Hello,
I am .planning a trip to Amsterdam in April-May 2019. I do have a few questions, regarding my itinerary. With what I would like to do, where would be the best location to stay, within or out of Amsterdam? I found a reasonable Air B&B but it is between the airport and the city, about 15-20 min with the Tram, the closest station of this particular Air B&B is Lelylaan. Would it be more cost effective to rent a car or travel by public transit? And are these things doable in the time frame I have? I would like to make the travels as smooth and cost effective as possible. Any and all comments or suggestions are appreciated. Below is my proposed itinerary! Thank you!

Arrive early Monday morning in Amsterdam from the US and take that day for a city walking tour, canal cruise, and visit the red light district at night (if still physically possible, due to jet lag).

Tuesday- Zaanse windmills in the morning then back to Amsterdam to visit the Rijksmuseum in the afternoon (I plan to purchase tickets in advance)

Wednesday- Van Gogh and Anne Frank (purchasing tickets in advance)

Thursday- Gouda Cheese market in the AM (is this worth the trip out of the city?) on the way back to Amsterdam stop in Utrecht for a few hours then back to Amsterdam for the evening.

Friday- Full day free to explore

Saturday- Day/Overnight trip to Bruges

Sunday- AM Bruges then back to Amsterdam to prepare to leave the next day.

Monday- Depart for Paris

I would for sure NOT do a day or overnight trip to Bruges from Amsterdam.
Instead, visit Haarlem or Delft or other charming places closer to Amsterdam.

Now, it seems you are going to Paris after Amsterdam. Leave Amsterdam a day or two early. Go to Bruges for afternoon and overnight. Next day, a bit more of Bruges and on to Paris late in the day, or leave Bruges early and stop in Ghent (wonderful in warm weather) for a few hours on the way to Paris.

Saves tons of time and some money.

Please don't use AirBnB in Amsterdam: most rentals are illegal, i.e. rent controlled properties that are appropriated by multi-listing middlemen. Better book a hotel. The area around Lelylaan: not pretty, not interesting and a big hassle to get downtown. You might as well set up in Haarlem and commute to Amsterdam (10 minutes by train, Haarlem is 25 minutes from Schiphol by a direct fastbus service, the #300)

Using a car inside Amsterdam is madness. There are hardly any parking spaces, and the spaces that exist are expensive.

If you have an entire day to spend on monday, what you are proposing is super exhausting, especially if you have a commute and can't go back to your hotel easily. Day one would be better served with a hotel in the centre. I really don't know why people want to visit the RLD. It's ground zero for all kinds of craziness, most of it drunk/stoned.


Gouda is beautiful, and the cheese market is interesting, also because there are some good cheese farms around Gouda and the market has local produce as well. You might want to combine Gouda with Utrecht in the afternoon. I'd skip Zaanse Schans: maybe you could do both the Anne Frank house and Rijks on tuesday and the Van Gogh museum and a completely unknown Amsterdam museum (e.g. Van Loon or Willet Holthuysen) on wednesday. That way you'd have a lot of opportunity on both days to explore the city.

That takes the pressure off the friday: you could travel to e.g. Gent in the early evening and do your Brugge excursion en route to Paris in stead of backtracking to Amsterdam. You can pick up the Thalys to Paris from either Antwerp or Brussels. Brussels probably easiest from Brugge. (No sense in flying to Paris from Amsterdam: train is much more convenient and it is faster, door to door)

why go back to Amsterdam from Bruges to go to Paris - rather save time and stay the night in Bruges - lovely after tourist mobs have left - and then take Thalys train via Brussels or French TGV vis Lille to Paris - book either as early as possible for discounted fares - www.thalys.com (get ABS or All-Belgian-Stations fare where you can take any train within 24 (48?) hours of your Thalys Brussels train to Brussels for a few euros - just hop on any train - via Lille - local train to Lille via Kortrijk and TGV to Paris - www.oui.sncf - both routes take about 2.5 hours - do whatever is cheaper. For great advice on booking your own trains at a discount check www.seat61.com - general info trains and where to go BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com. Domestic trains in Netherlands and Belgium are I believe pretty much a flat fare so can buy as go along and not peg yourself into a certain day - www.ns.nl for NL.

Gouda is a wonderful old town neglected by many here it seems - well worth the time for the town itself.

Thank you for the information and the suggestions, yes that is a good question, why back track back to Amsterdam, I like the thought of moving on after Amsterdam instead of going back and forth? The Air B&B is with a local resident, if that makes it any better, but seeing the location might not be ideal, I will keep searching. Visiting the RLD, is because I have never been to Amsterdam and it is more or less for curiosity. Thanks again and I appreciate the suggestions, very helpful!

Locals just can't fathom why folks are want to visit the RLDistrict but it is world famous and eye opening - it is one of the very top most visited things in Amsterdam because it is world famous - sad or not as that fact may be. Apparently many locals and politicians want to abolish it or reduce it and if I lived in Amsterdam I'd probably feel the same way - but seeing such a unique place is a natural desire. Folks who do not want to stroll thru it can take one of the canal boat tours that go thru it.

I dont want this topic to get steered in the wrong direction. I do not plan on spending even 50% of my time in the RLD. But it is a curiosity of mine, I have mixed feelings about prostitution legal/illegal but that's not really the point. There are many things in my home city I feel are pointless to see but many tourist want to see them, each their own.
I am more concerned about my experience in Amsterdam and the surrounding area and traveling in a smooth manner that will allow me to have a pleasant experience! It has been 8 years since I have been to Europe and I have been working really hard to make this trip happen. Thanks!

Yeah a quick stroll down one of the main canals in RLD is enough.

PalenQ does not get this; they do not want to abolish the RLD. They want to make it safe for the women who work there. It's full of drunk tourists in the evening, the majority of which do not use the services offered in the RLD.

If you go, go in the morning after the streets have been cleared of the previous night's filth.
And visit 'Ons Lieve Heer op Solder' (Our Lord in the attic) which is well worth a visit.

Please, please do not use AirBnB in Amsterdam, and look for a hotel instead. If it's hotel prices that drive you to AirBnB, maybe stay outside of Amsterdam (Haarlem)

You'll see very little "prostitution" in the RLD. What you will see is mobs of stoned and drunk young men turned on by the thought of prostitution. The paradox is that the RLD is one of the most beautiful and the oldest areas of Amsterdam.

The Oude Kerk is also well worth a visit.

I thought that the last mayor of Amsterdam wanted to abolish the RLD and turn the area into luxury condos, etc.

What you planned for Monday is similar to how we spent our first day - we also arrived early in the morning from the US. I like to start with a walking tour to get my bearings. Following a walking tour we went on a canal cruise, it was a beautiful way to see more of the city and you get to sit.

I don't know it I would visit the Rijksmuseum in the afternoon as it gets so crowded. Enjoy planning!

Thanks for the all of the tips!

Are all airbnbs illegal - is there a way to see if one OP is interested in is registered and if so why not use - sounds like a bona fide local resident sharing premises to get extra money. Sounds like the B&B I once stayed in near Amstel Station - well out of tourist areas - and elderly couple renting a room out in their apartment - today they may be an airbnb? How do you tell the bona fide airbnbs from illegal ones or are they all illegal?

vd Laan wanted an end to criminal investment in real estate in the area, and he wanted to regulate sex workers who work "windows". To that end, the city appropriated some real estate and rented it out at a discount to young fashion designers etc. But the scheme never flew. One of the effects of it was that it forced many sex workers underground, an outcome that was the opposite of what was intended.

RLD is already quite densely populated: it is also, to a considerable degree, a residential area.

The RLD in 1963, seen by photographer Ed van der Elsken: Welcome to this life, dear little one.

I kind of wonder with online 'escort services' how the RLD continues in business - like with gays - plenty of escort services but last I visited no guys in windows - seems likje RLD is rather outdated. And I agree that it probably does attract an unsavory element to the area - drunks like you say, etc.

Anyway thanks for your and others insights into this - I may not have visited Amsterdam for a while but I retain a keen interest in it and especially the unique things it offers like RLD and coffeeshops, etc.

One neat free thing to do in Amsterdam is to take the free pedestrian/bike ferries from behind Centraal Station to the other side of the IJ - harbor for neat visages of Amsterdam from there - and to go up in the A'dam Toren (tower) opened in 2016 in the old headquarters of Shell Oil Company - great views from top and various entertainment, restaurants including a revoling restaurant and attractions:

https://www.iamsterdam.com/en/see-an...ons/adam-toren

A really neat roof top observation deck - views for miles around:

https://www.google.com/search?q=A%27...w=1280&bih=629

Thank you very much for all of the tips and advice. I did find accommodations at a hotel cheaper than the Air B&B in Haarlem with breakfast, which seems like a nice place to visit and stay close enough to Amsterdam. Then go to Bruges on my way to Paris, leaving Amsterdam 1 day sooner, definitely a much better way to travel instead of running back and forth! I think I have my Amsterdam and Bruges portion of my trip figured out. My time in Paris will be my next planning project! Next I will be checking those links for transit information! Thanks again and thanks for the links!