Netherland Itinerary

Old Nov 17th, 2019, 11:43 AM
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Netherland Itinerary

Planning a trip to Netherlands in April 2020 (17-26) and this is the current itinerary. Looking for feedback on the schedule, hotels and any other recommendations:

Day 1: Arrive at Schiphol around 10 am. Museums, Canal boat ride, walk around city
Day 2: Anne Franke's attic, Hidden church, more museums
Day 3: Pick up car, Zanse Schans, tulip fields, beach
Day 4: Leave Haarlem, Go to Hague, Delft, then drive to Kinderdijk - spend night in this area, need recommendation.
Day 5: Leave Kinderdijk drive to Brugges, Belgium
Day 6: Stay in Brugges
Day 7: Leave Brugges, drive to Ghent have lunch and sightsee, then drive to Dordrecht spend night there
Day 8: Leave Dordrecht drive to Geithoorn, spend night in area
Day 9: Return to Amsterdam area, return car, train to Haarlem to see Flower parade.
Day 10: Fly out that afternoon
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Old Nov 17th, 2019, 12:41 PM
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Moved to Europe board and tagged for the Netherlands
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Old Nov 17th, 2019, 12:56 PM
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Think about travelling by train instead of driving. Driving in this most densely populated corner of Europe may be more of a headache than a solution. The Low Countries have some of the best public transit sytems of the world and trains(and buses) can take you to all of these places in a very efficient and sustainable way.

https://nltimes.nl/2018/12/27/traffi...therlands-year

I guess you know that you have to book the ticket to the Anne Frank House in advance since it is one of the most popular sights of The Netherlands. My opinion is that it's an overrated attraction and unless you really read her diary or have never seen a Holocaust museum/memorial in your life than you'd better skip it.

Always use a map when you're planning a journey(I recommend openstreetmap.org), your destinations are not grouped in a logical order. For example Dordrecht is very close to Kinderdijk, so in case you group these together there's no need to come back to the same area after Bugge and Ghent. Another example from day 3, Zaanse Schans is to the north of Amsterdam while the tulip fields are to the south.

The jury is out on Giethoorn. It was a lovely place 30 years ago(a nice place, but not a must see), but nowdays it has been totally ruined by overtourism. Considering how far it is from the central/southern parts of the country I'd skip it.

https://amsterdamian.com/see/the-cou...-of-giethoorn/

Not sure what are you planning to do on a North Sea beach in April(day 3), unless you've never seen the sea I would skip it.

Last edited by BDKR; Nov 17th, 2019 at 01:00 PM.
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Old Nov 17th, 2019, 02:31 PM
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Thank you
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Old Nov 17th, 2019, 03:22 PM
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[QUOTE=kimbohannon;17017764]Planning a trip to Netherlands in April 2020 (17-26) and this is the current itinerary. Looking for feedback on the schedule, hotels and any other recommendations:

Day 1: Arrive at Schiphol around 10 am. Museums, Canal boat ride, walk around city
Day 2: Anne Franke's attic, Hidden church, more museums
Day 3: Pick up car, Zanse Schans, tulip fields, beach
Day 4: Leave Haarlem, Go to Hague, Delft, then drive to Kinderdijk - spend night in this area, need recommendation.

Ditto about the Anne Frank House tickets.
Can't speak to the rest of the trip but you need more time in Amsterdam to do the things you have listed. I don't know how you will do all of that in one full day and one partial day. Your Day 3 is too full too.
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Old Nov 17th, 2019, 11:34 PM
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You only have 1,5 days in Amsterdam.

Is Anne Frank house an 'overrated attraction'? It's the house were she and her family were in hiding during the war before they were betrayed. It may not be very entertaining...

I think you are spending way to much time moving around. Kinderdijk-Brugge will be about 3 hours driving. Brugge and Gent are not car-friendly.
Why not take a train from Rotterdam to Brugge, Brugge to Gent and Gent to Dordrecht?
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Old Nov 18th, 2019, 02:15 AM
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It depends on the tulip fields whether they are north, south or east of Amsterdam. There are tulip fields everywhere, including near me in the north. The biggest, and most accessible, are in the Noordoostpolder in Flevoland, which could be combined with a visit to Giethoorn if you must, though it will sadly be overrun with tourists. Try Urk or Blokzijl instead. Not the canals of Giethoorn but two interesting places. Urk is a former island so you go onto Urk not to Urk. Nearby is also the UNESCO world heritage site of Schokland.
A car would be needed for that part of your journey.
There are tulips fields galore in Noord holland as well which could be combined with Zaanse Schanns, which to me is a far more overrated tourist attraction the the Anne Frankhuis. Again a car would be needed for that.
The more traditional touristy tulip fields are actually quite hard to visit by car, as you can't just pull over and stop. They are busy, and the roads get very crowded. A tourbus would be better for those.
Whatever you do and wherever you go for the tulips do not enter the fields unless it specifically says you can. The farmers lose a huge amount of their crop, and therefore their income, from tourists trampling through the fields.

Kinderdijk will also be busy and parking expensive and difficult. Visit it from Dordrecht without a car.

You cannot possibly do everything you have planned per day, Where are you staying? Why return to Haarlem? Replan your trip, slow down. Maybe go straight to Brugge upon arrival, if you must go to Belgium as well, and work your way back to Amsterdam. Personally I'd drop the Belgian trips and spend more time seeing the Netherlands. Allow Amsterdam more than one and a half jetlagged days. Skip the beach (which beach???), it is unlikely to be beach weather in April.
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Old Nov 18th, 2019, 03:33 AM
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Sorry, but it's an unrealistic, chaotic plan. You can't possibly do justice to A'dam in 3 days, and won't even begin to get to all your "planned" destinations there.

Seriously, check out a map - always a very important element of any trip no matter how much internet helps. Get a paper one and stare at it and learn the scale of it until the actuality of moving from one place to another gets rooted in your mind.

Take trains. For the tulips, take a bus trip.

Why a beach? No one goes to the beach at that time of year in that part of the world unless they live on it or have never seen seawater before.

Cut your trip in half and it may be enjoyable.
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Old Nov 18th, 2019, 03:40 AM
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-Planning a trip to Netherlands in April 2020 (17-26) and this is the current itinerary. Looking for feedback on the schedule, hotels and any other recommendations:

Day 1: Arrive at Schiphol around 10 am. Museums, Canal boat ride, walk around city

>>>> Depends on where you're flying from. If it's from a different time zone, this day will be dedicated to jetlag, not museums. Canal boat ride can also put you to sleep long before you want it.

Day 2: Anne Franke's attic, Hidden church, more museums

>>> make sure you pre-book Anne Frank House, and also museums like Van Gogh and Rijks.

Day 3: Pick up car, Zanse Schans, tulip fields, beach

>>> Tulip fields and beach are easy to combine, but NOT also going to Zaanse Schans. April does not really have the weather for the beach but if it's a very nice day, expect long traffic jams and the inability to park your car anywhere near the beach. If you decide to do tulip fields and beach: go by public transport.

Day 4: Leave Haarlem, Go to Hague, Delft, then drive to Kinderdijk - spend night in this area, need recommendation.

>>>> No need at all to spend a night near Kinderdijk. It's a pretty rural and out of the way location. Also no need to go by car, and drive to Brugge. If you spend the last few nights in Rotterdam, you're well placed for The Hague and Delft, AND Kinderdijk (but not in the same day) and you've got an easy connection by train to Antwerp and so to Brugge.

Day 5: Leave Kinderdijk drive to Brugges, Belgium

>>> See above

Day 6: Stay in Brugges

>>> Consider staying in Gent and use that as a base for Brugge. Again, no need for a car.

Day 7: Leave Brugges, drive to Ghent have lunch and sightsee, then drive to Dordrecht spend night there

>>>You backtrack substantially. You could even do Brugge as a daytrip from Rotterdam. Dordrecht is really interesting, but you were already near it when you went to Kinderdijk, and again, with Rotterdam as a base, Dordrecht is 20 minutes by train from Rotterdam Central Station.

Day 8: Leave Dordrecht drive to Geithoorn, spend night in area

>>> Don't. Also, don't go to Giethoorn.

Day 9: Return to Amsterdam area, return car, train to Haarlem to see Flower parade.

>>> You have no need for a car. Except for visiting Giethoorn, something I'd advise against. Instead, visit Hanseatic cities along the IJssel river, like Zutphen, Deventer, Zwolle.

>>> Why don't you combine this with the tulip fields and beach? It's all in the same area.

Day 10: Fly out that afternoon

>>> What time? You probably won't have time to squeeze in the flower parade.

Last edited by menachem; Nov 18th, 2019 at 03:43 AM.
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Old Nov 18th, 2019, 04:35 AM
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Originally Posted by menachem
>>> You have no need for a car. Except for visiting Giethoorn, something I'd advise against. .
What's wrong with Giethoorn? We loved it! Spent a full day there and in the Weerribben-Wieden N.P.
It may be a bit out of the way, which shouldn't be a problem when they have a car.

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Old Nov 18th, 2019, 05:16 AM
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The problem with Giethoorn is that in April and May in particular it is totally overrun with bus tours. You can't move in the place.
Friends moved from Giethoorn becuse they were so sick of all the tourists, especially the Chinese who would wander through their gardens and into their house. They were completely unable to enjoy their own home, a particulalry lovely old Giethoorn farmhouse.
Ironically they sold it to a Chinese couple. No Dutch person would buy it.
The Weerribben Wieden is a different kettleo f fish and is truly beautiful if you are prepared to explore on foot or by boat.
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Old Nov 18th, 2019, 06:01 AM
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Originally Posted by hetismij2
The Weerribben Wieden is a different kettleo f fish and is truly beautiful if you are prepared to explore on foot or by boat.
Or by bike. Just as we did in de Biesbosch.

I didn't know about the bus tours to Giethoorn. It was pretty quiet when we visited (in the early summer).
I can easily understand why your friends moved!
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Old Nov 18th, 2019, 06:28 AM
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Maybe it has quietened down again now, there are less organised tours for Chinese now I think, but it was unbearable. It is still a very popular destination though, suffering, like so many places from the sheer numbers wanting to visit.
We lived near there 43 years ago, and it was a delightful place to visit. We actually nearly rented a house there for the fifteen months we were in the Netherlands then, but decided on a smaller, cheaper house near Blokzijl instead. DH used to go off for long bike rides with our young son through the Weeribben in those days.
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Old Nov 18th, 2019, 07:33 AM
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@hetismij
Wherever you go cycling in the Netherlands, it's always a pleasure. We are so fortunate to live near the B/NL border.
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Old Nov 19th, 2019, 05:39 AM
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Thanks so much for all the comments. We will continue to tweak our plans. The reason we would prefer a car over public transportation is the convenience of not handling our luggage constantly. A car allows us to leave luggage in car on our planned stops. I also realize that we are not traveling in a linear fashion but we are looking forward to exploring while we drive. Please continue the advice and suggestions, they are all appreciated. Before planning this trip, I did not realize how overcrowded this area was with tourists. I am sure it is burdensome for the locals, thanks for sharing your country. Many of us grow up dreaming of seeing some of your beautiful sights.

Last edited by Moderator3; Nov 19th, 2019 at 05:44 AM.
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Old Nov 19th, 2019, 07:05 AM
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Originally Posted by kimbohannon
Thanks so much for all the comments. We will continue to tweak our plans. The reason we would prefer a car over public transportation is the convenience of not handling our luggage constantly. A car allows us to leave luggage in car on our planned stops. I also realize that we are not traveling in a linear fashion but we are looking forward to exploring while we drive. Please continue the advice and suggestions, they are all appreciated. Before planning this trip, I did not realize how overcrowded this area was with tourists. I am sure it is burdensome for the locals, thanks for sharing your country. Many of us grow up dreaming of seeing some of your beautiful sights.
Instead of traveling around so much, choose a few cities as a base and leave your luggage in the hotel, while you go explore. Breaking open rental cars is a thing, also in the Netherlands.
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Old Nov 19th, 2019, 07:11 AM
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Originally Posted by kimbohannon
Thanks so much for all the comments. We will continue to tweak our plans. The reason we would prefer a car over public transportation is the convenience of not handling our luggage constantly. A car allows us to leave luggage in car on our planned stops.
I love road trips. I like doing exactly what you describe. It works well in some areas. I'd never do the same for NYC or for your trip. If your concern is moving luggage, I would suggest choosing two or three bases, leave your luggage in one place for several days and make short day trips. The Netherlands is perfect for that. Take advantage of the trains to create an easier trip.

I rented a car for one day to make a day trip to go north to visit heti and see her corner of the world. That was the best option based on the public transportation options. That's the exception and not the rule in the Netherlands.
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Old Nov 19th, 2019, 06:53 PM
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Hi, I agree with starrs, The Netherlands is a cute country, but the roads can get very crowded. So trips take longer. By train, all the bigger cities are very easy to get to fast. Choose 2 or 3 base points and travel from there if carrying luggage is your worry.
The Anne Frank house, I found the museum very simple but extremely interesting. Book ahead, they have time slots that sell out fast.
The beach, don't spend your time there. It is not a white sand beach and the water is cold.
the tulip fields, If you are really set on seeing these, I would suggest an organized tour. We drove a car around once and it took time to find one that we could access. If you really like to see the tulips, Keukenhof!
For the Kinderdijk, We had a tour with a horse-drawn carriage.... very nice.
Have fun!
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Old Nov 19th, 2019, 11:25 PM
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Originally Posted by JessicaBr
The beach, don't spend your time there. It is not a white sand beach and the water is cold.
I completely disagree. The Netherlands has wonderful fine sandy beaches. Not white sand, but golden. We love it there when the weather is good (and sometimes it IS good in April), especially in the province of Noord-Holland (Bloemendaal, Wijk aan Zee, Bergen aan Zee, Egmond aan Zee). Same for the Wadden Islands. So much natural beauty and cute villages.

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Old Nov 22nd, 2019, 02:13 AM
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Originally Posted by MyriamC
I completely disagree. The Netherlands has wonderful fine sandy beaches. Not white sand, but golden. We love it there when the weather is good (and sometimes it IS good in April), especially in the province of Noord-Holland (Bloemendaal, Wijk aan Zee, Bergen aan Zee, Egmond aan Zee). Same for the Wadden Islands. So much natural beauty and cute villages.
I didn't mean to say its the beach is a horrible place, but the OP has just a limited time and an extensive list of things they like to see. So something has to go to be able to do it all. For me, the beach would be that choice.
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