Step 1 – Roundtrip Flights & Locations

Like with most abroad trip planning, I started out with securing my roundtrip flight and researching which cities we would want to stay in. Huge, huge bonus for me was that I booked my roundtrip flights completely using credit card points and zero dollars on my end. If I were to have paid for roundtrip tickets from Philly to Amsterdam, it would have cost me $700-900. There was also a special going at the time I booked this trip, so I didn’t have to spend nearly as many points on these tickets either – double bonus!

With an overnight flight into Amsterdam, that would get me there April 15 around 12:45pm. The first day is usually a “get adjust to the time change the best I can” kind of day. We would spend 3 nights in Amsterdam with some day trips sprinkled in before moving on to the next location, Bruges, Belgium. I initially thought we would stay in Brussels but after research, people highly recommended Bruges over Brussels – and after experiencing this firsthand, I 1000% agree. We spent 2 nights in Bruges with a day trip before heading to Brussels for one night, then back to Amsterdam for one night.

It was more cost effective to go in and out of Amsterdam instead of leaving from a different location. Also, all the cities we stayed in were not that far from one another, about 1-3 hour train ride depending where you were going.

Step 2 – Lodging

Now I am not frugal but I am also not a big spender when it comes to lodging. I prefer Airbnb’s when I go to Europe because it makes me feel more engrossed in the culture and it’s a lot more comfortable than a hotel room. We stayed in 4 separate places with 3 of them being an Airbnb. My biggest piece of advice when booking an Airbnb, is to pull up the map of where it is located and see how far it is from the things that are important to you – like bus stations, trains, activities, city center, etc. Especially because I don’t want to rent a car in Europe, it is of utmost importance to know how close my Airbnb is to a bus station that can take me closer to the city center.

I stayed in the city center in Mykonos at an Airbnb, and while it was convenient, I hated how busy the area was. So learning from that, I like to stay a little more on the outskirts of the city, but still accessible by a quick bus.

We stayed in one of the most unique Airbnb’s I’ve been to in Amsterdam being that it was on a houseboat on a canal! It was beyond peaceful and quaint – and for the price, it couldn’t be beat. For 3 nights, it was $653.80.

The Airbnb in Bruges was a private room and bathroom in a quiet neighborhood about a 25-minute walk from the train station, and a 12-minute walk from the city center. For 2 nights here, it was $317.18. Our last Airbnb in Brussels was a quick 8-minute walk from the train station situated in an apartment building right in the middle of the city center. I was hesitant but it was very secure. One night here was $189.84. The last night was back in Amsterdam at CitizenM right outside of the Schiphol Airport for maximum convenience. One night here was $257.65.

Step 3 – Local Transportation

Me + walkable cities + public transportation = true love. It’s true, there is nothing like being in a walkable city with reliable public transportation – and it’s cheap! Like most European trips, there was no need for a rental car. It seems intimidating, especially if you’re not used to using public transportation, but Google Maps is a lifesaver. It tells you what station to go to, which line to take, how many stops to take, and what stop to get off at – it has never let me down. Plus, most Airbnb hosts will tell you exactly how to get to their home by way of walking, train, or bus.

In Amsterdam, everything is tap-in/tap-out, meaning no need for a getting a ticket at a kiosk before getting on a train or bus. You just use the same credit card to tap-in to get on the train or bus you want, and you tap the same card as you exit. My phone wallet was used constantly for this, making travel super seamless. Once you get the hang of it once and get familiar with the area, you will be a public transportation pro in no time!

Getting to and from each city is also just as easy, you just may need to look at the train schedule ahead of time. From Amsterdam, we went to Bruges via train with 2 transfers and took about 3 hours for $66/person. I bought these in advance because I saw tickets were selling fast for the time we wanted to leave, but could easily be bought day of. The train from Bruges to Brussels was $19/person and Brussels to Amsterdam was $37/person. I used the NS International app for the trains and it was very helpful to buy tickets and track train statuses.

Step 4 – Activities

The final and most fun step in planning a trip is the activities! Like I mentioned at the beginning, this is one of the first time I didn’t fully plan an itinerary – just a baseline of where we were going to be. I was nervous going into this trip like that, but it turns out that I LOVED it this way. There were only a few things I booked ahead of time – Anne Frank House, Keukenhof Gardens, and an Amsterdam canal cruise. The Anne Frank House sells out quick, so I made sure to buy those ahead of time, same with Keukenhof Gardens for the tulips! The canal cruise definitely could have been booked during the trip as there are so many to choose from every day.