tidy

Day 1 Arv Amsterdam (6 nights)
Day 2- maybe flower auction near airport and Keukenhof
Day 3 day trip to Harleem
Day 4 Jordan walk and whatever
Day 5 (Friday) Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum are open late so possibly do both or do one the day before (weather dependent)
Day 6 (Sat) Anne Frank House at night
Day 7 (Sun) pick up car hopefully easy location in/outside of Amsterdam open on Sunday, drive and either visit Enkhuizen Zuiderzee (daily 10-5) or Drive to Edam and the Hoorn Museum (Sun hrs 1-5 Mon 11-5)
Day 8 Do which ever we didn't do yesterday. Stay in one of those locations.
Day 9 (Tuesday Apr 24) To Texel (3nights) Should I do one less 1 day here? could go the night before to Texel
Day 10 Texel
Day 11 Texel
Day12 (Friday, Apr-27 King's Day)-To Friesland (3 nights) (Could leave Texel a day the afternoon before)
Day 13 - Friesland (not sure where we will stay these 3 nights)
Day 14 Friesland
Day 15 (Monday) Probably drop car in Leeuwarden and then train to Delft (5 nights)
Day 16 Rotterdam
Day 17- Leiden (could go to the flower auction from here in the early AM)
Day 18- The Hague Mauritshuis Royal Gallery is open till 8, We probably could just come over here late PM , not sure what else we will do here
Day 19-day in Delft
Day 20 Train to Bruge (2 nights)
Day 21 Bruges
Day 22 Monday- museums closed, leisure day, brewery and or walking tour, train to Brussels late afternoon (3 nights)
Day 23 Day in Brussels
Day 24 - Day trip to Antwerp
Day 25 Depart out of Brussels
I would not have minded a day or so less but I am okay with this as well. Do I have too much time somewhere (Texel, Delft or Amsterdam) and too little elsewhere (Bruge). We will visit the museums and of course want leisure times for a bike ride(s).

My other option is to Fly into Brussels and do day trips from Brussels then over to Bruges for 3 nights then to Delft. On Kings Day we would rent a car from Leiden and drive to the gardens and then Hoorn/ Enkhuizen . then to Texel for 2-3 nights, then Friesland for 3 nights, drop car in Leeuward and train to AMD (4 nights).
On the 2nd option I have less time in Amsterdam. I need to rewrite them so I can clearly see other advantages and disadvantages.
They are very similar, what are your thoughts? Thanks again so much.

menachem

Day 15: do you know where you can drop your car? I'd use it to drive back to Delft, maybe you could drop it in The Hague and take the train from there to Delft (15 minutes). The train journey from Leeuwarden to Delft is about 3.5 hours, driving is about 2.

tidy

I just looked at Eurocar and Amsterdam only has 1 location on Sunday for pickup. It is at Overtoom 197, 1054 HT Amsterdam, Location code AMSC01. What do you think of that? I thought there would be more choices.

We will drop the car on a Monday.So you think driving on a Monday and then driving is better than dropping the car at Leeudwarden and taking the train to AMD. If we do that then possibly we could drop the car, try and store our luggage somewhere (train station?)and then visit the city and then train to Delft later and check-in. Drop locations are as follows:
Leiden- Hoge Rijndijk5, 2313 Ke Leiden
The Hague (2 locations)
1. Downtown- Binckhorstlaan 297, 2516 BC The Hague
2. DeSavornin Lohmanplein 5A, 2566 AA The Hague
Rotterdam:3 locations
1. Metaalhof 65, 3067 GM Rotterdam
2.Walenburghof 17, 3033 Hk Rotterdam
3.Tandwielstraatz, 3083 AV Rotterdam

PalenQ

May as well drive to Delft and return car there IMO.

PalenQ

The quickest rail connection I think would not go through Amsterdam but Utrecht-Rotterdam-Delft not sure though. But you'd have been to Amsterdam by then so why all the hassle - again driving to Delft should be easy and you could easily stop by Kinderdijk, Netherlands' largest collection of behemoth wooden windmills en route and also go via Gouda, another neat old regional town.

tidy

Is Kinderdijk in Rotterdam? If so, I was thinking of doing that the day we go to Rotterdam. I was thinking if we drive to Delft we could probably do either Enkhuizen or the museum in Hoorn on the way to AMD. If we do that then we leave AMD we could do the other museum and probably still get to Texel on one of the later ferries. We then would not stay in the HOorn area which would save us a day or so????

PalenQ

Kinderdijk is near Rotterdam but rather hard to reach from it - you can take a boat from Rotterdam to near it - driving would take some time.

menachem

Walenburgerhof in Rotterdam. It's a 5 minute walk to Rotterdam Central Station. Every 15 minutes there's a train to Delft. (15 minutes travel).

You can even choose. It's a brand new station. It's got excellent luggage storage. It has a "Living Room Space" on the first floor, where you can hang out in a really cool cafe. You can visit the city and even go to Delft in the early evening.

Or you can go direct to Delft, and then you can spend a substantial part of the afternoon and the early evening wandering through Delft. Tough choice. Either way, you can't lose.

tidy

so are you saying it is best to take the boat to it. which would then mean that we take the train to Rotterdam and then boat? correct??

menachem

I wouldn't do Kinderdijk. You can't see everything.

menachem

tidy, trust me if I say you won't have the time. You'd be rushing all the time.

PalenQ

so are you saying it is best to take the boat to it. which would then mean that we take the train to Rotterdam and then boat? correct??>

Yes but as menachem says it would take all day - thought you were driving from Friesland to Delft and it could be on way but from Texel not really.

Maybe you can swing by Zaanse Schans en route to Hoorne or Enkhuizebn - free to roam around and go into one working mill:

https://www.google.com/search?q=zaan...w=1920&bih=949

Not as many windmills and not as scenic a setting but would only take an hour or two to do if you skip the indoor museum there.

menachem

For Kinderdijk you need to take the Waterbus from Erasmusbrug. That's well into the city, so first 20 minutes by tram. Then, there's a service every 30 minutes. So chances are you need to wait for 20 minutes. Best case, you make it in time.

It takes 40 minutes to Ridderkerk. Then, it has to connect with another ferry at Ridderkerk. There you have to pay cash, Waterbus is with an OV chipcard, or a paper ticket you buy on board, but which is more expensive. I've met tourists who had to wait for half an hour at that stop, because they missed the connection. So you walk around Kinderdijk a bit, you walk out to the white bridge, you go back again. There's a cafe. You have a coffee, and then you have to get back.

Same connection at Ridderkerk that you have to time just right. Chances are you have no connection. So you wait, then 40 minutes to Rotterdam. Then, the tram to the station. Takes ages. More than half a day. Because of the travel.

Of course it's my personal opinion. You may want to see the mills. But it's not worth that much of your time.

PalenQ

Not sure it is not worth the time? -Of over 1,000 bikers my tour company led, long ago, thru this part of Holland many considered Kinderdijk to be a highlight of their trip. And if can spare a whole day going by boats can be neat too - the eyes of locals and foreign tourists can be quite different (and I respect menachem's takes a whole lot).

PalenQ

If returning car in Rotterdam easy to drive by Kinderdijk en route- well not easy but not time consuming like going from Rotterdam.

menachem

PalenQ, it's just time against interest. They're mills, a row of them. The place is literally swarming with tourists, doing the same walk up and down the path. You don't spend a couple of hours there. I cycle there often and have coffee at the cafe, and I have been observing Kinderdijk well.

I don't care what your bikers think. If you have to make maximum use of time, Kinderdijk is an inconvenience imo.

PalenQ

I don't care what your bikers think. If you have to make maximum use of time, Kinderdijk is an inconvenience imo.>

Yes to go there from Delft by public transit but if driving from say Leeuwarden it could be a few-hour stop. The feelings of our bikers I feel represent what Americans may like pretty well - and windmills like these are in our mind - not sure locals can appreciate that.

Spending most of a day to do it however you're right but if can drive by it great.

menachem

It’s not that easy to “drive by” kinderdijk. It’s on an “island” among three rivers. That would have to be Utrecht - Gorinchem - Papendrecht - Alblasserdam - Kinderdijk. Parking space is often a pain. For the drive to Rotterdam I’d recommend the ferry to Krimpen a/d Lek, then do Krimpen a/d IJssel, Capelle a/d IJssel and then Rotterdam can be easily reached