# Amsterdam in September 08



## nursepalmer (Jan 30, 2008)

Good Day 
We want to go on vacation in September with another couple both our 25th Anniversaries, we were considering Amsterdam. How is the weather in September?
If the any of the 7 RCI resorts are available which is the best for location and type?
Where is the best location to stay in Amsterdam?

Also, can anyone recommend any of the RCI resorts that are available listed on RCI, or if they are available? 
Sometimes you can't get anything that you see.

Looking to go the week after labor day.
If no RCI's are available, can anyone recommend a nice Bed and Breakfast?
Thanks, this would be our first Europe trip, so many questions.
Support is appreciated.
dp


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## Carolinian (Jan 31, 2008)

The closest resort to Amsterdam is NH Hotel Zandvoort, which is across the street from the beach a short train ride from Amsterdam.  It is the most convenient for seeing Amsterdam, but has only a handful of timeshare units as most of the building operates as a hotel.

September should be pleasant weather in Amsterdam.

Since you will be going after July 1, you will be whacked by the big new air departure tax that the center-left government has just passed for the stated purpose of discouraging air travel in order to ''save the planet''.  To avoid that, you can fly open jaws, into Amsterdam and out of Germany or Belgium, taking the train between the two.


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## Jimster (Jan 31, 2008)

*tax*

I agree with Carolinian except I would suggest you open jaw and depart from Paris that way you'll probably not only get less tax but the fares are better and you get to see at least briefly, Paris.


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## PStreet1 (Jan 31, 2008)

If you use Priceline.com and bid for a hotel in Amsterdam, you can get a 4star hotel, probably the Marriott, for $100.00 a night or less.  It will be located right in the heart of Amsterdam at a wonderful spot.  When you consider maint. fees for the timeshare and the European exchange fee, the $700.00 for a week is a bargain.  Of course, your friends would have to do the same.  Using Priceline.com, you won't know exactly which hotel you'll have, but you will know the *rating and you'll know the location within a few blocks.  You really can't lose.  In addition, you'll be dealing in dollars and all taxes will be paid.  The 4* hotels we've used in Europe have been very nice.


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## nursepalmer (Feb 16, 2008)

Carolina and Jimster, thank you for your reply.
Now for travel. I have never been to the Netherlands, I don't know what "open jaw" is .  From what I am understanding we would flying into Amsterdam and fly out of Paris?  Is open jaw a type of flight?


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## Jimster (Feb 16, 2008)

*amsterdam*

Yes, that is what I would suggest(and that is what an open jaw is-start travel to one city depart out of another).  That way you would avoid any departure tax from Amsterdam.  Depending on what train you take, it is just a few hours from Amsterdam to Paris.  I just made that trip last year.  It is also a nice comfortable trip.

BTW The way you book that with the airlines is to use the multiple cities option (at least on United).  I think its under advanced when you go to the web booking site.  OR you can call the airline and let them help you with it.  I think most airlines allow at least an open jaw when traveling.  American allows and open jaw AND a stop over.  So, for example in my upcoming trip to Ireland, on American, I fly into Dublin, find other transportation to Edinburgh, then fly out of Edinburgh stopover in London for a few days and then fly home to Chicago from London.  This is all done on one award ticket and everything is included except my flight from Dublin to Edinburgh which I am using a LCC.  I think award tickets are the easiest to use for open jaws.


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## nursepalmer (Feb 16, 2008)

oh good you can help be use my award ticket, I have United awards to use up.
I can fly out of Boston, BDL, or Providence
Going back to Amsterdam, which is one place we want to see
I can get Timeshare weeks at
8141	Landal Sluftervallei**	De Cocksdorp,* ,*NL	
8143	Landal Aelderholt*	Aalden,* ,*NL	
8144	Landal Coldenhove*	Eerbeek, , NL	
8145	Landal Hoog Vaals	             Vaals, NL	

in August or September on these only. Which location would give me the most central location for touring the Netherlands, and suggestions on what areas to see.
Thanks for your quick feedback.
I would appreciate feedback if anyone stayed at any of these places.
Diane


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## Jimster (Feb 16, 2008)

*amsterdam*

I have never stayed at any of these although if you do a search on this bbs you will find comments about them.  I know because I have considered them but did not pull the trigger.  As for which of these would serve your interests better, it highly depends on what you want to see.  I don't believe any of them is close to Amsterdam, but it is a small country.  I would look around each of these areas to see if there are other things you'd like to see ie Delft and Haarlem.  Again depending on time, I would suggest the ancient city of Brugges in Belgium on your trip toward Paris- or maybe you want to use all your time in Paris.
As to ff tickets, you should have booked those yesterday.  Do not put off trying for them.  I booked mine 11 months out.  Just because you have the miles doesn't mean there will be availablity.
Finally, I'd suggest you join Tug.  The fee is nominal and the benefits are great.  You will be able to search the resort review data base and get lots of information which would otherwise be unavailable to you.


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## sml2181 (Feb 16, 2008)

You have gotten some great advice already - just couldn't resist to add my humble opinions.

If you are going to use any of the Landal Greenpark resorts, and you want to have the "most central location", the only one is Coldenhoven. It is 1.5-2 hours to Amsterdam though. The other resorts will take more time to and from Amsterdam. 

The Zandvoort timeshare is indeed (much) closer.

Having said that - I would consider other options as well. 

Looking at the Landal Greenpark website, for a full week starting September 1 or 5, a 3 bedroom unit will cost you 550 Euro, that does not include any discounts they give (senior, children, multiple weeks stay.) I think they will ask you to pay a fee for cleaning or sheets, but they will ask you to pay the same fee when you use the resorts through RCI.
Usually these weeks sell for very cheap, there are no school holidays then. I would not even book these now, because they will get cheaper - the resorts will be practically empty in September. (Right now, I have a discount coupon which will save 30% - it expires today but there will be plenty of these later - just to give you an indication.

If you would like to stay in the Zandvoort area, the RCI resort is in a hotel, which is considered to be a so-so hotel. But, it faces the beach. Less than a mile from there, there is a resort from www.centerparcs.com , it has the small houses with kitchen, a pool, supermarket and restaurants. They provide a shuttle to Zandvoort station - at least on certain days but from my own experience, if you ask nicely, they do this on other days as well, from where you can take the direct train to Amsterdam.  Cheapest price for the first week in September for a 3 bedroom unit is 689 Euro, excluding any discounts they may give. I wouldn't book this resort now unless you can use any of their discounts - many discounts will come later - this resort will also be very empty by then.

We have stayed at this Centerparc Zandvoort resort 3 times for 6 weeks, when we were remodelling our home - and although it is not luxurious in any way, we would definitely consider doing that again - but we have children who like the pools, the bowling and such. (DH travels to Amsterdam every day and I do 3 days a week - very easy by car and also by train. You can also rent bikes at the resort.) Zandvoort = Amsterdam is 20 to 30 minutes by car, you are relatively close to Leiden, Delft, The Hague, Scheveningen, and 5 minutes or so from Zandvoort, you will be in the most beautiful area of Holland, Bloemendaal, Aerdenhout are very nice and pretty villages (Here you can see that some Europeans live in large multi million homes as well.) Haarlem is also pretty close. And Zandvoort does have a casino. One of the best restaurants in the country is located only 2 miles or so from this resort. It has 2 Michelin Stars.

If you want to stay IN Amsterdam, please just go for the Marriott or Hilton on Priceline. The Marriott is nice (not the best Marriott in the world but still really nice) and in a what I would consider one of the greatest locations. Very close to the museums, Leidse Square, Vondelpark, restaurants, shopping, it really has a central location. I just heard from people that they paid 81$ a night. You can't beat that rate. But please also consider that Amsterdam really has gotten pretty expensive. (We just had lunch today at a normal, not fancy restaurant in the Marriott neighbourhood and we paid 150 Euro for the 2 of us, only 2 simple courses and 4 drinks.) That did not include the tip. At most places, a beer or so will cost you like 4 Euro, a soft drink anywhere between 2.50 - 4.50 Euro. But of course there are many supermarkets, and other places where you can get these things for less, you just have to know and explore a little.
(My best friend's brother, from Orlando, is here right now and he managed to spend 300 Euro in one day, doing some museums and lunch and dinner ALONE. He freaked out but I think the 300 Euro is excessive.)

As for flight tickets, I think it is always worth checking out all prices from all airlines - our friends are flying in August, to Amsterdam from LAX and including all these ridiculous taxes, these were the cheapest flights they could find - Delta. Having said that - if you will start or end your travels in Paris or in any other city/country, I surely would do the "multiple destinations" bookings. 

Sorry for the long post  .


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## PStreet1 (Feb 18, 2008)

Since frequent flyer tickets may not work out for you, you might consider flying into a relatively inexpensive European hub.  In September, flights to Germany are usually inexpensive---around $400.00 round trip, including taxes.  Then you could use the low cost European airlines to go to your city of choice.

Timesharing in Europe is difficult because most timeshares are out of the cities, and most tourists really want to see the cities.  London, Paris, Dublin, Rome, Edinbourgh, and Venice do have timeshares in the cities, but getting an exchange to one of them is difficult and generally requires a long time in advance or else true last minute (within a month).  As I said, we'd have excellent results from using Priceline and bidding on 4* hotels in the cities; we've always managed a 4* for under $100.00 (dollars, not Euros) a night.  Remember that transportation in Europe isn't particularly cheap.  Commuting into the cities from the outskirts will cost you quite a bit per day; you might very well save quite a bit of money by staying at a centrally located hotel in the city.


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