Philip

My wife and I arrive in Amsterdam April 15, 2009 (from USA). Our first visit to Netherlands. We will be in Amsterdam 4 days and would like your suggestions for one day with a car and driver.

Would like to maximize full day with driver so we can see as much as possible outside Amsterdam. After A'dam we are headed to Brugge.

Yes, we want to include Keukenof.

Please suggest what other cities, sights, attractions, etc. that we should include.

Can you suggest dependable car/driver firms?

Thanks Philip.

dutyfree

One day with a driver to see Keukenhof and other cities? Rethink that.Keukenhof warrants several hours to enjoy the spring blooms along with seeing the fields from the road.
Delft and the Hague are another trip with a possible stop in Linden.
Personally, I think that you need to look at a Netherlands guidebook and decide what is important for you to see or do.
The Netherlands is VERY easy to drive around so I really don't think that you would need a driver.You just need a rental car and GPS.

spaarne

Middle April might be a little too early. I went May 2 this year.

Car and driver? All you need is a train ticket and a rental bike. Getting there is half the fun. See my report at http://tinyurl.com/5nwqzp.

dutyfree

I,too was rethinking the flower blooming, Sparrne. The past couple years have been later I believe. I think the big opening or parade this past year was the last weekend in April and even then alot had not bloomed due to bad weather earlier.
Get a Plan B?

hetismij

You just can't predict whether there will be many flowers or not. this year was a normal year - last year everything was at least three weeks early. It really depends on the winter/early spring that we get.
Even if there are not many tulips there will lots of other flowering bulbs in bloom in April at Keukenhof. It's opening is timed for them after all.

Philip where else did you have in mind to visit, besides Keukenhof? You can get to Keukenhof easily without the need for a car and driver, by public transport. You may wish to spend only part of the day there - say the morning but where else did you want to go? Maybe you could consider two half days - one to Keukenhof and one elsewhere?
It would be cheaper to make use of trains and buses to get around, or even to hire a car and drive yourselves. The roads are good, and it is easy to navigate here.
Does your 4 days include your arrival and departure days? If so you really only have two full days, and there is plenty to do in the city for those two days.
A pity you don;t have a bit longer. There is so much more to the Netherlands than tulips and Amsterdam.

Philip

Thanks for comments and I thought this was going to be an easy question. We try to go to Europe each year and have always rented a car. I thought it would be fun to be lazy and leave the driving to somebody else. We don't mind the extra expense as a trade off for flexability, more ease/less hassle and ability to see much more in limited time frame.

We arrive in the morning of April 15th. We depart afternoon of April 19th. Therefore, we have 4 full days. Thought we would rent car/driver on Friday, 17th (trying to avoid weekend Keukenhof crowds).

City things include the usual: vondelpark, Rijksmuseum, Van Gough Museum, Ann Frank house, canals, etc. As far as the "car day", thought would include Zaanse Schans, Keukenhof PLUS your thoughts.

Having this additional information, what other attractions, towns, etc. would you recommend. Keep in mind that we should have the car for 8/9 hours. Thanks.

Cathinjoetown

In addition to Keukenof, I would go to Delft and the Hague (if you have time). A car and driver is a great way to maximize your time.

Regarding what will be on show at Keukenof, you can check when you get to Amsterdam. I want on a weekday afternoon and it was a bit chilly but still pretty.

I enjoyed most seeing the bridal parties coming for photographs. Am sure this was a weekday as I went straight from a business meeting which had ended early.

spaarne

I would not worry over weekend crowds. Check the weather. It changes every day, sometimes every hour. Go in sunshine.

LynFrance

We had our hotel's concierge arrange for a car and driver for us.
The driver was excellent, as was the car, and the price was actually quite reasonable.

We arranged for the driver after we arrived, but you could email the concierge and do it ahead of time.

kellyee21

I agree about going when the weather is good, it can be really iffy that time of year and if you hire a car in advance you will be locked in to going on that day. We went last May but we had our own car so the first nice day (and we were really lucky, they were all nice and sunny) we went. I am not sure you can really avoid the crowds, especially if it is nice out. We went on Fri May 2 and it took us 2 hours to get there from Amsterdam by car. It was backed up all the way onto the autoroute to get in and we just crawled the entire way. Public transport may actually save you time. I think we spent about 5 hours there and had enough time for a quick trip to Zaanse Schans as well.