The Netherlands itinerary, day by day

From Amsterdam to the bulb fields, then The Hague, Delft and Rotterdam, day by day and by train: the map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.

🗓️ 3, 7 or 14 days📍 5 stops☀️ Best time: April to June and September

Amsterdam · Photo Massimo Catarinella / CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

Route map (numbers = order of the stops).

The Netherlands in 3 days

2 stops · 13 things to do · ≈ 60 km

1Amsterdam

Days 1-2

A capital built around a ring of seventeenth-century canals, UNESCO-listed, where bicycles outnumber cars and the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum face each other across one square.

🎟️ Worth booking

Canal cruise1h · from €18
An hour under the bridges of the seventeenth-century canal ring, the best angle on the gabled houses.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Anne Frank House (timed ticket)1h30 · from €16
The secret annex where Anne Frank wrote her diary. Tickets are sold online only and go weeks ahead.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Walking the Jordaan · Vondelpark · The Bloemenmarkt, the floating flower market · The Begijnhof courtyard · The windmills of Zaanse Schans

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: ClinkNOORD (€45 a night) · Mid-range: The Hoxton Amsterdam (€190 a night) · Luxury: Pulitzer Amsterdam (€420 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Roux ↗ ★ 4.9 · 584 reviews
Restaurant Mont Blanc ↗ ★ 4.9 · 258 reviews · €€€€
Chef Adrienne | Private Dining Amsterdam ↗ ★ 4.9 · 146 reviews
Restaurant Black Olive Amsterdam ↗ ★ 4.8 · 1037 reviews
Restaurant Zaza's ↗ ★ 4.8 · 977 reviews · €€

Photo Magda Ehlers / Pexels

🚆 Train · 50 min · 60 km

2The Hague and Delft

Day 3

The seat of the Dutch government and of the international courts, with Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring at the Mauritshuis. Delft, the town of blue and white pottery, is a short train ride away.

🎟️ Worth booking

The Mauritshuis (Vermeer)1h30 · from €17
A small museum with a great collection, home to Girl with a Pearl Earring and View of Delft.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Delft and its pottery worksVisit · from €12
Royal Delft, the last of the town's seventeenth-century potteries still at work, where the blue and white ware is painted by hand.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Scheveningen beach and pier · The Binnenhof, seen across the Hofvijver · Delft old town and its market square · The canals of Delft

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Stayokay Den Haag (€45 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Indigo The Hague - Palace Noordeinde (€140 a night) · Luxury: Hôtel Des Indes (€320 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Silvi Gastrobar ↗ ★ 5 · 384 reviews
EL MAMMA BBQ | Den Haag ↗ ★ 4.8 · 13349 reviews · €€
Dekxels ↗ ★ 4.8 · 1221 reviews · €€
Restaurant 6&24 ↗ ★ 4.8 · 590 reviews · €€€
Restaurant Elea ↗ ★ 4.8 · 454 reviews · €€€

Photo Julien Lambert / Pexels

The Netherlands in 7 days

5 stops · 30 things to do · ≈ 220 km

1Amsterdam

Days 1-3

A capital built around a ring of seventeenth-century canals, UNESCO-listed, where bicycles outnumber cars and the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum face each other across one square.

🎟️ Worth booking

Canal cruise1h · from €18
An hour under the bridges of the seventeenth-century canal ring, the best angle on the gabled houses.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Anne Frank House (timed ticket)1h30 · from €16
The secret annex where Anne Frank wrote her diary. Tickets are sold online only and go weeks ahead.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Walking the Jordaan · Vondelpark · The Bloemenmarkt, the floating flower market · The Begijnhof courtyard · The windmills of Zaanse Schans

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: ClinkNOORD (€45 a night) · Mid-range: The Hoxton Amsterdam (€190 a night) · Luxury: Pulitzer Amsterdam (€420 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Magda Ehlers / Pexels

🚆 Train + bus · 45 min · 40 km

2Keukenhof and the bulb fields

Day 4

One of the largest flower gardens in the world, open only from mid-March to mid-May, set among the tulip fields of the Bollenstreek.

🎟️ Worth booking

Keukenhof gardens (spring only)Half day · from €20
Around seven million bulbs planted every year, in flower from mid-March to mid-May and closed the rest of the year.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Cycling the tulip fields2h · from €15
A ride through the Bollenstreek, where in April the fields are striped in blocks of colour.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Bollenstreek villages · Noordwijk beach

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Stayokay Noordwijk (€50 a night) · Mid-range: Boutique Lisse (€130 a night) · Luxury: Grand Hotel Huis ter Duin (€220 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Evi Deli ↗ ★ 4.9 · 151 reviews
De Heerekamer Lisse ↗ ★ 4.6 · 537 reviews · €€
Funky Moose Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.6 · 480 reviews · €€
Trattoria da Marco 2.0 ↗ ★ 4.6 · 182 reviews
Trattoria Panini ↗ ★ 4.5 · 1101 reviews · €€

Photo Siegfried Poepperl / Pexels

🚆 Train · 45 min · 40 km

3The Hague and Delft

Day 5

The seat of the Dutch government and of the international courts, with Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring at the Mauritshuis. Delft, the town of blue and white pottery, is a short train ride away.

🎟️ Worth booking

The Mauritshuis (Vermeer)1h30 · from €17
A small museum with a great collection, home to Girl with a Pearl Earring and View of Delft.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Delft and its pottery worksVisit · from €12
Royal Delft, the last of the town's seventeenth-century potteries still at work, where the blue and white ware is painted by hand.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Scheveningen beach and pier · The Binnenhof, seen across the Hofvijver · Delft old town and its market square · The canals of Delft

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Julien Lambert / Pexels

🚆 Train · 25 min · 25 km

4Rotterdam

Day 6

Its centre was flattened by bombing in May 1940 and rebuilt as a testing ground for modern architecture. Its port is the largest in Europe.

🎟️ Worth booking

Cube Houses and the Markthal, guided1h30 · from €15
Piet Blom's tilted yellow cubes and the arched market hall beside them, with a guide to the city's architecture.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Harbour cruise (Spido)1h15 · from €17
A boat tour among the docks and cranes of the largest port in Europe.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Erasmus Bridge · The Markthal and its painted vault · Witte de Withstraat · Delfshaven

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Stayokay Rotterdam (€45 a night) · Mid-range: nhow Rotterdam (€160 a night) · Luxury: Hôtel New York (€260 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Il Gattopardo ↗ ★ 4.8 · 262 reviews
Roosje, café, restaurant, terras. ↗ ★ 4.8 · 248 reviews
Balkan Deli Rotterdam ↗ ★ 4.7 · 731 reviews · €€
Restaurant Langoest ↗ ★ 4.7 · 639 reviews
Amarone ↗ ★ 4.7 · 543 reviews

Photo Pixabay / Pexels

🚆 Train · 40 min · 75 km (back to the airport)

5Amsterdam

Day 7 · return

A capital built around a ring of seventeenth-century canals, UNESCO-listed, where bicycles outnumber cars and the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum face each other across one square.

🎟️ Worth booking

Canal cruise1h · from €18
An hour under the bridges of the seventeenth-century canal ring, the best angle on the gabled houses.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Anne Frank House (timed ticket)1h30 · from €16
The secret annex where Anne Frank wrote her diary. Tickets are sold online only and go weeks ahead.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Walking the Jordaan · Vondelpark · The Bloemenmarkt, the floating flower market · The Begijnhof courtyard · The windmills of Zaanse Schans

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: ClinkNOORD (€45 a night) · Mid-range: The Hoxton Amsterdam (€190 a night) · Luxury: Pulitzer Amsterdam (€420 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Magda Ehlers / Pexels

The Netherlands in 14 days

5 stops · 30 things to do · ≈ 280 km

1Amsterdam

Days 1-4

A capital built around a ring of seventeenth-century canals, UNESCO-listed, where bicycles outnumber cars and the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum face each other across one square.

🎟️ Worth booking

Canal cruise1h · from €18
An hour under the bridges of the seventeenth-century canal ring, the best angle on the gabled houses.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Anne Frank House (timed ticket)1h30 · from €16
The secret annex where Anne Frank wrote her diary. Tickets are sold online only and go weeks ahead.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Walking the Jordaan · Vondelpark · The Bloemenmarkt, the floating flower market · The Begijnhof courtyard · The windmills of Zaanse Schans

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: ClinkNOORD (€45 a night) · Mid-range: The Hoxton Amsterdam (€190 a night) · Luxury: Pulitzer Amsterdam (€420 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Magda Ehlers / Pexels

🚆 Train + bus · 45 min · 40 km

2Keukenhof and the bulb fields

Days 5-6

One of the largest flower gardens in the world, open only from mid-March to mid-May, set among the tulip fields of the Bollenstreek.

🎟️ Worth booking

Keukenhof gardens (spring only)Half day · from €20
Around seven million bulbs planted every year, in flower from mid-March to mid-May and closed the rest of the year.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Cycling the tulip fields2h · from €15
A ride through the Bollenstreek, where in April the fields are striped in blocks of colour.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Bollenstreek villages · Noordwijk beach

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Stayokay Noordwijk (€50 a night) · Mid-range: Boutique Lisse (€130 a night) · Luxury: Grand Hotel Huis ter Duin (€220 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Siegfried Poepperl / Pexels

🚆 Train · 45 min · 40 km

3The Hague and Delft

Days 7-9

The seat of the Dutch government and of the international courts, with Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring at the Mauritshuis. Delft, the town of blue and white pottery, is a short train ride away.

🎟️ Worth booking

The Mauritshuis (Vermeer)1h30 · from €17
A small museum with a great collection, home to Girl with a Pearl Earring and View of Delft.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Delft and its pottery worksVisit · from €12
Royal Delft, the last of the town's seventeenth-century potteries still at work, where the blue and white ware is painted by hand.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Scheveningen beach and pier · The Binnenhof, seen across the Hofvijver · Delft old town and its market square · The canals of Delft

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Julien Lambert / Pexels

🚆 Train · 25 min · 25 km

4Rotterdam

Days 10-12

Its centre was flattened by bombing in May 1940 and rebuilt as a testing ground for modern architecture. Its port is the largest in Europe.

🎟️ Worth booking

Cube Houses and the Markthal, guided1h30 · from €15
Piet Blom's tilted yellow cubes and the arched market hall beside them, with a guide to the city's architecture.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Harbour cruise (Spido)1h15 · from €17
A boat tour among the docks and cranes of the largest port in Europe.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Erasmus Bridge · The Markthal and its painted vault · Witte de Withstraat · Delfshaven

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Stayokay Rotterdam (€45 a night) · Mid-range: nhow Rotterdam (€160 a night) · Luxury: Hôtel New York (€260 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Pixabay / Pexels

🚆 Train · 40 min · 75 km

5Amsterdam

Days 13-14

A capital built around a ring of seventeenth-century canals, UNESCO-listed, where bicycles outnumber cars and the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum face each other across one square.

🎟️ Worth booking

Canal cruise1h · from €18
An hour under the bridges of the seventeenth-century canal ring, the best angle on the gabled houses.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Anne Frank House (timed ticket)1h30 · from €16
The secret annex where Anne Frank wrote her diary. Tickets are sold online only and go weeks ahead.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Walking the Jordaan · Vondelpark · The Bloemenmarkt, the floating flower market · The Begijnhof courtyard · The windmills of Zaanse Schans

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: ClinkNOORD (€45 a night) · Mid-range: The Hoxton Amsterdam (€190 a night) · Luxury: Pulitzer Amsterdam (€420 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Magda Ehlers / Pexels

Hotel prices are per room per night, activity prices per person, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide): we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

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Good to know before you go

🍽️ What to eat

Stroopwafel: two thin waffles stuck together with syrup, best warmed on top of a hot coffee.
Bitterballen: crisp fried balls of beef ragout, served with mustard and a beer.
Haring: raw herring with onions, held by the tail and eaten in one go.
Patat: thick chips in a paper cone, with mayonnaise or peanut sauce.
Cheese: Gouda and Edam cut to order at the market, from young to old and crumbly.

⚠️ What to avoid

Never walk on the cycle paths. They are usually red, always fast, and cyclists will not stop.
Book the Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank House online, well ahead.
Keep the noise down in residential streets at night, above all in central Amsterdam.
Learn the rules before you rent a bike: hand signals, lights after dark, and always lock it to something fixed.

Plan this trip

📒 The free printable Netherlands guide→ 🗓️ Best time to visit the Netherlands, month by month→ 🎟️ What to book before you go→

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