HOLLAND IN SPRINGTIME

25 April 2025

4 Days / 3 Nights

Golden Tulip / Tulip Inn Leiden

£825 per person sharing

£975 pp in single room

What’s included:

• Return flights Belfast City – Amsterdam

• Hand luggage allowance – See below for details

• Return transportation by train direct to hotel

• 3 nights at the Golden Tulip / Tulip Inn Leiden

• Bed & breakfast with two evening meals 

• Full day excursion by coach to Keukenhof

• Full-day excursion to Amsterdam - Kings Day,                    with guided walking tour (2 hours approx)

• Escorted throughout by Alan Couser

• Tips to dining staff.

• Full ATOL Protection.

Please note that some of the detail may change slightly.

Flight details: 

25 Apr 2025 KLM     

Dep. Belfast City 17.20 Arr. Amsterdam 19.55

28 April 2024 KLM  

Dep. Amsterdam 20.50 Arr. Belfast City  21.20

Baggage allowance 1 piece hand luggage per person

(Max weight limit - 12 kgs . Max size 55 x 35 x 25cm)

Plus one small personal item, 40 x 30 x 15cm

Hotel details:

4* Golden Tulip Hotel, Leiden. - Tulip Inn, Leiden

A modern, first-class hotel located right in the heart of Leiden, The Golden Tulip offers speedy transportation to the centre of Amsterdam, the airport and the gardens of Keukenhof.. The restaurant offers a superb breakfast and dinner and you will definitely not be disappointed. There are also various other food outlets just outside the hotel. Each hotel room has air-con / heating and offer tea/coffee facilities and minibar, flat-screen TV and modern bathroom with walk-in shower.

All single rooms will be in the Tulip Inn, which shares a reception area and restaurant with the Golden Tulip. We stayed here a couple of years ago and it was superb! Ideal location, comfortable rooms and so quiet, compared to the hustle and bustle of Amsterdam.

Tour Details:

Friday, 25 April 2025 – Arrive Amsterdam 7.55pm

After arrival at Amsterdam Airport, we will transfer by train directly to the hotel, which is opposite the station. Journey time is around 20 minutes.

  Due to the lateness of the hour, we highly recommend you having something to eat either prior to your flight or during it. For “late birds” there is a host of restaurants, bars and take-aways within a few minutes of the hotel for a late-night snack or drink. There are also great outlets at Amsterdam airport, which you could visit quickly before the train journey.

Saturday, 26 April 2025

Optional morning excursion to Rotterdam.

Rotterdam was flattened during the second World War but re-emerged as one of the busiest port cities in Europe. For many years it was rather lifeless but in recent times it has exploded into a “happening” city, with exciting architecture, great street life and riverside action. One of the most magnificent market halls in the world has been built here, with great spots for food and drink. Join a guided walking tour at 10.30am (2 hours, €10) or simply relax and enjoy your morning in this amazing city. Our train returns to Leiden around 2.00pm / 2.30pm and you have the afternoon free to enjoy this beautiful city.

Alternative Return Journey. (No extra cost)

Instead of returning straightaway to Leiden, take a short side-trip to Delft for a couple of hours. You can then take the train back to Leiden at your leisure. Leiden itself, is a beautiful city, worth spending some time in.

Dinner is included this evening at a local restaurant.

Sunday, 27 April 2025 - Kings Day

Full-day excursion to Amsterdam.

Today we set off around 10.00 for the 35-minute ride by train to the centre of Amsterdam. On arrival, we will embark on a short walking tour lasting around two hours at a leisurely pace. Today is a public holiday in the Netherlands, in honour of the Kings Birthday. Celebrations are in full swing throughout the country, starting the previous evening and running until late afternoon in Amsterdam. Enjoy the reverie and stop off for a snack or a drink. The main shops are all closed but you would have had plenty of opportunity to shop on Saturday.

Please note that most public transport, other than a limited metro servie are suspended for Kings Day.

We will meet again in the early evening outside the Main Station (Centraal). Alan will take you to his secret dining venue, loved by locals and hardly known to tourists. Here you will enjoy a two-course evening meal (main and dessert). You can add a starter, if you wish, at your own cost.

After dinner, we will return to our hotel in Leiden.

Monday, 28 April 2025

Full-day visit to Keukenhof Flower Gardens

It is always busy at the weekends, so we will leave our visit until the Monday, when it is much quieter. We will set off shortly after breakfast to beat the crowds, enabling you to enjoy as much time as you wish at the beautiful Keukenhof Gardens. Our journey is by regular shuttle bus from the station opposite the hotel, direct to Keukenhof. You should spend about four or five hours there to enjoy the park, learning about its history and its current “raison d’etre”. Why not bring a picnic and enjoy it on one of the many benches, set amongst acres of flowers!....or you can eat at one of the several cafes and restaurants, which are surprisingly quite well priced. Sit a while and lilt along to the music of the beautiful Amsterdam street organ.....and don’t forget to buy some bulbs! There will be a set time, around 3.00pm to travel back to Leiden with your guide, Alan. Or, you can stay a while longer and catch a suitable shuttle back to the hotel at your leisure.

We will depart the hotel at around 6.00pm or slightly earlier for Amsterdam Airport, allowing plenty of time for Security and something to eat.

Amsterdam on your own (£10 extra for train)

Instead of Rotterdam, Delft and Leiden

If you would prefer another day in Amsterdam, this may be an opportunity to visit one of its famous museums, such as Anne Frank House, Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum.

Anne Frank House CAN ONLY be booked on their website, two months in advance. We do not make the bookings but you can do so at www.annefrank.org/en/museum/tickets

Notes:

Luggage:

As this tour is only for three nights and only casual clothes are required, we have priced this holiday based on “Hand Luggage Only”. We will fly with KLM  from Belfast City and we have included a generous hand-luggage allowance. Everyone is allowed one piece of luggage, with maximum dimensions of 55cm x 35cm x 25cm. and weighing less than 12kgs. A small handbag also permitted.

Dress Code.  This is a very casual tour, so no need to dress up. Evening dining is also casual. Good walking shoes are essential, as is wet-weather gear in case we are unlucky to encounter some Dutch rain. It makes the flowers grow!

Tipping. Tips for the waiting staff in the hotel and the restaurant staff have been included in the cost of your holiday. It is, however, customary to leave a tip in your room for cleaning staff, approx €2 €3 per person, per day (€6 - €10 for the weekend). This is by no means compulsory and is at your own discretion. If you order a drink or a meal at a café or restaurant, a tip of approximately 5 - 10% is customary.

Bicycles – VERY IMPORTANT

There are more bikes than people in Amsterdam and in the Netherlands, in general! On the cycle-lanes, which are well marked and usually red in colour, they have right of way over pedestrians and cars, etc. If you get knocked down or injured on one of these cycle lanes, it is deemed as your fault and, if the cyclist is injured or his/her bike damaged, you could be held liable. We simply urge extreme caution

Security of valuables. Amsterdam is full of tourists and, where there are tourists, there are pickpockets. We urge you to use the safe in the hotel for all your valuables and only carry the bare essentials. What you carry with you should be kept in an inside pocket or a double-zipped enclosure in your handbag. Once again, we simply urge caution.