Asking about Brugge will get you lots of mixed replies. Personally, we made a plan to spend a day there and after a couple hours we hopped a train to Oostend on the coast and spent our favorite day of the whole trip there. Also loved our day in Delft. Had an amazing dinner on one of the canals. Hope to go back some day.

I stayed in Haarlem for a week and thought it was perfect - for me. I trained into Amsterdam two different days along with the commuters to see the museums and wander around the Jordaan area and a few others. For me, two days in Amsterdam was plenty. If you don't stay in Haarlem, I do recommend making a pilgrimage to the Jopenkirk. Eat upstairs (the bar food was not as good as their dinner menu). I would go back to Haarlem in a heartbeat.

I would say Brugge isn't worth the bother. Or the cost. All the while there are the wonderful "frozen in time" cities around the old Zuiderzee to explore: Hoorn, Enkhuizen. Or the old Hanseatic Cities along the IJssel river: Deventer, Zutphen, Zwolle, Kampen.

2.5 hours by train gets you to Groningen, already slightly more Scandinavian than Amsterdam. From there, the island of Schiermonnikoog is a daytrip away.

as hetismij and myself like pointing out: NL is so small, that a two hour train ride will get you to most parts of the country from Amsterdam.

Towns like Delft, or Leiden, or Haarlem are everywhere in the Netherlands.

Thank you for all your responses. It is a trip I have wanted to do - to the Netherlands that is...I was in Brugge when I was in my twenties and I loved it. I remember it but I was young. I think I have to take the plunge and buy the ticket.

I am a little late for accommodations though. Any suggestions? I would like to stay for 200 US ish....safe, not far from the action but not in the midst of it. A neighbourhood where I can wander at night and feel safe.

Thanks so much.

In Amsterdam? Why not book a lovely B&B in Haarlem or in Leiden, or in The Hague even.

Leiden: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEfX40fP0GA

Haarlem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbBy2uvdNvA

Hoorn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr1vNHKpa6M

Enkhuizen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJSC06M9uM4

Deventer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqukkil25MY

Groningen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcgVeeQYL3A

I was traveling solo and stayed here for the full week in Haarlem. Loved it. Very safe. Easy walk to the train. http://www.bedandbreakfast-mya.com/en
Owners Roda and Albert were like old friends when I left.

Utrecht would be my choice: a beautiful city with more live in it than Haarlem, sits right on a train hub, so excursions are a doddle, entirely off the beaten path.