Any recommendations or must do-s? I've been to Amsterdam a couple of decades ago so I have some idea what to expect.
OT: Going to Amsterdam and Reykjavík in July
- Thread starter ShinerTexas
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Loved Amsterdam. He was great in The Dick Van Dyke Show. JK...
Since you've been to Amsterdam, you know the standard spots. My answer is: it depends what you like to do. If you like Museums, Van Gogh and esp. the Rijksmuseum were great. Boat tour was fun. Anne Frank House is a must, I think. Need to do Indonesian food. Great weed. My kids liked the Heineken tour. It was a great walking and biking city.
Not sure how long you'll be there. Reykjavik is tiny and if you like to party there's plenty of places to do so, but going to Iceland and just seeing Reykjavik is like going to NYC and eating at Sbarro.
I've been to Iceland twice in the last 2 years - recent trip ended May 28. If you just had a day, I'd rent a car and drive a few hours along the South coast to attractions near Vik - Reynisfara beach and Dyrholay Cliffs. Along the way you'll see several amazing waterfalls - Seljalandfoss and Skogafoss among them. Easy stop offs as they're visible from the Ring Road. Jaw dropping scenery. On the way back you could do the Golden Circle sights.
At that time it's petty much light out all day. Even after a full day, you'd still get back to Reykjavik with plenty of time to party and they party late.
With multiple days, you can go even further afield.
Here's a cool spot about 45 km from Reykjavik. Bring your swimsuit
https://guidetoiceland.is/connect-with-locals/regina/reykjadalur-hot-spring-valley-in-south-iceland
Don't waste time and money at the Blue Lagoon. It'll be swarmed with tourists and there are geothermal spots all over the place.
If you can take day trips while in Amsterdam, I'd hit Haarlem (close by) or Bruges (a little further in Belgium but spectacular). Of course, that's only if you can get away and this is not purely a work trip with only small blocks of time free.
I live in Rotterdam (1 hour south of Amsterdam) and I can tell you that you will NOT be able to get tickets for the Anne Frank House this summer. Tickets sell out months in advance. If you really want to go inside the house you will need to stand in line in the afternoon. They open the museum at 3:30 PM for people without tickets but you will have to stand in line for a long time. I was just up in Amsterdam a week ago and at 2:30 PM the line was around the block. There were probably 180+ people in line at that time, most sitting on the ground. Go across the Ij (back side of Amsterdam Centraal) and explore the north side of Amsterdam. I would recommend just taking one or more of the trams and just ride through the city like the locals do. There won't be any narration, but you can at least see a good bit of the city. Check out Cafe de Sluyswacht in Amsterdam, near the Rembrandt House. It was built in 1695: http://www.sluyswacht.nl/index_en.html. Check out Vondelpark as well.
The Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam) is one of the world's great art museums and just reopened after something like a 10 year renovation. So much good art, music, beer and wine in that city. Just hanging out in probably the world's happiest country is a pretty good vacation. Leiden, the university town, is a gorgeous old place. Bruges I think is a day trip from Amsterdam.
Just curious, Icelandair or WOW? Some of the flights being offered by the Iceland and Norwegian airlines are just amazing. You have to fly through Reykjavik but that's a very interesting place to visit and I think they give free stopovers up to 7 days so a lot of people are doing this.
We're flying to Rome on Norwegian in December for $360 round trip -- nonstops out of Newark. It's VERY no frills. They don't even give you water on the flight if you don't pay for it and you only get one 22 pound carry-on for free. But still, $360 nonstop on a Boeing 787, pretty incredible.
Just curious, Icelandair or WOW? Some of the flights being offered by the Iceland and Norwegian airlines are just amazing. You have to fly through Reykjavik but that's a very interesting place to visit and I think they give free stopovers up to 7 days so a lot of people are doing this.
We're flying to Rome on Norwegian in December for $360 round trip -- nonstops out of Newark. It's VERY no frills. They don't even give you water on the flight if you don't pay for it and you only get one 22 pound carry-on for free. But still, $360 nonstop on a Boeing 787, pretty incredible.
Thanks for the heads up. I've been to Anne Frank's house before but my daughter hasn't. I will check on-line for possible tickets or just wait in line or skip it altogether We're more interested in the Art Museums. And my preference is to hang out at cafes / spleins and drink good beer. I am also interested in renting a bike and/or taking a bike tour or two. Any local advice is appreciated!
Oh the Ice Women. Stunning. You may never come back!! been there a few times when young. I envy you.
WOW. $500 PP RT before taxes and extras. With everything it was about $600 RT PP including stopover in Reykjavik and one carry-on and one checked bag plus the free personal item. We also opted for XXL legroom for the three of us on direct flight back to Pittsburgh.
Also, probably looking at airbnb for lodging and wondering where is a good area to stay in Amsterdam (and Reykjavik) ?
I would allow a significant amount of time for the Rijksmuseum. It is very large, with some great things to stop and ponder. One of my favorite painting (The Night Watch) is there. Interestingly, it was cut down (foot or so off the top 2 feet or so off the LH side) to fit its current space. They actually cut some meaningful elements of the original.
Van Gogh museum is nowhere near as big. Pretty long lines there.
That whole museum area is great and there is a very nice park to walk through just down the street. Really pretty city.
We waited in line at the Anne Frank house, but it moved fairly quickly. I was really glad we went there.
We spent time in Maastricht (a little far for you perhaps) as my daughter was studying there. Really fun place.
We liked Brussels a lot. I know there are issues there, but there is so much to see and do. I really recommend going there.
Van Gogh museum is nowhere near as big. Pretty long lines there.
That whole museum area is great and there is a very nice park to walk through just down the street. Really pretty city.
We waited in line at the Anne Frank house, but it moved fairly quickly. I was really glad we went there.
We spent time in Maastricht (a little far for you perhaps) as my daughter was studying there. Really fun place.
We liked Brussels a lot. I know there are issues there, but there is so much to see and do. I really recommend going there.
Renting a bike and riding in Amsterdam can be quite tricky. Since you have been to the city before you know how many bikes there are and how quickly they ride. The locals have only such much charity toward tourists on bikes. You can check on-line for Anne Frank tickets but you won't find any. They sell out months ahead of time. I think they make tickets available up to three months out so today you can buy tickets up to 20 September. That's in theory though as they go immediately. Make sure you walk through the Jordaan (yur-dan) district: http://www.amsterdam.info/jordaan/. Also, there is a new tourist thing to do on the north side of the Ij, right behind Central Station. It is the A'DAM Lookout swing: https://www.adamlookout.com/. It is a swing for two atop the A'DAM Tower and looks pretty cool. I believe you can walk to the top of the tower of the Westerkerk (West Church) so that would be pretty cool. If it is not the Westerkerk it is one of the churches in the center of Amsterdam. A canal boat ride is a must and like I said, pick a tram line or two and just take a ride on the tram for a while and then take it back to where you got on. You will see parts of the city that the tour buses and canal boats cannot or do not take you as part of their routes.
Check out the Hermitage Museum's exhibition on the last of the Romanov dynasty as I went through it last month.
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Very exciting times for anyone who travels to Europe. Lots of upstart European airlines now flying to U.S. thanks to the Open Skies treaty.
Given that most domestic U.S. routes are horribly overpriced due to monopoly/oligopoly, you can actually fly New York to Paris for less than it costs to fly to Dubuque.
And as long as the fools in Washington don't screw it up (American and United are very unhappy about the competition and lobbying to reverse Open Skies), it's going to get even cheaper.
The new generation Boeing and Airbus narrowbodies have legitimate transatlantic range which means seat-mile costs are coming down another 30%, and narrowbody European airlines like Ryanair and Easyjet are probably coming here.
6 days in Amsterdam may be too much unless you are there for some work related reason. Good suggestion to take a few day trips and if you go to Bruges, I would recommend you continue on to Ghent. We really loved Ghent and you will too IF you enjoy a smaller, quieter, slower paced city as compared to Amsterdam, Brussels, etc..
https://www.google.com/search?q=ghe...9j69i57j0l4.2987j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
A great day trip (or even a half-day) is the university town of Leiden. It's only a short train hop from Amsterdam. It's the way Amsterdam used to be before the drug sleaze and the foreigners. It's got canals, windmills, traffic-free shopping streets, open-air food markets, great for walking. (It's also the place where Sigmund Freud and Gustav Mahler walked for four hours for his only "therapy" session).
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/the-netherlands/the-randstad/leiden
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/the-netherlands/the-randstad/leiden
Agree with the previous poster about driving the south coast of Iceland.. You could easily get to Vik and back in less than 2 days if you leave your camera home. But, don't forget your credit card. Iceland is very expensive for food, lodging and just about everything else. In Amsterdam you could do a guided bike tour out of the city.
Leiden, Utrecht, Haarelm, Maastricht, and Amersfoort are all good day trips out of Amsterdam. Maastricht is two-hours by train from here in Rotterdam so it would be 3 hours from Amsterdam. Getting to Bruges (Brugge) by train is quite difficult/time-consuming. If you want to go to Belgium, I would recommend taking a train to Antwerp as that is a very cool city.
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anon_1eeb2b426hv3y
Guest
A BUMP and inquiry for a guy who's taking his wife to Iceland for 5 days mid-late September for a special birthday trip. Looking for ideas for hotels and how to balance travel and taking the place in with relaxation being a bigger priority than seeing everything one would wish to. Expecting to rent a 4x4 so we can go wherever but would prefer to not have to pack and switch hotels more than once or so, and probably don't need to stay in Reykjavik although we'd be willing.
Thinking nice hotels that're well-situated to take short day trips to things we'll love to see/do but also to relax, enjoy a hotel and landscape from our patio hot tub. My paradigm is Ritz Half Moon Bay (for taking in the pacific coast) or Enchantment, Sedona (for taking in the Sedona canyons), where so much of what we're looking for is right outside the window. Would appreciate any helpful thoughts from those in the know. Thanks.
Did the exact same trip last July on WOW:
Iceland:
Rent a car. I did a stick shift - it was fun. You have so much day light that you can drive all day and see multiple sites. A bit expensive bit worth every penny (or Kron). Getting gas is a little tricky - need a prepaid card. We airbnb'd (very reasonable) and did the Southern part of the Grand Circle. One place was just a tiny little two room house out the country on a horse farm. Beautiful! Only stayed in Reykjavik one night; the country side was so awesome. Iceland is very expensive to eat and drink so driving and to the Falls, black sand Beaches, Parks, glaciers, etc. and just checking out the scenery is the way to spend your time. Do the Blue Lagoon (a bit pricey) but worth it - you will feel fantastic! Book ahead. You could see a lot in just three days with a car. The weather will suck. High 50 low 40. It will rain. But if you luck out and a get a clear day or two it will look like heaven. You don't go to Iceland for the food or to party.
Amsterdam:
Rent a bike. Many bike rental chains at super market etc. About 10 Euros a day. I also took a tour out to the country side. You can't go wrong with a bike if you just follow the rules and pay attention to all the bike traffic. Van Gogh museum, beer and hash bars. I think you can book Anne Franks 60 days ahead. Just hanging out at a cafe near the canals is fun. You could do one canal tour just to get oriented. Also, the trams are good for getting around with a multi-day pass.
Iceland:
Rent a car. I did a stick shift - it was fun. You have so much day light that you can drive all day and see multiple sites. A bit expensive bit worth every penny (or Kron). Getting gas is a little tricky - need a prepaid card. We airbnb'd (very reasonable) and did the Southern part of the Grand Circle. One place was just a tiny little two room house out the country on a horse farm. Beautiful! Only stayed in Reykjavik one night; the country side was so awesome. Iceland is very expensive to eat and drink so driving and to the Falls, black sand Beaches, Parks, glaciers, etc. and just checking out the scenery is the way to spend your time. Do the Blue Lagoon (a bit pricey) but worth it - you will feel fantastic! Book ahead. You could see a lot in just three days with a car. The weather will suck. High 50 low 40. It will rain. But if you luck out and a get a clear day or two it will look like heaven. You don't go to Iceland for the food or to party.
Amsterdam:
Rent a bike. Many bike rental chains at super market etc. About 10 Euros a day. I also took a tour out to the country side. You can't go wrong with a bike if you just follow the rules and pay attention to all the bike traffic. Van Gogh museum, beer and hash bars. I think you can book Anne Franks 60 days ahead. Just hanging out at a cafe near the canals is fun. You could do one canal tour just to get oriented. Also, the trams are good for getting around with a multi-day pass.
Just back from Reykjavik. While we did not rent a car given time of year, black pearl was great place to stay. Excellent concierge. Apartments with plenty of room and privacy. Go ice climbing on a glacier. Go to market grille in Reykjavik for a great dinner. Blue lagoon worth it on arrival day. If you want to ride the horses try laxnes stables.
Lot of people recommend Anne Frank House, but if you really want to be impressed by a similar story, go to Harlem and visit the home/watch shop of the Ten Boom family. In comparison, the home of Anne Frank was the Taj Mahal.
Did you plan the trip to Iceland on your own or did you use an agency for travel? I'm planning a trip with my wife and son for sometime in Sept, and still trying to figure it out. I've been in contact with a couple travel places in Iceland, but I get the feeling I should just figure it out myself. We plan on doing 6 nights and we don't want to move hotels more than once or twice. Renting a SUV sounds like the way to go. Any advice?
Planned myself using TripAdvisor. Note, we were not mobile so perhaps easier but given you have 3 days I honestly might be tempted to skip the car and just schedule a couple tours. the tourist bus/day trip infrastructure is very efficient and ranges from private cars to large buses per your choice. My one complaint was our golden circle tour. Because we added snowmobiling on the glacier at the end, we did not have enough time to explore the Rift Valley or gulfoss. Geysir was ok but if you’ve been to Yellowstone you’re not seeing much. Note re the hot springs they won’t be as good because the ambient will be warmer, but they were nice after the plane ride. Had heard blue lagoon was a cluster but really didn’t have that experience.
Edit. Someone else had 3 days. If you have 6, get a vehicle and take your time, but most importantly, be targeted. If you want to glacier hike, check out arctic adventures. Note, when I asked the natives about the ring road they generally said the problem is you get waterfall overkill. Remember too, there’s only 300000 people in ice, and 200000 are around greater Reykjavik, so options outside can be limited.
Edit. Someone else had 3 days. If you have 6, get a vehicle and take your time, but most importantly, be targeted. If you want to glacier hike, check out arctic adventures. Note, when I asked the natives about the ring road they generally said the problem is you get waterfall overkill. Remember too, there’s only 300000 people in ice, and 200000 are around greater Reykjavik, so options outside can be limited.
Went to Iceland once. Used a TravelZoo offer. $599 included flight, hotel, glacier hike, lobster soup dinner(that was out of this world), and Norther Lights tour(too cloudy when we were there). Had a couple free days to do what we wanted. Thought IcelandAir did a nice job and seemed very roomy(I am a big guy) and friendly service(I don't fly that much). Stayed in a Hilton which was typical euro style hotel(sort of like an oversized phone booth) but was nice with great customer service. The Glacier Hike was very cool and high recommend if you have never done that before. We did the Blue Lagoon, I thought it was awesome and one of the most relaxing spots I have ever been to. It was not very crowded probably because it was mid-week in November. I am guessing summer months would be crazy crowded as others have said. We explored Reykjavik because we were never there before and didn't have a care. To me it was relaxing and enjoyable because we like to walk and explore a lot. The last day we went on a private tour with Volcano Tours (https://www.volcanotours.is/) which was a little pricey but worth it because we didn't have to worry about driving, the driver tooks to places off the beaten tourist path and told us a lot about the area. The tour was around southern Iceland around Grindavik, included the Blue Lagoon at the end, climbing thru a lava tube, and all kinds of other cool stuff. Safe travels and have fun!
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