Planning a 6-Day Amsterdam Trip (And Why We Chose Slow Travel)
How did we decide on six days in Amsterdam? Well, this trip originally started a few months earlier when my sister, cousin, and I kept talking about wanting to do a cousins’ trip, which eventually evolved into, “We should do a mom-and-daughter trip.” The next question quickly became: where?
At that point, the trip would’ve been for five people total. I had just wrapped up my South America trip, and after weeks of constantly moving around, I knew I didn’t want this trip to feel hectic or overplanned, especially with our moms joining us. That just wasn’t the vibe we were going for. We wanted something relaxing, charming, picturesque, and casual, more long walks, beautiful views, shopping, dining, and simply existing in a place rather than rushing around trying to check off ten “must-see” tourist attractions every day.
We threw around a lot of ideas. I thought the moms would love Cartagena, colorful, lively, and full of great food. I suggested Scotland simply because I’ve been dying to go myself and will take any opportunity to throw it into a suggestion pile. Then there was London, my personal favorite city. If I could move anywhere tomorrow, it would probably be London. Of course, there was also Italy, which is always tempting. My parents had recently returned from a family trip through the Amalfi Coast, and hearing about it immediately put it on my radar for the future.
Coming back to this trip, though, we knew we wanted to travel sometime around March or April. Another factor: while I loved traveling through South and Central America, by the end of those trips I realized how much I missed the ease of destinations where transportation, logistics, and day-to-day planning felt simpler. I wanted a trip where we could just exist without constantly having to problem-solve.
As one does when looking for travel inspiration, we all went to Instagram and started scrolling. Thankfully, we quickly fell in love with the idea of tulip season in Amsterdam. I had already researched Amsterdam for another trip that ended up changing course, so I knew the city was well connected and had plenty of day-trip opportunities. The canals, riverboats, cafés, and walkable neighborhoods all sounded exactly like the pace we wanted.
After making the decision, though, both of our moms ended up not being able to join the trip. Suddenly, the mother-daughter trip became a cousins’ trip instead, which we were still excited about. I see my sister every day, but we only get to see our cousin once or twice a year, so we were looking forward to having this experience together.
Once it became just the three of us, we had to go back to the drawing board a little and rethink hotels. A lot of hotel rooms claim they can fit three people, but then you look closer and realize one person is ending up on a questionable pull-out sofa or three tiny twin beds squeezed into a room with barely enough space to walk around, let alone open three suitcases. Since we were staying for six days, we wanted enough room to actually settle in a bit.
Eventually, we found a hotel with somewhat mixed reviews. It seemed like the property was in the middle of renovations or possibly even changing ownership. Some reviews raved about the location, close to tram lines, the metro, and major areas of the city, while others mentioned occasional noise or some confusion during the remodeling process.
The final decision somehow landed on me, and I basically said: the location is too good to pass up, the price works, and the booking is refundable, so let’s just go for it. Once I made the reservation, I’m pretty sure nobody even looked at another hotel afterward. We could finally move on to the fun part: figuring out what exactly we were going to do in Amsterdam for six days.
It turned out to be a fantastic choice. Yes, there was some remodeling happening during our stay, but the noise was minimal and mostly during the daytime. Unless you planned on spending the entire day in your room or sleeping in late every morning, you probably wouldn’t even notice it. By the end of the trip, I weirdly felt invested in their renovation progress and was genuinely excited to see parts of the lobby and reception area coming together before we left.
We stayed at Hotel Boutique De Pijp, and we absolutely loved the neighborhood vibe of De Pijp. It felt tranquil and residential in the best way possible, with locals simply going about their day and the greenery of Sarphatipark directly across the street from the hotel.
Even though the walk to Dam Square was about 35 minutes, we had no problem starting most mornings by walking to wherever we planned to begin the day. Amsterdam is one of those cities where the walk itself becomes part of the experience. The streets are full of canals, trees, cafés, safe sidewalks, and photo opportunities around almost every corner. Honestly, some mornings the walk took much longer than expected because we kept stopping to look at stores, grab coffee, or photograph yet another canal.
After long days of sightseeing, we would usually take the tram back to the hotel, which was typically only about a 10–15 minute ride depending on where we were. Both the metro and tram systems were incredibly easy to navigate and even easier to pay for. You simply tap your card when entering and exiting the tram or metro, just make sure you use the same card both times. We never felt the need to worry about day passes or rely heavily on Ubers because the location of our hotel worked perfectly for the rhythm of our trip. In fact, I think we only used Uber once during the entire six-day stay, and that was the morning of our tulip day trip because we were running a little behind schedule.
The location truly could not have been better. We were close to tram lines that connected us to Central Station, the bus station for Keukenhof, and Dam Square. We were also only a short walk from the Albert Cuyp Market in De Pijp, which quickly became one of my favorite neighborhoods in the city. It felt lively without being overwhelming, with plenty of cafés and restaurant options nearby. The room itself was spacious by European standards: one queen bed, one twin bed, a decent-sized bathroom, and enough room for three open suitcases without feeling cramped. For a six-night stay, that made a huge difference.
At that point, we finally had the foundation of the trip figured out: a slower-paced city, a great neighborhood, and enough time to experience Amsterdam without feeling rushed. Now we just had to figure out how we actually wanted to spend six days there.
And somehow, once we started planning, those six days filled up much faster than we expected. Between tulip season, day trips, museums, canal cruises, walking tours, vintage shopping, and simply wandering through different neighborhoods, we quickly realized Amsterdam rewards slower travel far more than rushed itineraries. You can read the full breakdown of everything we did and why I think Amsterdam deserves more time than most people give it, Why Amsterdam Needs More Time Than You Think.