galiano

We will be returning from East Africa arriving in Amsterdam at 7 am and not leaving until 3 pm the next day. Having been to Amsterdam a few times we thought it might be nice to have a day in a village away from the city. Can anyone suggest a good hotel in a village easily reached from the airport buat away from the city ?

dutyfree

I would look into staying in the Hague as it has a great transit system within the city and is also close to Delft and the beach.You will enjoy the Hague as you have everything from visiting the world court,peace palace, shopping and some great restaurants. You can easily hop on the train the next day right into Schipol without any hassles.

dutyfree

Forgot to add that the Dorint Hotel is nice in the Hague and between the beach area and downtown Hague.

Tulips

The Hague is not exactly a village!

I don't know what time of year you will be there, but in summer perhaps think about the villages along the Vecht river; half an hour from Schiphol, lovely area. It's where wealthy merchants from Amsterdam traditionally had their summer homes. The river Vecht is pretty, great for rowing. It flows into the Loosdrechtse plassen, a recreation area with lots of nice small restaurants on the water.
Nice villages are Breukelen, Loosdrecht, Loenen. I don't know any hotels there, but if you look at www.bilderberg.nl there is a hotel in Vinkeveen, which is in that area too. Bilderberg hotels are generally very nice

hopscotch

I second Ira's recommendation of Haarlem. Easier than the train, take bus 300 from Schiphol Plaza direct to the Haarlem train station. It requires 7 or 8 strips from the Strippenkaart which you buy at the Schiphol VVV tourist office.

dutyfree

Tulips-I know that the Hague is NOT a village but was assuming that they would have to use public transportation to and from Schipol so was offering that as an easy alternative to sample other "things" to see and do around Amsterdam.Sorry!

ira

>I second Ira's recommendation of Haarlem.<

I wonder what happened to Ira's recommendation of Haarlem?

PalQ

Haarlem itself, though a wondrous large city, is in no way a village itself, though it's a lot smaller than Den Hague. Try the Dorint (www.accorhotels.com) hotel at Schiphol itself and connected by free shuttle bus from the terminals - the Dorint is just a few blocks from the tranquil village of Badhoovedorp (sp?) - a short walk from the hotel is an authentic Dutch village or at least the closest to it around the airport with a hotel.

dutyfree

Poster has two different threads going?

hopscotch

Yes, I think so. As I recall ira advised galiano that s/he had already posted the question. Now it seems that the other thread is gone.

annhig

I agree with IRA about Haarlem! [even if he didn't suggest it in the first place]. we spent a very pleasant evening there and it seemed like there would be lots to see in a day, plus some very nice restaurants in the square around the church.

rex

Edam... to take the conversation in adifferent direction... seems like it qualifies s a small town, if not exactly a "village".

Best wishes,

Rex

teacher33

I would like to third the suggestion of Haarlem. Spent a week at the Hotel Amadeus there a few years ago and explored the city and took day trips by train.

Hotel Amadeus is right on the market square. someone mentioned the noise of market stalls being set up early in the morning. When I was there the market was only two days a week--Monday and Saturday, I think.

While Haarlem is a city, it has a small town feel. I enjoyed exploring lots of little streets.

The Franz Hals museum is a treasure. Has lots to see but is not overwhelming as many bigger museums are.

Went to see Corrie Ten Boom's House. She and her family sheltered Jews and resistance workers in their home. They were betrayed and spent time in a concentration camp.

Haarlem is a short train ride from Schipol. It is a ten minute train ride to Amsterdam. Also took a twenty minute train ride to Zaandfort (sp?) and thebeach.

Went to Einkhuisen to visit the Dutch village which recreates life at the end of the 19th century.

Schanse SKans (sp) is a quick train ride. Lots of windmills which can be visited to see them working.


Another suggestion: My sister and I stayed at the Best Western in Volendam a couple years ago. Volendam is quite touristy, but we enjoyed it. From there took a boat trip to Marken, another touristy village, but a quiet walk around. Volendam and Marken are two towns that used to be fishing villages on the Zuider Zee, but were left high and dry when the dam which created the Ijslmeer (sp)was built

SuQue

I vote for Leiden,beautiful university town with Pilgrim history too. It is 45 train ride from Schiphol. It was our favorite town over Haarlem, Delft.