Hi, We are planning to travel to Amsterdam and Brussels on July /August for 7 Day trip. Please suggest me which are the best places to visit . As per my plan i will stay 5 days in Amsterdam and 2 Days in Brussels. I am looking for a budget trip with Family 2 Adult and 2 Kids( 10Yr and 13 Yr). I am open to change the number of days in each cities. So please suggest me to make a plan with easy access to main attractions and restaurants.
The plan would be to either consult your local travel agent or to buy a guidebook. This is a forum full of volunteers willing to help but we're not travel agents who will build your itinerary for you.
What made you choose Amsterdam and Brussels? What is it you want to see in both? Why did you make that separation in days?
Some general tips:
Use public transport to get around and don't bother with a car.
Staying in Amsterdam is expensive. Depending on your budget it might be worthwhile to stay in surrounding cities and commute, especially if you're doing day trips to other places than Amsterdam. Check sites like booking.com for general prices. But they differ vastly depending on the month you're visiting.
There are some public transport passes which can be worth it. Once you got a rough itinerary chose we can help select the right transport pass.
Some attractions such as the Anne Frank Huis and Vincent van Gogh Museum have to be booked in advance.
Tourists cards such as the iAmsterdam card are very rarely worth it.
Feel free to come back when you've created your basic itinerary. Were more than happy to help you fine-tune it.
Kids that age probably won’t be too happy being schlepped around museums and monuments in a hot stone city all day.
Indeed get a guidebook like Lonely Planet and read up about all the millions of other places of interest outside cities, and family-friendly accommodations such as chalets or bungalows or apartments. For example on a bungalow park or campsite with a pool and other entertainment for the kids. And in that case a rental car would come in handy to visit theme parks and castles and windmills for example, or to drive to the Ardennes region in Belgium and visit caves, waterfalls and go rafting, kayaking, mountainbiking or rappelling, or to visit museums about WW1 and WW2.
Compare bungalows on sites like bungalows.nl but you’re already quite late. A lot of European families book their summer accommodations / trips in the winter before it.
Edited: 12 May 2024, 19:32Please do as the other posters suggest and read thoroughly either Lonely Planet or Frommers. We traveled with our children when they were your children’s ages and they truly would not have liked going from museum to museum. They did love going to the German Alps and visiting a Schwimmbad to relax. They did enjoy a castle or two, going to the zoo and loved when random people sat down with us at dinner because it was customary where we visited.
In my opinion, cities are tough in the summer. It is hot and often there is no air conditioning. Trust me there is nothing romantic about the smell of Versailles in late July or waiting in line when you have timed tickets in the beating heat. Try not to plan more than three things in a day or you may have a mutiny on your hands. Now that my children are older, they have returned to many of the places they visited as children and enjoy their new perspectives. They both learned a bit of the language of which ever country we visited and it opened so many doors for them.
Whatever you wind up doing I hope you and your family have fun.
If you want to stay in a city by all means and not at a holiday park I would suggest to stay e.g. at Haarlem instead of Amsterdam. It´s about 20 min to Amsterdam by train and just a short ride to Zandvoort Beach. So you have both in close proximity: sightseeing at Amsterdam and cooling down and relaxing at the beach on the North Sea, if it is pretty hot. Beside this, Haarlem is a very nice and interesting city, where you can spend a lot of time too. And accommodations might be less expensive than at Amsterdam.
Edited: 15 May 2024, 20:38What is your arrival and departure day? Will you be arriving airport in Amsterdam and departing Brussels airport? If not that is a lot of backtracking for a short 7 day trip.
One week, imo is one country— after you travel a lot, you will understand.
But if you’re are set on seeing both Amsterdam and Brussels let us know… and is it Brussels or do you mean Belgium—Bruges is much more interesting than Brussels to a lot of people…
Here is an idea to get you started:
Day 1 arrive: check in and take local train to Amsterdam. See Ann Frank House and then in evening do a boat tour if you arrive early enough.
Day 2: , see Zaanse Schans OR see the Rijksmuseum art museum (we liked the semi private tour of the museum and since we don’t know much about art we learned a great deal!) OR Maybe see Our lord in the attic and Rembrandts House- a great little Museum in his original house which was as interesting as his collection of things which kids would enjoy. (You can see how two more days would be nicer!)
Day 3: Depart for Bruges. Stay in Bruges for two nights and enjoy this cool medieval town, starting with a horse drawn carriage ride in the evening— especially nice when the crowds leave in the evening. Take a boat tour
Day 4: see Bruges… sleep Bruges
Day 5: depart and take short train to Brussels. Sleep one night Brussels and see the main square at night. This is the most amazing square in all of Europe and must be seen at night! The one place that I would say is worth just a one night stay— (I have recommendations for a budget hotel on the square with the most amazing view of the square and walking distance from the train station with luggage-a very easy one or two night stay!)
Day 6: Depart to Amsterdam airport…Sleep near airport.
Day 7: Flight departure
