Thanks. I think the dates could line up either right when it opens or closes, so both may be less than ideal. I appreciate all the suggestions and especially the transport links.

For art (nature as well), check into going to Hoge Veluwe, it was one of my favorite things.
http://www.netherlands-tourism.com/n...come-together/

Tulips are a very very minor part of the Keukenhof - most of the blooms are in hothouses as the Dutch horticultural industry grows many of them - tulips outside in fields I think are grown for bulbs, not blooms - Keukenhof has zillions of flowers with tulips being a minor blip.

>>>>>>Utrecht is to me as fine as any Dutch regional town though so few folks here ever consider going there

And that is another great thing about Utrecht: in Amsterdam 80% of the people you see will be tourists; in Utrecht 98% will be native Dutch - - and it is so pretty and convivial with all those cafe's and the beautiful Oude Gracht, that people who do make it there say that Utrecht was what they expected Amsterdam would be like. The riff-raff factor and the glazed/stressed tourist factor is completely factored out. It's worth it just for an afternoon escape from AMS, as if it were a nearby neighborhood.

ditto to all dfourh says - the cathedral in Utrecht is marvellous and just think that when it was built for foundations they used zillions of cow pelts to stabilize the foundation! Now how Dutch is that?

Utrecht also has one of Holland's most vibrant and largest shopping malls right attached to the train station if looking for souvenirs at real prices.

March will still be half winter -- raw, windy, and wet. By May the weather is much improved.
For a trip to Keukenhof you can't do much better than bike there from Haarlem. See http://tinyurl.com/5nwqzp.

By May the weather is much improved.>

But years of biking thru this area of Holland in May still means IME often windy coolish wet weather - rarely really warm - a bit better than March but still not summer like you may think. Layer and always carry rain gear - teh green moss ubiquitously growing on westward-facing sides of trees testifies to a wet climate - the actual total rainfall is not that great but it IME often comes as a mist - with wind!

Another vote for the Museum of Mechanical Musical Instruments.

How about Madurodam?

Madurodam, Holland in Miniature, is a favorite stop for me in The Hague - though a bit off the beaten path:

http://www.madurodam.nl/en/

after walking thru miniature Holland you will have seen all of the country's famous places in one fell swoop - no need to actually go there!

Thanks. All interesting points. I'll keep you posted when this develops ...

We are currently in Amsterdam and our week will conclude Saturday. We have walked the city besides going to the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh we made day trips to Delft and Rotterdam. We were charmed by Delft and impressed by the post WWII architecture as being practical but artistically interesting.And they incorporated a few wide boulevards missing in The Netherlands.

Sightseeing is like work, it consumes the time you have.

Would it be mobbed going to Keukenhof on the last day it's open (next year, Sunday May 17?). I think I could arrive in AMS on the 16th from the US.

Sundays in general is a mob scene and I think the last day would be more than usual - but go anyway - it's worth the hassle of crowds and maybe most will have seen it then - hard to tell.

Many of the major exhibits IME are in hot houses - and it can be rather jammed - not just wandering around some gardens.

Would 3.5 days in Amsterdam (taking advantage of late nights at various museums to maximize) alongside 2 full day trips from Amsterdam (Rotterdam/The Hague and Zaandvort/Haarlem), and a half day at Keukenhof, for 6 total days/nights be doable? I'm early 30s and travel fast.

JT - Yes that would be very doable - Zandvoort during May may mean very cool weather with no one on the beaches and not much activity going on - you could well twin Haarlem with the Keukenhof - a bus goes from Haarlem thru the flower fields to Keukenhof.

JoeTro,

Since you've mentioned your love of art twice, I second a trip to Kroller Mueller Museum in the Hoge Veluwe if you like modern art. They have the 2nd largest collection of Van Gogh but that's not all. http://www.kmm.nl/

This is a trip for art lovers, others may not be as impressed but we plan to return. This can be done as a day trip but start early in the morning. The museum has a cafe with a decent lunch and good beer. Pick up a white bicycle, for free, if you want to explore the park. It's fairly easy to get there.

The next time we go, we will stay overnight nearby so that we can enjoy the museum and the park. The town of Otterlo has a hotel.

Enjoy your trip. If you include a visit to the Kroller Mueller in your plans then May would be the best month to go as the gardens will be in full bloom.

Cool - I didn't know anything about it, so thanks for the referral.

You're so welcome. Anything for a fellow art lover.

I loved the Kroller-Muller but was surprised that my National Museum Card was not honored here as it was at just about any other museum - guess is a private museum.

So ... it's looking like this trip won't happen next year. Hopefully 2015. I have a London wedding July, 2015, so I'll probably add on Milan and the Lakes to that instead. Don't want to miss Kukenhof!