Is travel on this itinerary too crowded in late August ? (August 20 start?)

Question

Late August travel on Amsterdam to Budapest:  Has anyone experienced this itinerary this time of the year?  We were wondering if it was too crowded in late August and what the weather may bring.

Claudia Sails · Answer

My desire to travel in Europe in either July or Aug gets lower every year.  We started an Oct Rhine cruise in Amsterdam several years ago and it was cold, wet and the days definitely shorter. Just did the Budapest to Amsterdam this past May/June -- the crowds in Budapest weren't too bad, it did get uncomfortably hot for several days in Austria and Germany and yes it's was crowded in Amsterdam where the weather rained several times but otherwise was nice.

You might try Sep Richard. No matter what anyone experienced you can't count on the weather these days.

British · Answer

We were on a different river cruise this past July that ended in Amsterdam, it was packed with people then and there was a heatwave. Our neighbors just came back from two weeks in the Netherlands, it was still very hot. But you really can’t predict weather. These cities are packed all summer. If you go in Spring or Fall, then ok there may be less people but also the days are shorter. The daylight quickly gets shorter the nearer the end of August you get. Weather may be cooler than you like in those two alternatives. If we had a choice of when to go, which we don’t always have, we love June to travel in Northern Europe. The Netherlands are actively discouraging travel to Amsterdam and pushing other areas of the country to visit