Travel Guide: 5 Great Things To Do When Visiting Amsterdam In The Summer

By Dutch Norwegian CoupleTravel

So, you’re planning a trip to Amsterdam? And you’re wondering what to do while you’re there? Here are 5 great things to do in and around Amsterdam. Seen from a Norwegian’s point of view. It’s the best experiences I’ve had while visiting the city in the summer time! Some of them I’m sure will be a surprise for many of you!

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Rent a bike and see the city

One of the absolute most fun things I do when we visit the Netherlands is to rent a bicycle. Does anyone really know how many bikes there are in the Netherlands? It feels like there’s more bikes than humans sometimes! At least for me as a Norwegian where you might see 1 or maximum 2 bikes a day. And suddenly you’re in bike-land seeing BILLIONS of bikes a day.

The first time I went to Amsterdam I rented a bike for two weeks while I was there to take a Dutch course. On a bike you get to see the city in a whole new way. It’s much faster than walking. But still you get to see everything in a much slower way than if you went by car. Do you also sometimes struggle to remember the way if you travel through a city in the backseat of a taxi? On a bike you are so much more grounded. You can stop whenever you want. And you go just fast enough that it won’t take you ages to get from A to B. It’s environmentally friendly. And it’s free. This is why, I guess, using a bike for transportation is so popular in the flat country Netherlands.

You should really ride your bike to the beautiful Vondelpark. Have lunch on the grass. And after, visit the popular Rijksmuseum. The entrance is free if you buy a City Card from Iamsterdam.

Visit the beautiful Keukenhof

Keukenhof is known as the Garden of Europe. And is most known for its tulips. But you can also find carnations, roses, hyacinths, daffodils, lilies and irises. 7 million flower bulbs are planted here every year. The season is short, it’s only open from mid March – mid May every year. There’s a direct bus from Schiphol to Keukenhof. Which is the route I choose when I visited in 2016. The bus ride only takes 20 minutes. So, if you have some hours to kill at a stopover – you know what to do! There’s also busses from Haarlem and Leiden. And it’s around 40 minutes from Amsterdam city centre if you choose to go by car.

Keukenhof is really big! The garden is 32 hectares (/79 acres). Average visitors per day are as much as 26.000! I had an amazing time when I was there, and it’s something I recommend everyone to do when visiting the Netherlands. Either if you have a stopover waiting for your next flight at Schiphol, or as a must do when visiting the Netherlands for the first time. Does strolling around in the beautiful gardens, eating a stroopwafle and enjoying the sun sound tempting? Then you should book your tickets to Keukenhof by pressing here.

Go to the North Sea: Zandvoort

The Netherlands have 250 km worth of beaches, dunes and great seaside towns. Zandvoort is a great place that’s really close to Amsterdam. It takes just 45 minutes by car, or 25 minutes by train! It’s one of the major beach resorts of the Netherlands.

You can do all kinds of water sports there. Enjoy the sun at a chill lounge by the beach. Suck up the sun from a sun chair. Or just a towel straight at the sand. It’s really worth a trip here if you’re visiting Amsterdam in the summer months. Spending a day at the borders of the North Sea is a really great way to get out of the city. Do you love to swim? The water temperatures can get up to 16-20 °C  (61 to 68°F) in the summer.

Spend some hours on a boat on the canals

When thinking about the Netherlands, I guess the canals are one of the first things that come to mind, am I right? To do a sightseeing on the canals and see Amsterdam from this angle is a must do. You can either go on big boat tours. Check out Canal Cruises from iamsterdam for possibilities to book. Or, you can rent a boat on your own. I’ve done that once. With a group of friends. And it was some unforgettable hours. As far as I know everyone are allowed to rent boats. But remember to be careful and follow the rules (stop for all vessels on your starboard side (right side) is at least the minimal what you should know). Anyhow, I would recommend that you have some experience before renting a boat on your own. It’s quite busy in the canals with MANY boats. And the fact that you can’t see much at a crossing before you’re actually there, makes it quite challenging. The high walls of the canals make it quite different to navigate compared to the open sea. We had many situations where we came out from under one of the many bridges crossing the canals, and had to go full astern to stop for another boat coming in on our port side at full speed – not following the rules. When that is said, I must point out that we had a great time. We brought food and drinks to the boat. And saw the whole city of Amsterdam from a new and fun side. If the weather is nice, you can expect there to be even more boats on the canals. And at days like Koningsdag, it will be completely full. So full that you might not be able to move at all! Then joining an organised tour or seeing it all from the streets might be better.

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See a traditional windmill

Another must do when visiting the Netherlands is to go see one of the traditional windmills. There are 8 windmills in and around Amsterdam that you can easily go to. Around the whole country the windmills can be seen as part of the landscape. You can also go on a windmill spotting tour. Book it here.

We hope you liked our small guide to Amsterdam. It’s a great country to visit all year around. But especially in the spring and summer time it’s amazing.

Every time I visit a new country I always try out local food and drinks. Do you do this too? I really recommend you to visit a pancake house. Eat lots of stroopwafels (or try out Stroopwafel ice cream). Drink beers at one of the many bars. And order bitterballen as snacks. Have a kroket. And really try to be one of the locals while visiting Amsterdam.

We’ll write a post about other parts of the Netherlands later if you’re interested, so come back to read more! And if you want more tips on travelling to the Netherlands, feel free to send us an email! We’d love to help.