Ideas for the Netherlands (Amsterdam and outwards)

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We're staying about half an hour from Amsterdam for a week in the middle of April - me, dh, ds18 and ds12. We'll have a car.

We'll definitely have a couple of days in Amsterdam, and Haarlem, Utrecht, Leiden all look worth a visit.

Is it worth trying to get tickets to see the gardens/tulips at Keukenhof or will there be tulips everywhere (I'm not a gardener but tulips are my favourite flower and it's a nice coincidence that it should be tulip time)?

If it's dry then coast walks/forests etc are all things we also like.

Anything you really enjoyed that we might miss on the obvious tourist sites please let me know!

We'd initially planned a 3 day city break just for Amsterdam, but it turned out to be far cheaper (especially if we wanted reasonable flight times) to take the car on the ferry and rent a holiday house for a week so it feels like we're getting a bonus and want to make the most of it, although if it's tipping down we'll also be happy to do a few trips and relax the rest of the time.

Hello,
Sounds like a great week that you are planning!

I've been to Amsterdam and Rotterdam, but unfortunately not to Keukenhof. From what I have heard from family and friends who have been to Keukenhof, it is absolutely worth it!

Definitely plan in a day or two of hiring bikes and exploring. There are (obviously) bike paths everywhere and tons of interesting routes. We didn’t actually pay to go into Keukenhof but hired bikes in the car park there and did an amazing 25km route round including tons of tulip fields, sand dunes, beach, forest etc.

Haarlem is lovely, def worth a visit, great shopping too!

Oh yes bikes definitely! We're really looking forward to it - apparently the town of Gouda has a cheese market where the square is full of farmers selling big stacks of.. well, gouda on Thursday mornings so that might be something as well to see (and sample cheese!)

There are tulip fields scattered all over the country but nothing on the scale of the Keukenhof. It's really worth visiting.

https://kinderdijk.com/ for windmills

https://www.vvvamersfoort.nl/en/ beautiful Dutch city away from the crowds

https://www.efteling.com/en the Efteling, of course!

If you want to travel further afield:

https://giethoorn.com/en/ the Netherlands answer to Venice. Paddle around the village in your own boat or take a tour.

Right. Sounds like Keukenhof is one for the list then.

Thanks for the links - it all sounds amazing!

We stayed at the hague new yr with ds8 ds14 ds16 dd 8 took them.into amsterdam went tonys have u tried mandalorian we went last June it's brill we're back again march then July we stayed by harbour

The Efteling 100%

I loved Leiden.

Leiden is indeed lovely. We often stay in Katwijk Aan Zee (couple of times a year), and it's an easy bike ride to and from Leiden from Katwijk. There are also lots of bike paths right along the coast.

I love the Dutch way of life.

I love Leiden too. You can do a canal trip and there is a windmill to visit. For Keukenhof, the website is regularly updated as to what is in bloom, We went for "peak bloom" last year which was beginning of May and the place was heaving. If you can go in the week it will be much better. Mid to late April should be fine, but of course it depends on the weather. And take a packed lunch as I found food choices dull and overpriced. Delft is also really pretty.

I loved the Hague and it has the bonus of being on the coast.

I'd echo all those saying Keukenhof is definitely worth it.
Den Haag also well worth visiting as PP said.
How about a day in Rotterdam? It's an amazingly vibrant and friendly city and, because of its much-renowned modern architecture, provides a great counterpoint to traditional Dutch scenery.

where abouts are you staying?

Definitely the keukenhof. You can hire bikes outside the park and cycle round the tulip fields
kasteel de haar is nice near Utrecht.
I wouldn’t bother with the Gouda cheese market, I found it disappointing. If you do go, then Oudewater isn’t good far. It’s really small but an interesting and attractive town (visit the witch museum)
the Efteling (themepark) is great
zaanse schans , Kinderdijk or the open lucht museum are worth visiting and give you the opportunity to go inside a windmill.
near The Hague you have Madurodam (miniature Netherlands) and Scheveningen beach.
the hoge Veluwe national park is nice and has lots of bikes inside that you can just pick up and ride

Near Loosdrecht. Thanks for the ideas.

Personally I found quite good food choices so wouldn’t particularly bother with a packed lunch but probably also depends on your catering facilities

I loved the Keukenhof- but there are A LOT of tulips. will your 12 and 18’year old love it? I think it’s really worth going bit of course I am older 🙂

I don't think they'll love it, although we often go for a wander through country parks/botanic gardens etc when we're out and about for the day, but all of us are fine about taking one for the team occasionally re: choices on holiday. I don't love transport museums yet I have racked up a fair number in my time!

Unfortunately I'm the only driver so can't just be dropped off and then they go somewhere else, but I'd be fine about going on my own and dropping them off somewhere on the way - we will discuss before I book.