Netherlands and Belgium Itinerary help
 

We are 2 active couples in our 60’s. We are interested in walking picturesque streets and enjoying the vibe of the cities and smaller towns. Not so much interested in museums or bars/nightlife.

We plan to fly into Amsterdam, stay for 6-7 nights and use it as a base to explore nearby towns in the Netherlands by train. Would love suggestions on day trips to make.

We we then want to base ourselves somewhere in Belgium for another few days, maybe splitting the nights 3 & 3 somewhere to explore other places by train on day trips. Suggestions on where to base ourselves that would make it easy to hop a train and places that are easily visited by train within an hour or so.

We we will make our way to Switzerland after leaving Belgium, but already have that planned out.

I would appreciate any any help on this.

Jan--

For Belgium, might I suggest Gent as a base, with day trips to Bruges, Antwerp and Brussels?

As to the Dutch part of your trip, Amsterdam is a fantastic base to explore the west of the Netherlands. This area, commonly known as "the Randstad" is the main urban agglomeration of the western Netherlands. We have a very efficient train system, so cities like Delft, The Hague, Rotterdam, Leiden, Haarlem, Utrecht, are easily accessible by train (no reservations needed)

One tip: visit Enkhuizen, 1 hour from Amsterdam by train, and see the Zuiderzeemuseum. The present IJsselmeer, former Zuiderzee, is the historical inland sea of Dutch history. In the 17th century, Enkhuizen rivalled Amsterdam in stature. The Zuiderzeemuseum was founded after the closing of the Afsluitdijk, to preserve and exhibit the artefacts and culture of the former Zuiderzee fishing and trading communities.

Another interesting destination is the village of De Rijp.


and

This is just the kind of information I was needing.

Thanks so much for your help.

Jan

You're so welcome. Enjoy your stay in NL!