What to book before you travel to the Netherlands?

Most visits can be booked on the spot. A few sell out days ahead. Here they are, stop by stop, with what you can do without booking underneath. Keep the rest of your time free.

8 activities to book · about €130 per person

Amsterdam

Days 1-3
Days 1-3Canal cruise1hAn hour under the bridges of the seventeenth-century canal ring, the best angle on the gabled houses.€18Book on GetYourGuide →
Days 1-3Anne Frank House (timed ticket)1h30The secret annex where Anne Frank wrote her diary. Tickets are sold online only and go weeks ahead.€16Book on GetYourGuide →

No booking needed: Walking the Jordaan · Vondelpark · The Bloemenmarkt, the floating flower market · The Begijnhof courtyard · The windmills of Zaanse Schans

All activities in Amsterdam on GetYourGuide

Keukenhof and the bulb fields

Day 4
Day 4Keukenhof gardens (spring only)Half dayAround seven million bulbs planted every year, in flower from mid-March to mid-May and closed the rest of the year.€20Book on GetYourGuide →
Day 4Cycling the tulip fields2hA ride through the Bollenstreek, where in April the fields are striped in blocks of colour.€15Book on GetYourGuide →

No booking needed: The Bollenstreek villages · Noordwijk beach

All activities in Keukenhof on GetYourGuide

The Hague and Delft

Day 5
Day 5The Mauritshuis (Vermeer)1h30A small museum with a great collection, home to Girl with a Pearl Earring and View of Delft.€17Book on GetYourGuide →
Day 5Delft and its pottery worksVisitRoyal Delft, the last of the town's seventeenth-century potteries still at work, where the blue and white ware is painted by hand.€12Book on GetYourGuide →

No booking needed: Scheveningen beach and pier · The Binnenhof, seen across the Hofvijver · Delft old town and its market square · The canals of Delft

All activities in The Hague on GetYourGuide

Rotterdam

Day 6
Day 6Cube Houses and the Markthal, guided1h30Piet Blom's tilted yellow cubes and the arched market hall beside them, with a guide to the city's architecture.€15Book on GetYourGuide →
Day 6Harbour cruise (Spido)1h15A boat tour among the docks and cranes of the largest port in Europe.€17Book on GetYourGuide →

No booking needed: Erasmus Bridge · The Markthal and its painted vault · Witte de Withstraat · Delfshaven

All activities in Rotterdam on GetYourGuide

Amsterdam

Day 7 · return

This stop's activities are already listed above: nothing new to book.

No booking needed: Walking the Jordaan · Vondelpark · The Bloemenmarkt, the floating flower market · The Begijnhof courtyard · The windmills of Zaanse Schans

All activities in Amsterdam on GetYourGuide

Indicative prices per person, checked when written. The button opens the GetYourGuide search for the activity and the town, on the days of the stop once your dates are known. Some links are affiliate links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

Frequently asked questions

How much do the activities to book in the Netherlands cost?

€130 per person if you do them all, across 8 bookings. The most expensive is "Keukenhof gardens (spring only)" at €20, the cheapest "Delft and its pottery works" at €12. Prices checked when written: confirm them when you book.

What can you do in the Netherlands without booking anything?

20 visits on this itinerary need no ticket or time slot, starting with Walking the Jordaan, Vondelpark, The Bloemenmarkt, the floating flower market, The Begijnhof courtyard. They make up most of your days: booking ahead only concerns a handful of sites with limited places.

At which stop should you book earliest?

Amsterdam, with 2 activities to book, against 0 at the quietest stop. That is where slots go first.

How long do these activities take?

From 1h for the shortest to Half day for the longest. Fit them into your days before filling the rest: a guided visit often takes half a day.

The rest of the trip