dutyfree

I am looking for a town or hotel recommendation for our last night in the Netherlands-its my daughter's graduate school tour that begins in Germany.We will be arriving on a Saturday(two weeks from now) to check out two universities and also spend our last night in downtown Amsterdam.

I will probably have our car till we leave so that we can see the last two schools but am also looking for a hotel near the airport that might be reasonable with car parking,etc.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Our schedule is-My daughter and I are driving from Bremen Germany to Utrecht and then up to Amsterdam.Thanks!

dutyfree

Meant to say that I would like a hotel nearer the airport but the ability to take the train into downtown Amsterdam for a dinner the last night-not actually stay there. Its late!

hetismij

Well there are hotels actually at the airport, which would be convenient for dropping off the car and getting the train into town. A lot depends on what time you are leaving the following day really, as you don't want to be caught up in traffic getting to the airport. Other hotels around the airport have shuttle buses, but aren't so convenient for getting into town by train.
Let us know what time you leave the following day and maybe we can come up with suggestions.

Therese

How about dropping the car off (presumably at the airport) the day before and then taking the train into Amsterdam, spending the night at a hotel near Centraal and then taking the train back to the airport in time for your flight home? No hassle with returning your car the morning of the flight, and the train means that you won't have to worry about traffic.

The Movenpick (on the water side of Centraal) can typically be had for about $100/night via Priceline bidding (check recent experiences at biddingfortravel.com).

SUMMAGOLD

We are staying at the Holiday Inn Amsterdam late December. We got it from priceline for $122 a night. It is south of the city center and from the reviews on tripadvisor, and some advice from people here, seems that its easy to get into the city center and the airport from here via train.

dutyfree

We are driving from Bremen to Utrecht on Friday ,Dec. 19th to check out Utrecht University. Then want to leave early on the morning of the 20th for Amsterdam to look at Free University and University of Amsterdam. We are flying out of AMS on Sunday morning before 1000am.

Since my son is coming with us I thought that if time permits we would try and do dinner in downtown Amsterdam on Saturday night.

I am very paranoid about bidding on Priceline for a hotel-does anyone have something around the airport they like thats reasonable?I just don't want to be running around early on Sunday trying to get back to AMS or driving at the crack of dawn before getting on the plane.

Hetismij-we did drive through Utrecht in September to quickly see Utrecht campus on our way from Hague back to AMS but daughter wasn't with us at the time.Its going to be a hectic trip with my son coming from being in India for the past year on the 11th and then leaving on the 14th to the Christmas holidays!

Thanks everyone for your help and guidance-I am over the edge in planning.

hetismij

dutyfree, take your car back to Schiphol on Saturday 20th, get the train into Amsterdam, and stay there. If you want somewhere convenient try either the Moevenpick or maybe the Ibis which is on the stationsplein (€89). It's a bit soulless but clean and comfortable. Go to the VU and UA by public transport. Driving in Amsterdam is not a good idea, especially that close to Christmas when it will be crowded.
You can then get a train out to Schiphol early on Sunday for your flight home.
Have a great time. I hope your daughter likes what she sees!

Therese

I was getting ready to post exactly the same advice as hetismij, dutyfree. You really don't want to hassle with a car while in Amsterdam.

And rest assured that making your 10O AM flight out of Schiphol from a hotel near Centraal is just about the easiest thing you can do. I've done it with a husband and two teenagers in tow. Go ahead and buy your return train tickets for Sunday AM when you buy your tickets into town on Saturday AM, after dropping the car at AMS. Once you've dropped your bags at the hotel and are ready to visit VU and UvA you can purchase day tickets (7 euro per person, purchase from the conductor on the tram) and hop on and off anywhere in the system without thinking about it. You'll have a great day, and will get to see a bit of Amsterdam from the comfort of a tram instead of hassling with traffic and maps. I typically follow the tram route along on a surface map as I ride, and thereby get some orientation and feel for the area.

If your daughter does end up attending school in Amsterdam she will bike or use public transit, so she may as well get used to it now. ;-) Most of the UvA facilities are an easy walk from Centraal, as central Amsterdam is very compact.

dutyfree

Thank you so much for the tips. We haven't been able to get a decent map of the Netherlands to find out where the two universities were in Amsterdam in relation to the airport,etc.

dutyfree

Forgot to ask-are there some type of Christmas markets in Amsterdam or Utrecht?
Has anyone ever driven the route from Bremen to Utrecht? The train prices for three is to high in relation to renting the car.

Therese

Re locations of VU and UvA in Amsterdam (and pretty much anywhere else in the world), get familiar with google maps. In fact, if you just google "VU amsterdam" the first link that's likely to show up wi actually include a google map. Click it and you'll see that Schiphol (think "ski pole" and you're pretty close) is southwest of central Amsterdam, and the VU campus is more or less halfway between the two. Google maps even include things like the specific names of tram stops, very very helpful.

VU's website includes specific instructions for getting there from either Schiphol or Centraal:

http://www.vu.nl/en/about-vu-amsterd...tion/index.asp

dutyfree

Thanks so much-totally forgot about doing that!

DAX

I was just in Amsterdam at the end of November and stayed at the Marriott Amsterdam across the street from Leidseplein. I met a couple who told me that they paid $100 by bidding on Priceline, that's incredibly cheap though I stayed for free using points.

If you rent from Hertz, you can return the car at their station on Overtoom 333 which is just 4 blocks south of the Marriott Hotel. You can hop on tram #1 along Overtoom and get off right in front of the Marriott. The hotel is located near where Overtoom meets/ends on Stadtshouderskade. I've returned cars at that station a couple of times, it's convenient because it's just south of downtown.

Right across the street from the Marriott is Leidseplein which is is a lively entertainment square with lots of restaurants. There isn't much of christmas markets in Amsterdam (so enjoy the market in Bremen), but there is a very tiny one in Leidseplein with an ice skating rink. From Leidseplein you can easily visit Vrije Universiteit by taking tram #5.

My room at the Marriott was really nice, but the hotel restaurant, exterior, and public facilities are not impressive. The weather was really cold when I was there. I wore 2 jackets at night but only one during the day.

DAX

I forgot to mention that you can ask the concierge to book the Conexxion bus to take you from the hotel to Schiphol airport(13 euro per person) in 30 minutes. Parking in Amsterdam is expensive, I think I paid 33euro per day last time at the public parking. However the Marriott has a much cheaper underground parking rate if you stay at the hotel.

TommieG

Driving from Bremen to Amsterdam is pretty straightforward (especially on an Saturday if I am reading it right). It is all highway (at least two lanes in both directions).

You can either go directly south from Bremen towards Osnabruck (A1) and then west toward Oldenzaal (A31) / Amsterdam (A1). The quickest route, but generally busy.
Takes about 3:15h (without trafic jams). With this route you first pass Utrecht.

Another (more scenic; as far highways can be scenic) route is going west from Bremen towards Groningen (can't remember highwaynumbers). From the border it becomes the A7 and this road goes all the way to Amsterdam. This route is less crowded and takes you acros the Afsluitdijk. A 20 km (or so) dike which was build in the 1920's (or so..) to close the former Zuiderzee (Southsea) from the Waddenzee and North Sea,now the Ijsselmeer (Ijssel Lake).
This route takes about 3.45h.
For Utrecht it is about 20-30 minutes longer. You first pass Amsterdam.

Driving is Germany and the Netherlands is pretty easy, just don't stay too long in the left lane!

dutyfree

Thanks Tommie for your help-looking at the maps that I bought at Barnes and Noble it looks like it was further distance.
We will be driving Bremen to Utrecht to see the school and spend the night and then up to Amsterdam the next day.
Hopefully it won't have the horrible weather on the roads that we are having today in Chicago with snow and ice!

hetismij

The two week forecast doesn't look too bad for you- some rain, but 7C during the day, and 3-4 at night. So no snow or ice.