We know what we want to do just not what the best order would be. Suggestions greatly appreciated. So here it is:
Arrive Schirpol (from U.S.) around 10 am Wednesday (early May) We will be staying in Westerpark/Jordaan (P.S. we want to see as much as possible in our short 3 days 3 nights, We will sleep later)

Wed:
Thur:
Fri;
Sat: Depart 9am for Brussels

What we want to do:
Keukenhof, Van Gogh museum, Rijks museum, Anne Frank, Vollendam, Marken, Canal Cruise,. Would also Love to go to Delft, den Hague (LDS Temple)

Thanks for all your suggestions

Wednesday: Anne Frankhuis, (buy tickets online ahead of time) canal cruise, wander about a bit, collapse.

Thurs: morning get first bus to Keukenhof from Leidseplein - buy Wednesday from Tourist info on Leidse plein or at Centraal station, or at Schiphol on arrival. Continue on from Lisse to Den Hague (bus to Leiden train to Den haag or if you are lucky bus all the way) for PM, train back to Ams evening. Whilst in Den Haag consider also Mauritshuis and Panorama Mesdag.

Friday: Join tour bus to Volendam and Marken from Centraal station. You can get tickets at the tourist info at the same time as you get the Keukenhof tickets. Go to Van Gogh and Rijks later in the day. Van Gogh is open late Fridays. Buy your tickets for Van Gogh ahead of time from the website as there is a special exhibition on.
Saturday: sleep on train to Brussels!

That's a little too ambitious for 2 1/2 days, and I don't know if you can manage jet lag ok or is this your first trip?

After you get settled in your hotel/apt, you could take a canal cruise to get a bit oriented and get some daylight and air into your system. Then either Anne Frank house or Van Gogh, depending on which one is open latest.

On your remaining two days, you can spend them out of town, splitting Delft/den Hague into one very full day (not sure you could meaningfully even do this), and then the Keukenhof starting early in the morning. If you don't want to trek out to Marken/ Vollendam in the afternoon (and I don't think you can do all this in one day, either), then do the Rijksmuseum instead.

Given all this, I think you'll have shorted your sightseeing in Amsterdam.

ah, simultaneous posting!

I agree it is short changing Amsterdam but it is just about possible, provided they take an organised bus trip to Volendam rather than doing it themselves.
They need to decide what is really important and to book the tickets ahead of time to avoid queuing where possible. Also they need to realise that it is peak season for tourists and everything will be busy.

Het,
where is Delft in relation geographically to the above.
P.S. we want to be busy on Wed. also! Plus we want to see the Red light district and maybe a flea market? What do you think. Anything we forgot about?
P.S. I sleep great on planes.

Trav: Yes its first to Amsterdam.
but as far as doing a lot. no problem Im used to a crazy schedule. The baby of my 4 children is now in college. This is my chance to see all I can so I can decide where I want to bring them back to next year for a return trip.
I will be in France for 7 weeks.

Hei: we were hoping to take the bus/tram's whenever possible.
What am I forgetting or leaving out?

Delft is a 20 minute train ride from Den Haag. You then need to either get the train back to Den Haag for a train to Amsterdam or get the direct train, depending on when you leave Delft. Either way it takes about an hour.

If you must visit the RLD then you can do that on Wednesday also. It will be light until about 9.30 pm so you will have plenty of daylight for walking around Amsterdam. It is really a question of how hard the jet lag hits - and it will hit no matter how well you sleep on a plane. It is also light at 6 am so if you get up early you can enjoy Amsterdam waking up. However museums etc don't open until 10am.

I personally would probably give up on the Volendam trip and spend more time just enjoying Amsterdam, giving yourself more time in Keukenhof also. But if you want to do it then it is just about possible to cram it all in.

The most famous markets, though not really flea markets, are the Albert Cuyp and Waterlooplein. Both are open daily. There is a book market on the Spui on Fridays, including English books. The flower market is daily.

I'm a newbie - have searched posts but couldn't find one that told me what I needed. We Arrive Amsterdam via cruise ship 5-9. Have a week to travel - fly back (5-16)to USA from Amsterdam or Brussels?
Want to see the area. Iteniary and trains I would use to see areas? - on a relaxing iteniary. Willing to stay in any cites/hotels - hotels seem High $$$ in AMsterdam...maybe just a couple of nights? and then to Brugge? then Brussels? I am so overwhelmed! Train schedule's I researched appear to be $900+ to see these areas and do daytrips around??? Surely other choices?

magic, it would be better to start your own thread, rather than hijack Lauren's.
You will be in Amsterdam at peak tourist time - bulb time. If you search the forum you will find plenty of hotel suggestions, though you may find many are full when you are here. What interests you? Start a new thread and tell us wht you are interested in, and your budget and we will help as best we can.

Hi Laurel; One town you have not considered is Gouda. We took the train to Gouda and then on to Den Haag. Very easy. Thursday is market [cheese] day in Gouda and very impressive. In addition, it's a wonderfull medieval town. iris1745/dick

While Gouda is somewhere that we wanted to go we were concerned with maybe doing too much out side of town. Is it close enough to Den Haag or Delft that we could combine them together. Or actually anywhere else where planning on that can be combined in the same day?

hetismij may confirm, but how early in "early May"? We were there mid-April in 2007 and the people at the Keukenhof said they only had about 2 weeks of worthwhile flowers left. You might get a better read of how the gardens look closer to the time and decide whether it's worth the day.

We arrive around 9am May 6th to Schirpol but will be lodging in Jordaan.

amyb 2007 was an exceptional year, with everything a month early due to the mild winter. Keukenhof indeed closed early that year. This year is a normal year, with a cold winter and normal temps now so things will be fine in early May. And since I'm in the US then you should get great weather Laurel .

Thanks for the good weather wishes Het
47 Dayssssssssssssssssand counting)))))

Hi; On a 'long' day, you could get a train ticket for Gouda, Delft and Den Haag and then direct return to Amsterdam. When leaving Gouda, you have to make sure you are on the part of the train that stops in Delft. Otherwise, you go straight to Den Haag. For us, Gouda was much more enjoyable than Delft. It depends on your interests. So, leave at 8am and get back at 8 or 9pm. It worked for us. iris1745/dick