The windmills at Zaanse Schans. All photography is ours.
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Netherlands with Kids
If you’re planning the Netherlands with kids, give Amsterdam three nights and book a food tour for the second afternoon. Add a canal cruise the first evening, the windmills at Zaanse Schans one morning, and a train to Delft, and you’ve seen the country the way we did in May 2025.
The Netherlands is the easiest first stop in Europe for a family. Everyone speaks English, the trains go everywhere, and warm stroopwafels are easy to find.
Destination guide · Updated November 2026 · Last visited May 2025
Best months
April–September, tulips in April
Fly into
AMS
How long
3 days for Amsterdam, 5 with day trips
Getting around
Trains and trams, no car needed
Book ahead
Anne Frank House · Van Gogh Museum · Rijksmuseum · the food tour
We landed in Amsterdam jet-lagged, but we had booked a canal cruise with pizza that evening so we didn’t have to think too hard about what to do until bedtime. The next day we did the Van Gogh Museum first thing, the Rijksmuseum before lunch, and the Anne Frank House at 8:30 that night. After the windmills and Delft on day three, we had Indonesian rijsttafel at Sama Sebo for dinner.
The food tour was Cadence’s favorite tour of the whole trip, and warm stroopwafels are Carrick’s favorite bite in the country. Keep reading for the Netherlands essentials and the three days that worked for us.
Your Netherlands guide
Enjoy exploring the Netherlands with kids!
Keep scrolling for the essentials, three ways to do the Netherlands, and where to stay in Amsterdam.
Essential Netherlands
Why we love the Netherlands
We think you’ll love it too.
The Netherlands is where we’d send a family that wants Europe to be easy. Flat, English-speaking, and small enough that windmills, a world-class art museum, and a canal cruise all fit in one weekend. The food tour had the kids tasting things they’d never have ordered, and the stroopwafels alone are worth the flight. Rotterdam, The Hague, and the tulip fields are still on our list for next time. Scroll down for the Netherlands essentials.
The Van Gogh Museum AftT Visit
The museum has the largest Van Gogh collection anywhere, arranged in the order he painted. Tickets are timed, so book ahead. We went first thing in the morning.
The Anne Frank House AftT Visit
The Frank family hid in the annex here for two years. Tickets are released six weeks ahead and sell out within hours, so set an alarm. We went at 8:30 at night, when it was quieter. It’s best for kids who have read the diary or understand the history.
The Rijksmuseum AftT Visit
The Rijksmuseum has Rembrandt’s Night Watch, Vermeer, and the dollhouses, in a building worth the visit on its own. Book a timed ticket. We did it the same morning as the Van Gogh Museum and the Stedelijk next door, and about two hours was enough.
Delft AftT Visit
Delft is an hour by train from Amsterdam. Royal Delft is the last of the original blue and white pottery factories, with a painting demonstration and a museum. The market square and the Old Church are a short walk.
And the rest we’d cross the canals for
The Amsterdam canals AftT Visit
A canal cruise is the way to see the city on your first night. Ours came with pizza, which made it dinner too. Afterward, the canals are the walk home from everything.
Zaanse Schans AftT Visit
Zaanse Schans has working windmills, a clog workshop, and a cheese farm on the river 30 minutes north of Amsterdam. We did it as a three hour small-group tour in the morning, which took care of the train and the crowds. Kids can climb inside a mill, which is pretty neat honestly.
An Amsterdam food tour AftT Visit
It’s three and a half hours of walking and tasting through the Jordaan. The stops include herring, cheese, bitterballen, and stroopwafels. Cadence named it her favorite tour of the trip, and it doubled as lunch.
Sama Sebo AftT Visit
Sama Sebo serves Indonesian rijsttafel near the Rijksmuseum, a dozen small dishes shared around the table. It’s a Dutch tradition with roots in the colonial era, and a good way to feed a family with different tastes.
Keukenhof
Keukenhof has seven million tulips in bloom from late March to mid May, half an hour from Amsterdam. It closes in mid May, so our late May trip missed it.
The Hague and Scheveningen
The seat of government, the Mauritshuis with Girl with a Pearl Earring, and Madurodam, a miniature Netherlands kids love. The beach at Scheveningen is right there.
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the modern city rebuilt after the war, with the Cube Houses, the Markthal, and Europe’s biggest port. It’s an hour from Amsterdam by train.
Efteling
Efteling is the fairy-tale theme park older than Disneyland, in the south of the country. It’s the one Dutch families go to.
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Routes
Three ways to do the Netherlands
You don’t need a car for any of these. The first is our three days in Amsterdam, which then connected by train to Belgium. See all the best stops on a map.
Start
Canal cruise night
Drop the bags and get on a boat. A pizza cruise at dinner time beats fighting jet lag in a restaurant.
Then head to
Museums and the food tour
Start with Van Gogh at opening, then the Rijksmuseum before lunch, the food tour in the afternoon, and the Anne Frank House in the evening. It’s a full day.
Finish
Zaanse Schans and Delft
See the windmills in the morning on a small-group tour, take the train to Delft for Royal Delft, then have rijsttafel for dinner. Catch the train to Belgium the next morning.
Home base
Amsterdam
Spend four nights in the city, with day trips by train.
Then head to
Keukenhof
Head half an hour south in April. Go on a weekday and go early.
Add on
The Hague
Visit Madurodam and the Mauritshuis, then the beach at Scheveningen.
Start
Rotterdam
See the Markthal and the Cube Houses, and take a harbor tour.
Then head to
Efteling
Spend a day at the theme park, an hour southeast of Rotterdam.
Finish
Utrecht
Utrecht has canals with cafes at water level, and the Miffy museum for the youngest kids. It’s half an hour back to Amsterdam.
When to go
Time your visits with the weather and the region
We went in late May, which was mild with some rain and already past tulip season. April is the big month for flowers and King’s Day. Summer is the busiest. The Dutch bike in every season, and so can you.
Swipe the chart sideways to see the full year.
April – May
This is the season for tulips at Keukenhof, King’s Day on April 27, and cool, bright days. Late May, when we went, had the flowers gone but the crowds not yet here.
June – August
The days are warm and long. It’s the busiest season in Amsterdam, so book the museums and the Anne Frank House early.
September
Still mild, the crowds thin out, and the light on the canals is at its best.
October – March
It’s gray, wet, and cold. The museums are quiet and Amsterdam’s Light Festival runs through the winter.
Where to stay
Pick a good base to start your Netherlands adventure
We stayed south of the center on points and took the tram everywhere. Here’s how that worked and what we’d consider next time.
Amsterdam
Amsterdam South
We stayed at the Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South. It’s near the Zuid train station, which made the trips to Delft and Belgium easy, and the tram runs straight into the museum quarter.
- Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South, an IHG hotel
- Zuid station for direct trains south
- Tram to the Rijksmuseum in 15 minutes
Amsterdam
The canal ring and the Jordaan
Staying inside the canals means walking to everything, with smaller hotels and apartments in old houses. Stairs are steep and elevators are rare, so check before you book with a stroller.
- Canal-house hotels for the view
- Apartments for a kitchen
- Everything within a 20 minute walk
Day trips
The Hague or Delft
A night in Delft or The Hague breaks up the day trips and puts you an hour closer to Belgium. Delft is small and walkable, and The Hague has the beach.
- Delft for a quiet old town
- Scheveningen for the beach
- Both on the train line south
Good to know
Questions families ask us about the Netherlands
Netherlands at a glance
The practical stuff families ask us before they book.
Language: Dutch, English spoken everywhere
Population: About 18 million
Capital: Amsterdam
Currency: Euro (EUR), cards accepted nearly everywhere
Power outlet: Types C and F, 230 V
Time difference: 7 hours ahead of Central
Entry for US passports: Visa-free up to 90 days, ETIAS expected late 2026
Driving: On the right, but take the train
Emergency number: 112
Tipping: Round up, 5 to 10 percent for good service
Three worked for us. That was one night for the canal cruise, one full day for the museums, the food tour, and the Anne Frank House, and one day for Zaanse Schans and Delft. Add a fourth if you want Keukenhof in tulip season or The Hague. We moved on to Belgium by train on the fourth morning.
Online only, released six weeks ahead on a Tuesday, and they sell out within hours. Set a reminder for the exact release day for your date. We got an 8:30 pm slot, which was quieter and worked well after the food tour. There are no tickets at the door.
It was for ours. The Amsterdam tour ran three and a half hours through the Jordaan with stops for herring, cheese, bitterballen, and stroopwafels. Everybody tastes the same thing at the same time, which gets kids to try things they’d never order. Cadence named it her favorite tour of the trip. We booked it through Expedia.
No. We never had one. Trams cover Amsterdam, trains run every few minutes to Delft, The Hague, and Rotterdam, and the same line continues to Brussels. Zaanse Schans is reachable by train too, though we took a small-group tour that included the ride.
Amsterdam hotels are, especially in summer, which is why we used points. Museum tickets add up, so plan which ones matter. Food can be cheap if you eat the way the Dutch do, with a stroopwafel from a cart and fries with mayo for lunch. The trains are reasonable and kids under 12 ride for a few euros.
No, they don’t. It’s in the Schengen area, so a passport gets you 90 days. Europe’s ETIAS authorization is expected to start in late 2026, so check the current rules before you fly.
Map
Essential Netherlands, mapped
Keep exploring
Where to go next
Belgium with Kids
Belgium is where our train went next, for chocolate in Ghent and a food tour in Brussels.
