would be better off in to do day trips from. Has anyone been solo with no car in either of these cities?

Thanks....

Amsterdam! Hands down. And, yes, I have been to both and do like Dublin, but given the choice, no question, it would be Amsterdam.

There are plenty of lovely towns and places for day trips by train or bus.

Personally, I would probably not wish to spend the whole time there. Do you have to for some reason? With 8-10 days, you could could easily visit Ghent, Bruges, etc. even to Paris, all by train.

Hi Sassafrass,

Thanks for your reply. I don't have to stay in Amsterdam. I would like to stay at least 3 full days minimum. It seems rather expensive so I am wondering if I should escape to some other town for a few days too.

<i> Dublin or Amsterdam ?
Posted by: kelsey22 on May 18, 16 at 7:26pm</i>

Amsterdam. Staying in Haarlem, 20 minutes by train, is less expensive. There are a number of good B&Bs. Rent a bike and pedal over to Zandvoort on the coast. August is a good beach month in Holland. Or save even more by staying in a "Zimmer frei" in Zandvoort.

If the question was Ireland or Holland which it effectively is, then Ireland. If the question was a couple of days in Amsterdam or Dublin the answer is Amsterdam. If you only want city breaks then you could do both.

However from past experience I might be the only person on this particular forum who supports Ireland when there is a choice of countries.

You and I, Tony.

The whole of Belgium and Holland has great train and bus systems, making it very easy to go from place to place, plus there are lovely places for day trips from Amsterdam that are only a few minutes by train.

Ireland would be nice in August, but the transportation system is not as good in Ireland, so the OP would really need to rent a car.

Tony and JaJa may also be right about the bias of posters here.

I have been to Ireland four times, and enjoyed the visits, but just didn't take to the country.

I fell in love with Holland on the very first visit. Kindly people, fantastic museums and works of art, gardens, charming towns, canals and windmills, etc.

I like Spaarne's suggestion of staying in Haarlem.

With ten days you could see a great deal outside of Dublin as Tony suggest. it really depends on your focus? Amsterdam would be my choice if I were looking for great art museums, or modern design/contemporary architecture in other areas of the low countries. But Ireland would be my choice if I were looking for rural exploration, walking, dramatic scenery, castles, ancient history, music etc. Both destinations have a lot to offer, you'll find people welcoming in both places but it may be easiest to decide based on your interests.

Sassafrass wrote: "I have been to Ireland four times, and enjoyed the visits, but just didn't take to the country."

How dare you!

We have better mountains than the Dutch.

I want to clear something up before this becomes a full-fledged argument. I would like to go to both cities and countries but I have to choose. I won't have a car so I have to be mindful of ease of transportation.

Thanks and keep the comments coming :)

Amsterdam...

Never been to Dublin, but since you said "keep the comments coming"...

I've been to Amsterdam solo and really enjoyed it. I thought there was plenty to see and do, and the people I encountered were rather laid-back and friendly. It's a pretty and approachable city, and I am a museum lover, so for me it was great. With 8-10 days, I'd add time elsewhere nearby.

Amsterdam because of the superior attractions, food and proximity to other areas.
This past March, 2016 I spent a week in Dublin. Being Irish it was wonderful to communicate with Dubliners. The Irish police carry no guns and there performance on St. Patrick's Day was outstanding.

"I might be the only person on this particular forum who supports Ireland when there is a choice of countries."

Certainly not. Between Ireland and Holland, there's no contest: Ireland wins 50-0.

The problem is, though, that Holland's public transport system makes Amsterdam a terrific centre to visit Holland from. Ireland's lack of serious public transport, and the impossibility of easy access by car to its decent motorway system from Dublin, make Dublin hopeless as a place to tour from.

The alleged railway rationalisations in the mid-20th century, on both sides of the intra-Ireland border, have a great deal to answer for.

August is "holidays"

For NL, because transport is so good, you might also consider staying in The Hague, or Leiden, in addition to Haarlem, and Utrecht is also a very beautiful town: 20 minutes to Amsterdam by train, very central, sits on a railway hub, so reaching most parts of the Netherlands within 90 minutes is a real possibility.

I'm a huge Ireland fan but I agree.... Amsterdam for the city and the day trips from it.

This has been most helpful in making a decision. I am tempted to take a flight home from Dublin just to experience it....

I am also wondering if anyone has stayed at a beach-type resort (such a thing exists?). Would it be appropriate for a single traveller?

Zandvoort is a hopping seaside resort just a short train ride from Amsterdam - lots of hotels if you want to stay there.

https://www.google.com/search?q=zand...hrome&ie=UTF-8

Yes, Padraig, I will give you that one. Ireland does have better mountains than Holland. Very funny!
DD and I had a big discussion about that once. She insisted Ireland had no mountains. I said it did and presented the heights which qualified for mountain status. She reminded me she had just moved from Switzerland and was not impressed by such small numbers.

Will add, one of the most beautiful things I have seen was a few years ago when Ireland had such a big snow with everything white and even icy, lots of frozen pipes, but I saw a dozen or so very large, red foxes leaping in the air, chasing each other and playing in snow. Rare to see them because they usually just blend in with the landscape. Absolutely wonderful sight!

Kelsey22, don't know about others, but there is a lovely seaside town, Oostende, about 10 minutes by train from Bruges, Belgium. It has a pretty town center and along the beach is a half mile or so of restaurants and shops facing the sea. It looks like an old picture post card. Really pretty.

You could stay in Oostende and visit Bruges and Ghent. If you stayed in Ghent, which I highly recommend, you could also visit Bruges and Oostende. If you stayed in Bruges, you could easily visit the other two. All good choices.

Yes, Ireland has some lovely scenery..but from Amsterdam, as mentioned,
one can easily travel in Holland, Belgium, Germany..etc

A few small places on Dublin Bay are interesting and easy to reach.
Dublin is one of the few European capitals I have no interstellar in visiting again.

Sassafrass wrote: "DD and I had a big discussion about that once. She insisted Ireland had no mountains. I said it did and presented the heights which qualified for mountain status. She reminded me she had just moved from Switzerland and was not impressed by such small numbers."

You just tell her that Ireland beats Switzerland for coastal scenery.

kelsey, you might want to check out

http://strandhuisjes.info/

they're very popular, so book early! (like, now)

I disagree with PalenQ and think Zandvoort is dull and tatty. For the downhome surfer experience, head to Wijk van Zee, for the well-heeled, elegant experience try Noordwijk.

Padraig, DD knows. She did love the West Coast of Ireland, very dramatic! She lived in Ballina, County Mayo for several years. She lived in the DR for a year, Switzerland for 4 years, Ireland for 5 or 6 years and now St Kitts in the Caribbean. Her favorite is Switzerland, but I like visiting her in St Kitts.

Honestly, I think the circumstances of my trips to Ireland colored my feelings, but also, I like hot countries like Spain.

I might have encouraged the OP more towards Ireland except that she does not plan to drive.

For the OP and others, differences, of course based only on an outsiders brief visits, between Ireland and the Netherlands is, IMHO

Ireland is mystical and the weather is misty and cool. Gray/blue skies. Saw rainbows nearly every visit. The landscape is natural and wild looking, windswept, low brushy growth with old stone cottages, stone walls, narrow lanes, sheep, etc. Looks perfect for loose watercolor paintings. Pubs for music and friends to gather.

The Netherlands is downright postcard pretty with stepped roof buildings and carefully laid out farms and perfectly designed gardens bright with vegetables and bulbs, laced with canals and dotted with windmills. Old city squares for markets and people to gather. Think Van Gogh and Vermeer paintings.

What you have in the Netherlands is centuries old landscape design. That's something you either warm to, or you don't. As a landscape it's not self-explanatory: it has its layers of history and it can help if you have some historical info.

One has been essential to western literature, the other western art.

Menachem, thank you for the videos! Incredible, really.
Interesting that they are helping in other parts of the world, including New Orleans. Perhaps the Dutch should be in charge of saving Venice.

You can enjoy Ireland without a car. I certainly did. I went on a solo trip in 2009 and used buses to get around. Mostly Bus Eireann, but also a couple of organized daytours. It's been a few years since then, of course, so I don't know if those daytours still exist. And I had 18 days, well, 16 of you don't count arrival and departure days.

I was in Amsterdam in 2013 for about a week. I took a couple of daytrips, by train and with organized tours. I also bought the Museum Card and used it a lot.

If you want to see beutiful natural scenery I'd say Ireland is better. If you prefer cities, with museums etc. I think Amsterdam is better.

If you do choose Amsterdam as a base, try to visit Maastricht and Aachen also, two lesser visited cities, both very interesting. Maastricht: ancient Roman city and university town. Aachen has Charlemagne's Palatine Chapel, now part of the cathedral.

This is exactly why Utrecht as a base would be so much more convenient. Maastricht is beautiful, cities like Arnhem or Nijmegen offer much to a visitor, but are somewhat off the beaten path. If you visit Arnhem, do visit the Hoge Veluwe and Museum Kröller-Müller as well. I visited recently and was moved to tears by their Van Gogh paintings.

Sassafras, I was quite struck by the part where the H+N+S lead architect describes the Netherlands as a "prosthesis", the Dutch have fashioned for themselves.

I have been in both places and unless you are planning many side trips, there isn't enough to do in Dublin for 8 to 10 days. Amsterdam on the other hand is fantastic for enjoying the city and for doing great day trips. The transportation is easy, you can get to many places (train or bus trips from less than 30 minutes and many places can be reached in an hour - hour and a half.)
You can easily get to everywhere in Holland by public transportation but Ireland is better with a car.....