Euro(Road)Trip: Amsterdam

We wouldn’t be the Oliver family if we didn’t set our sights high and aim for not only visiting one country, but five countries over the course of two weeks. As is standard these days, our initial research for our next vacation consisted of searching for “best destinations to visit with young kids”. To our pleasant surprise, Amsterdam topped several lists and that, friends, is where our Euro(road) trip in 2024 began.

Accommodations: We highly recommend a stay at The Albus. They answered all of our questions, gave the girls welcome packages with small coloring books and games, and even helped us fix our wagon a few days into our stay when it lost some of the screws.

Day 1

In the spring of 2024, we started our big family vacation by taking an overnight flight to Manchester and then a 90-minute flight over to Amsterdam, landing us in the city around 4:00 PM. From the airport, we hopped on a train that took us Amsterdam Centraal Station and then walked the mile to our hotel. Looking back, go us for trekking a mile with 4 suitcases and 4 backpacks while pushing a wagon containing very jetlagged 3- and 5-year-olds!

Two children sleeping in a stroller at an airport, surrounded by colorful jackets and a backpack.

A smiling man and a young girl, both sitting on a bench in a colorful environment with stripes and graffiti art in the background.

After we checked in and dropped our bags off, we walked over to De Carrousel Wetering Circuit. This restaurant was a huge hit with the family. They not only served a large variety of pancakes and poffertje (traditional Dutch mini pancakes), but a carousel was the centerpiece of the building.

Menu from Pannenkoekenhuis De Carrousel in Amsterdam, featuring various Dutch specialties like poffertjes, pancakes, and Brussels waffles, with prices listed for each item.

A dessert plate featuring powdered sugar-dusted dough balls, a serving of whipped cream, banana slices, and a small cup of chocolate sauce.

After a great meal, we went back to the hotel where we attempted to sleep…

With attempt…

After attempt…

Thanks, jetlag.

Day 2

The following day, we slept in until 10:30 AM before walking over to Coco’s Corner for brunch. From there, we walked over to Rembrandt Square where we enjoyed our pesto chicken and crispy bacon sandwiches, muffins, smoothies, and coffee.

After getting our fill of carbs in Rembrandt Square, we explored the city and then found ourselves at Amsterdam Palace in Dam Square.

What we didn’t expect was this area becoming one of our favorite stops the entire trip. Our girls fell in love with the pigeons and ended up asking to go visit them every day during our visit. Although we paid a local for some bird food when we first arrived, the girls quickly charmed their way into endless handfuls from people that just wanted to hear their squeals and laughter.

After well over an hour running around and feeding the pigeons, we walked to Kalverstraat to shop. Similar to other European cities, we were automatically drawn to the Lego Store and a store with rubber duckies, Mama Ducks Store.

The girls played a little bit in the stores and then we were back off to explore the city. Our youngest hopped in the wagon and within no time, passed out so we decided to sit down at Stoop and Stoop eetcafe for a drink.

After a very relaxing stop and a reenergized 3-year-old, we were off to dinner at 5 Terre Ristorante Italiano and then to a canal tour via Rederij Kooij. The tour was at sunset, and it was a great opportunity to see the city from one of Amsterdam’s most iconic vantage points: the canals.

Day 3

On our third day in Amsterdam, we decided to…leave Amsterdam. And for good reason: we were headed to Lisse for the world‑famous Keukenhof Tulip Festival. To get there, we took a train from Amsterdam Centraal to Schipol. Once at the airport, we found bus 858 which took us directly to the festival.

If you find yourself in Amsterdam in the spring, we highly recommend visiting this festival. This festival showcases one of the largest flower gardens in the world with over 7 million bulbs over 32 hectares. Although tulips were the main attraction, there were a ton of other flowers throughout the park.

The highlight of the festival for our girls wasn’t the flowers, but the amazing playground they had on the festival grounds. From the rope swing to the spring riders, we ended up staying there for a solid hour.

To get back to Amsterdam, we took bus 858 back to Schipol, Zuid, and then Rokin. From there we had dinner at Ter Marsch & Co, a delicious spot for burgers.

Since it was our last night in Amsterdam, we had to return to the pigeons so we did just that.

From the square, we went to Madame Tussauds and then wrapped up the evening with stroopwafels from Van Wonderen Stroopwafels.

A hand holding a large stroopwafel with a chocolate and decorative topping, in front of a shop window displaying the name 'van Wonderen Stroopwafels' and colorful hot air balloons.

A young girl with chocolate on her face smiles in front of a shop window displaying decorative items and a chandelier. The sign above reads 'van Wonderen Stroopwafels.'

Day 3.5

During our final morning in Amsterdam, we headed over to Blin Queen for breakfast. The food was delicious and the perfect way to wrap up our last morning in this incredible city.

Overall feelings about Amsterdam

We loved exploring Amsterdam! Not only did we enjoy the food and the architecture, we also felt it was a great place to visit with young children. If you have the opportunity to visit, we highly recommend going during the spring so you can visit the Keukenhof Tulip Festival. We can definitely see ourselves visiting again in the future.

For more about our Euro(Road)Trip, visit “Everything is AWESOME” at Legoland and Lalandia – Oliver Family Adventures.