wanderfar

Reposting in General Europe. Sorry!

Hi All.

We will be traveling to Amsterdam and Bruges at the end of March. We arrive in Amsterdam on Friday morning and have 11 full days before flying back out of Amsterdam on Tuesday. I'm trying to figure out if we should leave for Bruges on Wed or Thurs or possibly return to Amsterdam on Sunday instead of Monday. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

We are planning day trips to Den Hague and Delft, Haarlem, and Zaanse Schans during our stay in Amsterdam. Any other suggestions for daytrips not to miss would also be welcome.

Fri - Amsterdam
Sat - Amsterdam
Sun - Amsterdam
Mon - Amsterdam
Tues - Amsterdam
Wed - Amsterdam or travel day/Bruges?
Thur - Bruges
Fri - Bruges
Sat - daytrip to Brussels from Bruges
Sun - Bruges w daytrip to Ghent?/Antwerp? or return to Amsterdam
Mon - Amsterdam - Keukenhof
Tues - Fly Home

I'm trying to figure out what to do with the Wed and Sunday nights - stay in Amsterdam on Wed night and travel to Bruges early Thur morning. Travel to Bruges on Wed and stop in Antwerp on the way arriving in Bruges by late afternoon? Also, we are currently planning to return to Amsterdam on Monday - take the earliest train and try to visit Keukenhof to have the best opportunity to see the most in bloom. Keukenhof is open later so if we get there by ealy afternoon we should still have plenty of time.

Also, is there any concern of only allowing one day to get back to Amsterdam for our flight home in case of train troubles or whatever?

Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

wanderfar

Hi Again.
I reread my post and realized I wasn't being very clear. My main concern is not cutting our time in Amsterdam short with the included daytrips. We like museums and like spending more time in one city than doing the whirlwind trip.

I'm trying to figure out if we should do 6 full days in Amsterdam with day trips leaving 4 nights in Bruges - Thur (travel day) until Mon (travel day) - with a day trip to Brussels on Saturday. I was trying to avoid spending primarily the weekend in Bruges, but since we are traveling late March, maybe the weekend crowds won't be as much of an issue.

Otherwise, we would have 5 full days in Amsterdam with 5 nights in Bruges and more opportunity for a day trip to Ghent and more time in Bruges.

Both options would leave us arriving back in Amsterdam on Monday with a trip to Keukenhof before flying out on Tuesday.

This is our first time spending any real time in these cities, and I'm not sure which side trips - Ghent, Antwerp, etc. are not to be missed.

Again, any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

yk

1) I like to spend my time on train in the evening (or late afternoon). That way, I maximize my sightseeing time, since not much is open in the evening anyways. So my vote would be travel from Amsterdam to Bruges on Wed evening, so you'll be all ready to head out for sightseeing Thurs morning.

2) I like Ghent and Antwerp both, but I prefer Ghent more. Every time this question was asked here (Ghent vs Antwerp), I think the responses have been 50/50. It depends on what you like more - Ghent is a bit more medieval than Antwerp (which really came to power after the downfall of Bruges and Ghent).

3) I think 2 full days in Bruges is lovely, as there's much to see with plenty of excellent museums.

4) For your weekend trip to Brussels, you should qualify for the 50% off weekend r/t ticket. It won't work for Sunday because you aren't traveling r/t.

5) BTW, if you haven't seen it yet, please go see the movie In Bruges. It's a bit violent and full of foul language, but the cinematography is absolutely beautiful. The entire movie is shot on site - no movie studio "fakeness" except the top of the Bruges belfry.

PalenQ

If doing all those trains then investigate the Benenlux Railpass, which gives 5 days unlimited travel in Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg over a one-month period (a 'flexipass') - just hop on any train without reservations in these country except the Thalys trains (which you need only use Brussels to Paris - otherwise currently IC trains are practically just as fast to Brussels from Holland. For train info on these countries with lots of objective info and pass prices, etc. i always refer you to: www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com - but it is easy to see if a pass is warranted for you by going to the Dutch and Belgian train system web sites - www.ns.nl and www.b-rail.be (not positive on this one) and look at fares in euros - and also some special discounted fares that both, esp Belgian railways, can offer.

ruechapon

The NL portion of your itinerary sounds just right to me. Keep in mind that NL is a small country and you can reach many of these destinations in just a short while. For instance, I think the train to Zaanse Schans takes under 20 mins. My point is that you can go to many of the places on your list and still have time to do things in A'dam as well. The lone exception is Den Hague.

In addition to the cities you've listed we also really love Leiden. Well worth a visit.

hetismij

Ruecahpon - NL is bigger than Belgium!
If you want to see NL it will require more than 4 days. To see more than Amsterdam and it's immediate environs requires more than 4 days. To say otherwise is nonsense.

It takes 30 minutes by train and bus to Zaanse Schans. You will need probably half a day there, make it a full day by including Volendam maybe.

But what about Utrecht, Den Haag, Leiden, Delft, Haarlem, Zierikzee, Zwolle, Arnhem, Maastricht, Gronigen? Without beginning on the countryside.
It is like someone from Europe visiting Washington DC for a couple of days and saying they have seen the US.
wanderfar, you have 5 days in Amsterdam yet three of those are actually spent away from the city and at least one of those days you will be jet lagged. I don't think you are doing Amsterdam justice.

I find Brugge twee and very over-rated personally and would spend no more than one night there, a day trip suits me just fine. But it seems to suit American tastes.

Antwerp is a nice city to visit. Maybe you should consider spending a night there before returning to Amsterdam.

If you want to see Keukenhof early, when it will be quieter, then I recommend spending the night before considerably closer to it than Belgium.

ruechapon

hetismij, terrific! and so what...?