The itinerary for 2026 has changed with less time in Brussels which is probably a good change. We arrived multiple days early into Amsterdam and then made our way to Brussels for the start of the cruise.
Pretour Day 1: Arrived at Schipol direct from the US on KLM. It took 45 minutes to clear passport control, baggage claim and customs. Faster than the last time. Since we were not starting the tour in AMS, we were on our own for transportation. We knew we were going to be using regional trains and public transportation in AMS so we preordered a regional train card (OVD) which we redeemed our voucher for right at baggage claim(you can also purchase train tickets and other cards from the kiosk in baggage claim.) The Amsterdam card is not valid for transport from the airport. We could have also used our credit card or Apple Pay to tap in/out of public transportation. If you use the train/metro/trams you need to tap in and out. Don't forget the tap out part. There are 8 trains per hour from Schipol to Amsterdam Central. The train platforms are located one level down from the main plaza at Schipol. Before heading down there are 36 inch high yellow poles between the stairs and escalators where you tap in. In the plaza area there is train ticket counter and well as an I Amsterdam store. The train take about 16 minutes.
We chose to stay at the Kimpton de Witt which is 5 minute stroll from the Central Station. It's clean, comfortable and convenient with courteous staff. We arrived at Schipol at 630 AM and by 815 we had checked in at the hotel, done a quick wardrobe change and were back at the train station. We headed to Haarlem which is a 15 train ride and a short walk to the city center. Trains run every 10 or 12 minutes. The trains are listed by their last stop, so going to Haarlem you take the train going to Zandvoort. On the way back, Central station is the terminal stop. By Lima is a great cafe for brunch or a snack. Saw the sites including the Fran Hals Museum and the Corrie ten Boom House(Anne Frank house is better.) It's a great city just to wander. Then back to AMS to crash.
Pretour Day 2: Full day of sightseeing. We used Mark Law from That Dam Guide and he's excellent. He met us at our hotel. We did both of his walking tours in Amsterdam and went to places we otherwise would have walked right by. Total time was 6 hours. We had originally planned to go to the Van Gogh Museum, but they have changed their policy regarding tour guides. In the evening we did a sunset canal cruise with Amsterdam Boat Adventures which left from the canal next to the HART museum. Advantage is that it is a small boat with 14 passenger(we only had 4), a captain/tour guide, heated seats and blankets(we were toasting warm despite the 48 degree temps) and the ability to go through the smaller canals. Tram back to the hotel. The trams are great. If you are going to the Van Gogh museum or the Anne Frank house, tickets should be purchased as soon as they are available on line for the date you wish to go.
Pretour Day 3: Packed, checked out and left the luggage at the hotel. General day of just wandering but we did have tickets to the Church in the Attic which was very interesting and they have a great audioguide. Mid afternoon we collected our luggage and headed to the Centraal station to take the Eurostar to Brussels. Eurostar recently bought Thalys so they are one company. Reservations are required. We chose Eurostar plus seats. You will need to arrive 20 minutes early. If you are using the Eurostar train to London then you need to arrive 40 minutes early and need to go through passport control. Typically the Eurostar trains leave from platform 15 which is on the water side of the station. Once on the platform there will be a monitor with a picture of a train. Your carriage number will be listed above a lettered loading zone which is the approximate location where your carriage will be when the train arrives. There are luggage racks in each carriage for larger items. These can fill up fast. There is a USB A port to recharge your device. Travel to time Brussels Midi(Zuid) is 2 hours with stops in Rotterdam and Antwerp. We met our Tauck transfer driver in front of the PRET which is located across from the large Belgium Rail Ticket area and the Chunnel Eurostar passport control area along the west side of the station. Travel time to the Hotel Amigo was about 10 minutes.
One note is that when using the Belgium trains is that the stops/destination are in Dutch and French.
Pretour Day 4: Brussels has great train connection. Easy day trips to Brugge, Ghent, Leuven, Antwerp, and even Lille France. If you can stay after your tour or come in several days early, I would suggest spending a night in Brugge. It is markedly less crowded before 10AM and after 3PM once the day trippers have left. The Brussels Centraal station is 10 minutes from the Hotel Amigo. We opted to go to Antwerp which is 40 minutes. There were things we wanted to see or spend more time that we didn't think we could do with the tour. This was a good choice. The Antwerp train station is masterpiece. It is a mile walk along the main shopping district to city center. We had time to spend 2hours in the Red Star Line, have a relaxing lunch at Elfde Gebod, and take a in depth tour of the Cathedral of our Lady(made through the cathedral website.). The Cathedral tour included the south tower(187 steps,)the area above the nave, the church with the Ruebens paintings. This was well worth the time. We were back in Brussels by 630PM.
Tour Day 1: Luggage pull at 10AM. Breakfast was included. Checkout 12 noon. Bus pickup at the hotel to go to the ship was 3PM. We had prebooked a tour with Christophe through With Locals and the tour was excellent. We started the tour a 9 AM and had enough time to grab lunch and wander a bit. As usual the ship and crew as well as the tour directors and cruise directors were all fantastic.
I will post the others days soon
