Greetings! I am traveling to Amsterdam next month with my 90 year old father for 3 nights before we board a river cruise. He is well travelled, active, able bodied and all about culture. But, well, he's 90. He simply doesn't have the stamina he used to. I know what I'd like to do, but it may be too much. Please have a look at my rough itinerary and let me know your thoughts. Where can we put the Van Gogh? What adjustments would you make? Also, can you recommend lunch/dinner spots? As always, thanks so much!

Arrive Friday - Check in to hotel. Dinner and concert at Concertgebouw. (His choice, not mine, to do on arrival day. Tickets already purchased and reservation secured.)

Saturday - Anne Frank house in the morning (reservation secured.) Lunch and stroll in Jordaan and/or Nine Streets. Too much to see Van Gogh museum in the late afternoon?

Sunday - Reiksmjuseum in the morning. Ideas for lunch? Dinner? How to fill the remainder of this day? I don't want to do a second museum in the same day.

Monday - Bring luggage to port and see Dutch Resistance Museum before boarding the boat.

Having a thought.

Sunday - Perhaps a canal cruise in the afternoon after museum and lunch. Any recommendations for a private tour?

Monday - Van Gogh museum before boarding our cruise, saving the Resistance museum for the following Monday after we leave the cruise before our afternoon flights.

Your thoughts?

Another option is a museum visit the afternoon after seeing the Anne Frank house and move your Jordaan/Nine Streets stroll after seeing the second museum the next morning. Sorry, so many good options!

If your father's energy is a bit limited you might ask for a wheelchair in the museums. I know many museums in the US can provide one but I don't know about Amsterdam's museums. I used to volunteer at our local museum and many visitors requested a wheelchair as an energy saver. Museums can be tiring but so worthwhile.

Amsterdam's houses (and hotels and museums like Anne Frank that are based in houses) will have the problem of stairs. They are usually very narrow and steep (often almost vertical) and it is etiquette for gentlemen to go first so they don't inadvertently peek up ladies' skirts when going upstairs. If Dad is OK with stairs, he will be OK with Amsterdam. So wheelchairs will not be possible in some museums.

Lavandula

Arrive Friday - Check in to hotel. Dinner and concert at Concertgebouw. (His choice, not mine, to do on arrival day. Tickets already purchased and reservation secured.)
>I hope you go to Brasserie Keijzer, just next to Concertgebouw and have dinner there.

Saturday - Anne Frank house in the morning (reservation secured.) Lunch and stroll in Jordaan and/or Nine Streets. Too much to see Van Gogh museum in the late afternoon?
> saturday is excellent for Jordaan strolling, as there is a nice farmer's market at Noordermarkt and there are tons of cafe's and casual lunch places around. One I always recommend is Koevoet on Lindenstraat, and for a typically Jordaan cafe: Kat in de Wijngaard on Lindengracht.

Sunday - Reiksmjuseum in the morning. Ideas for lunch? Dinner? How to fill the remainder of this day? I don't want to do a second museum in the same day.
> Rijks has an excellent restaurant for lunch, then perhaps a stroll through Vondelpark. (Centrum de Roos has a good tea/lunch place (organic/vegetarian)) Which hotel did you book? You might want to use The Fork to search for dinner options in your area. If it's near cruise terminal, I always recommend Hemelse Modder, an old and reliable stand-by, or Cafe Bern on Nieuwmarkt

Monday - Bring luggage to port and see Dutch Resistance Museum before boarding the boat.
>Excellent choice. Do also visit the Hollandsche Schouwburg memorial

Het Gilde has very good tours, and they would be happy to devise something for you https://gildeamsterdam.nl/en/walking-tours/
I now notice you would like a private canal tour. Don't know how much money you would want to spend on that, but tours with https://www.classicboattours.nl/ are special because of the vintage and stylish boats they use.

I'd do the Resistance Museum when you depart and the Van Gogh Museum when you get back. The Jewish Historical Museum is also very good: their tours include a visit to the Portugese Synagogue.

By the way, what are you going to see at Concertgebouw?

Thank you all for your input.

KTtravel - I hope my dad will agree to a wheelchair if one is available in the larger museums. I highly doubt he will.

lavandula - Dad is fine with stairs. Thanks for the tip about men going first!

menachem - Thank you for all the recommendations. Do you recommend Brasserie Keijzer over Restaurant Lier? I booked Lier simply out of convenience to minimize walking, but it sounds like Keijzer is quite convenient. We are seeing the concert hall orchestra perform Bach's St. John's passion.

We are staying at the Ambassade. They have recommended a canal tour with a company called Ambolux. I am inquiring about availability and options with them as well as the company you recommended for Sunday afternoon after the Reiksmuseum.

I am concerned about having sufficient time to see any museum on the Monday after we disembark. We can leave the boat at 9am, and have respective flights around 14:00. Of course, we will have luggage to consider. Thoughts on this?

Ooh, Johannes Passion, excellent.

Anyway, Keijzer is a venerable Amsterdam institution, Lier is a newish invention.

Ambolux looks excellent. I'll bookmark it, seems a great option, so please thank the Ambassade concierge

I think for monday morning your timeframe is just too tight. Better take it easy and arrive at Schiphol relatively unhurried.

I'm afraid you will need to head to the airport almost straight from the boat, as you you need to check in by 11:00, right? Definitely no time for a museum that day. But perhaps time for a quick breakfast near Centraal Station?

It also might be too ambitious to squeeze a museum in the morning before you board the cruise...though the Resistance Museum is smaller and perhaps more realistic in that time window.

Van Gogh used to have extended evening hours on Fridays, often with live music and such. I'm not sure if this started back up again since things reopened, but worth looking into. The museum is right next to the Concertgebouw.

​​I always have the same problem when I travel: too much to see in too little time! I do think trying to do the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh in the same day might be too ambitious...but if you're willing to just do part of the Rijksmuseum (it's so big) and want to break up the two with a canal cruise that leaves and ends in Museumplein, that could be an idea.

If your dad is in a wheelchair for the museums, you get in for free as his chair-pusher (at least in the Rijksmuseum).

Our itinerary is complete and all reservations are made! Here is our plan.

Friday - arrive Schipol at 9:30 am. Trying to arrange early check in with Hotel Ambassade. Early dinner at L'Entrecote et Les Dames and concert at Concertbegouw.

Saturday - Anne Frank House, lunch and stroll Jordaan/Nine Streets, Rijstafel dinner at Long Pura.

Sunday - Rijksmuseum, lunch at Rijks, two hour canal cruise. Dinner TBD.

Monday - Check out of hotel and bring luggage to port, Resistence Museum and board our boat!

Can someone weigh in on:

1. Will I be able to get a taxi from the airport to Hotel Ambassade? How much should this cost?

2. With a 9:30 flight arrival, what time should I anticipate arriving at Hotel Ambassade?

Thanks so much for all of your input.

Pretty obvious I guess, but in spaces you will find cycling highways. These are very fast, very quiet and you come upon them suddenly. Do not walk slowly into these highways.

Excuse me? Did you mean to post this elsewhere?

You can get a taxi, it will cost €35 - 45.
If you look online you can probably book one ahead of time.
The hotel should have a luggage store even if you can't check in early.
There are bike lanes throughout Amsterdam and you do have to be aware of them, which may be what bilbo meant, and also watch out for trams!
Have a wonderful time!
Where are you off to from Amsterdam?

Thank you hetismij2. Would you guesstimate the time it will take to clear customs and travel to the hotel?
We are spending 3 days in Amsterdam before boarding a Amawaterways river cruise through Netherlands and a little bit of Belgium.

Thanks heti...I took an ancient second cousin to Amsterdam and he walked out of the main train station straight into what can only be described as a cycle highway ( along the river front and on the west end). Luckily I grabbed him before the crashes started.

As a keen cyclist I love these things but if you are not looking out for silent cyclists they can be a nasty surprise.

I've no idea of current clearance times. Given your father's age, and the chance he will be stiff after flying I would book assistance at Schiphol if you can. It can be a long walk through the terminals, and waiting in queues is never fun. Assistance gets you to the front of those queues too.
If you are planning on booking a cab tell them your flight number and they will be waiting for you.

Thank you bilboburgler and hetismij2 for all your input.

Good restaurant choices! Especially Long Pura for Indonesian food: they have a very good Balinese kitchen.