Discover this guide planning your trip
Itineraries and day trips Things to do What to eat and drink The Netherlands
is a beautiful country with beautiful national parks, breathtaking windmills
and romantic canals waiting to be explored.
Discover this guide
Planning your trip
Itineraries and day trips
Things to do
What do you eat and drink
Netherland is a beautiful country with wonderful
national parks, picturesque windmills and romantic canals all waiting to be
explored. Cyclists will feel right at home in a country where there are more
bikes than people while history, art and architecture lovers have plenty of
sights to pique their interest. In addition, hemp is legal, and cheese and beer
are celebrated; Can't you love him? This guide will help you plan your trip
to the Netherlands from start to finish.
Planning your trip
Best Time to Visit: Being a northern European
country, the Netherlands does not experience extreme weather, but
rainfall is common all year round. During the depths of winter, the temperature
can drop as low as 35°F (2°C), while in July it only reaches 66°F (19°C)
(66°F). On any given day, the weather can quickly turn from sunny to rainy and
back to sunny again, and being a flat country, the winds can feel pretty
strong. For more information, read our complete Netherlands weather and
climate guide.
Language: Citizens in the Netherlands speak
Dutch as their first language, but almost everyone speaks at least some English
and many are fluent, which makes communication in the Netherlands easy
for English-speaking tourists.
Currency: Euro.
Getting around: The NS rail system in the Netherlands
is clean, fairly modern and running on time. If you are traveling around the
country and want to do so at your own time, it is easy to rent a car from
Schiphol (the largest airport in the Netherlands) and Rotterdam. Everyone in
the country's big cities tends to travel by bike, and it's easy to rent and
affordable. Uber is available in the Randstad region (covering Amsterdam,
Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht), as well as Eindhoven. You can find out where
Uber is available in the Netherlands on their website.
Travel tip: The cities of Rotterdam and Amsterdam
have metros, trams, and buses, while The Hague and Utrecht provide buses and
trams to get around. In each city, you can buy day tickets that give you access
to all transportation.
Things to do
The Netherlands is known for many things,
from canals and clogs to windmills and tulips, so it can be difficult to decide
what to do while you're there. A visit to the country wouldn't be complete
without taking a boat tour and winding your way through Amsterdam's waterways.
It's also worth renting a bike like the locals do and head to Zaanse Schans, a
picturesque village with beautiful traditional windmills.
If you find yourself in the countryside in the
spring, make a trip to Keukenhof. The garden receives more than a
million visitors each season and will welcome you with 7 million flowers
including the famous Dutch tulips.
Love being by the water? In summer, be sure to check
out the beach clubs in Zandvoort or Noordwijk for an instant Ibiza vibe.
A trip to Amsterdam is all about balance.
Meet one of the most famous Dutchmen at the Van Gogh Museum, then head to a
café (cannabis café).
Find out what this country also has to offer with
our articles on the best things to do and how to spend a week in the
Netherlands.
.What do you eat and drink
Dutch cuisine is delicious and very reminiscent of
home cooking. There's bitterballen, a thick, rusk-fried stew that's the perfect
partner for a small beer (which Netherland is also famous for). Stamppot is a
traditional comfort food consisting of boiled and mashed potatoes mixed with
vegetables and sometimes meat. Stroopwafels, large, caramel-filled wafers, are
in abundance and can be bought plain or dipped in melted chocolate and loaded
with a different topping such as marshmallows or hazelnuts.
Then there are Dutch cheeses, which are usually
relatively hard and fairly light like Gouda and Edam. You can visit the cheese
market in Gouda or head to the cheese market in Alkmaar, the oldest cheese
market in the Netherlands.
As for the beers we mentioned, Joppenkirk in Harlem
is an old church converted into a brewery and restaurant, where you can take a
tour, sample beer, and stop for lunch. Alternatively, head to Amsterdam and go
to the old Heineken Brewery (now a museum) if you want to see how their
familiar name beer is brewed. More in wine? Take a tour and sample the
Amsterdam winery.
If you're more interested in gourmet food, the Netherlands
has three restaurants with three Michelin stars: De Librije in Zwolle, De Leest
in Vaassen, and Inter Scaldes in Kruiningen.
Want more in-depth information about Dutch food?
Check out our guides to the best foods and dishes to try in the Netherlands, as
well as the best places for craft beer.
Where to stay
Most first-time visitors head straight to Amsterdam,
the country's capital and most famous city that welcomed 19 million visitors in
2019 (compared to 1 million residents). From here you can take day trips
to Utrecht, Haarlem, The Hague and Gouda. You can also get to Rotterdam in a
day, but this city, known for its contemporary art and architecture, is well
worth spending a few nights in. In addition, from Rotterdam you can get to
Tilburg, Breda and the national parks de Bisebsch and Drunen. .
Interior design in the Netherlands is
incredibly elegant, and there are plenty of luxury hotels to stay in such as
The Dylan in Amsterdam and Hotel Pincoffs in Rotterdam. Airbnb is available all
over the country, in fact you can even find some boats on the site, if you are
looking for a different place to stay.
Heading there
From the US, you can fly to Schiphol Airport on many
airlines including American Airlines, British Airways and KLM Royal Dutch. You
can also fly to Rotterdam, but flights can be limited and more expensive. It
may be cheaper to travel to Amsterdam and to travel by train to Rotterdam,
which costs around 18 euros per person.
You can rent a car but parking in the Netherlands,
especially in big cities, is incredibly expensive. If your hotel doesn't have
free or affordable parking, it's best to get around on a bike, tram, bus or
metro. The state isn't huge—it's roughly half the size of South Carolina—so
it's easy to get around on public transportation.
Culture and customs
The Netherlands is a safe country where most
people speak at least some English.
You usually only tip the wait staff if the service
is good or exceptional, at which point you can tip about 5 to 10 percent.
Otherwise, you can round the bill or leave the change.
Dutch people are usually fairly formal and can be
considered a bit of a pickle.
Money saving tips
Do you want to travel the city freely? Get a daily
GVB (in Amsterdam) or RET (in Rotterdam) daily pass, which allows you to travel
on most buses, trams and metro, from 7.50 €.
Taxis from the airports are expensive but don't be
drawn to unlicensed taxi rides. Uber operates in the country and costs about 30
euros from Schiphol to Amsterdam. From Rotterdam Airport to the city center
about 16 euros.
Museums aren't free in the Netherlands, so if you're
heading to Amsterdam and want to head to some cultural attractions, it's worth
buying the Amsterdam City Card (€60 for 24 hours). It gives you free admission
to the best museums and galleries, free travel within city limits, a discount
on food and a canal cruise. With or without the card, if you want to visit the
Van Gogh Museum, be sure to reserve your spot in advance as they sell out
quickly. You can only visit the Anne Frank House by booking online in advance.
There are 20 national parks scattered across the
country that are beautiful, free to explore, and rich in various animals and
wildlife. Head to one for a walk or do like the Dutch and ride a bike.
Best time to visit article sources in the Netherlands
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