After eight nights in one of the most beautiful corners of Europe — the tulip fields and canals of the Netherlands, the medieval streets of Bruges, and the solemn Flemish fields where so much history was made — we arrive home with full hearts and lasting memories. Thank you for travelling with OregonWest Excursions.

Suggested arrival at Portland International Airport (PDX) — KLM international check-in; allow 3 hours before departure

Arrive Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) — KLM Flight 616 at 7:40 AM.

Hotel check-in — Radisson Blu Hotel Amsterdam (luggage stored on early arrival). Hotel rooms available from 3:00 PM.

Welcome Lunch at 11:00 AM.

Welcome Dinner at 5:45 PM.

After an overnight flight, we arrive in Amsterdam to a city that immediately rewards the senses — narrow canal houses reflected in dark water, bicycle bells in every direction, and the particular hum of one of Europe’s most beloved cities. We gather for a welcome lunch before settling into our hotel in the heart of the old city. The afternoon is yours to explore at your own pace — a stroll along the canal ring, a wander through a market, or simply a restful few hours before we come together this evening for our first group dinner.

We begin our first full day in Amsterdam the best possible way — aboard a private canal boat for a narrated cruise through the city’s legendary waterways. Gliding beneath centuries-old bridges and past the facades of Golden Age merchant houses, our guide brings the history of Amsterdam’s canals to life in a way no walking tour can match. We pass the exterior of the Anne Frank House on the Prinsengracht, see the grand warehouses of the Brouwersgracht, and follow the Amstel toward the harbor before returning to the Museum Quarter.

After lunch on your own near the Museumplein, we enter the Rijksmuseum for a private group guided tour. Our guide leads us through the Gallery of Honour, where Rembrandt’s The Night Watch commands its own grand salon and Vermeer’s The Milkmaid draws visitors from around the world. The Dutch Golden Age collection is among the finest in existence, and our guided visit ensures we see its highlights with full context and without the uncertainty of navigating the museum on our own.

The remainder of the afternoon and evening are yours to explore as you wish. Amsterdam’s neighborhoods — the Jordaan, the Nine Streets, Rembrandtplein — reward the unhurried walker, and dinner this evening is on your own at one of the countless excellent restaurants within easy reach of our hotel.

Overnight: Radisson Blu Hotel Amsterdam, Amsterdam

We say farewell to Amsterdam this morning and begin the journey south and west into Belgium — a drive that takes us through the flat Dutch countryside before crossing into the Dutch-speaking Flemish heartland. Our destination is Bruges, one of the best-preserved medieval cities in all of Europe and a place whose beauty seems almost too perfect to be real.

On arrival in Bruges we are immediately immersed in the city’s extraordinary character. The afternoon features a private walking food tour through the historic center, led by a local expert who guides us through Bruges’s centuries-old culinary traditions. Belgian chocolate, fresh waffles, perfectly fried frites, and a taste of local Bruges beer are all part of the experience as we wind through cobbled lanes and market squares.

After the tour, there is time to freshen up and settle into our hotel, which sits directly on the medieval Burg Square.

Tonight we gather for dinner at an authentic Flemish brasserie a short walk from our hotel — one of Bruges’s most beloved local restaurants, known for the classics of Belgian cuisine: mussels, fresh North Sea sole, and hearty Flemish stews.

Overnight: Crowne Plaza Brugge, Bruges

Today we make a day trip to Ypres — Ieper in Flemish — the city at the center of some of the most intense fighting of the First World War. On arrival we take a brief guided orientation walk around the Grote Markt and the remarkable Cloth Hall, a vast medieval monument almost entirely destroyed during the war and painstakingly rebuilt stone by stone in the years that followed. Our guide sets the scene for what we are about to experience, placing Ypres and the surrounding Salient in the context of the wider conflict.

We enter the In Flanders Fields Museum for a private group guided visit — widely regarded as one of the finest First World War museums in the world. Housed in the rebuilt Cloth Hall itself, the museum uses immersive multimedia exhibits, personal stories, and the iconic interactive Poppy Bracelet to bring the human experience of the Great War to life in a way that is both deeply informative and profoundly moving. The experience is not one easily forgotten.

After the museum, the afternoon is yours for lunch and quiet reflection in the cafes and squares around the Grote Markt before we return to Bruges.

We arrive back in Bruges with a relaxed afternoon ahead of us. The canals of Bruges in the late afternoon light are among the most beautiful sights in Belgium, and this is a rare opportunity to wander the city independently at your own pace. Dinner this evening is on your own — there is no shortage of excellent choices within easy walking distance of the hotel.

Overnight: Crowne Plaza Brugge, Bruges

We depart Bruges this morning and make a spirited stop in Antwerp — Belgium’s great port city and fashion capital — before continuing north to Amsterdam. Our time in Antwerp is centered on a hop-on hop-off city tour aboard the Antwerp Citytourbus, a seated touring experience that carries us past the city’s most celebrated landmarks: the magnificent Central Station, the Diamond District, the Rubens House, the Cathedral of Our Lady, the Grote Markt with its stunning guild houses, and the sweeping waterfront along the River Scheldt.

Our time in Antwerp is centered on a hop-on hop-off city tour aboard the Antwerp Citytourbus, a seated touring experience that carries us past the city’s most celebrated landmarks: the magnificent Central Station, the Diamond District, the Rubens House, the Cathedral of Our Lady, the Grote Markt with its stunning guild houses, and the sweeping waterfront along the River Scheldt.

After the tour we have time on our own near the Grote Markt — a perfect opportunity for lunch in one of Antwerp’s atmospheric brasseries or a browse through the streets around the cathedral.

We then continue north across the Belgian border into the Netherlands, arriving in Amsterdam in the mid-afternoon. After the past two days in Bruges and Ypres, it is good to be back in the Dutch capital, and our hotel in the old city center gives us an excellent base for the days ahead.

Tonight we come together for our welcome-back-to-Amsterdam dinner at a magnificent 15th-century building on the Nieuwmarkt — a former weigh house lit entirely by candlelight, with stone walls, carved beams, and an atmosphere unlike anywhere else in the city. It is one of Amsterdam’s most memorable dining venues, and a fitting celebration of our return.

Overnight: Radisson Blu Hotel Amsterdam, Amsterdam

Today offers one of the most celebrated experiences in all of the Netherlands: a morning at Keukenhof Gardens, the largest flower garden in the world. Seven million tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths bloom across 79 acres of parkland during the spring season, creating sweeping rivers of color that have to be seen to be believed. Paved paths wind through the garden in every direction, and benches are set throughout — this is a place designed for leisurely enjoyment, not hurried sightseeing. We explore at our own pace and come together for a group lunch on site before departing.

We explore at our own pace and come together for a group lunch on site before departing.

The afternoon brings us to the Van Gogh Museum for a private group guided tour — the most visited museum in the Netherlands and home to the largest collection of van Gogh’s work in the world. Our guide leads us through the masterpieces: The Potato Eaters, Sunflowers, Almond Blossom, The Bedroom, and the haunting self-portraits, connecting van Gogh’s life and letters to the canvases that made him immortal. There is a certain resonance to visiting this museum on the same day as Keukenhof — the painter who obsessed over flowers and colour, seen on the day we have been surrounded by both.

After the museum we make our way back to the hotel — a walk or tram ride through the canal ring. The evening is yours, with Amsterdam’s Rembrandtplein and Nieuwmarkt both within easy reach for dinner on your own.

Overnight: Radisson Blu Hotel Amsterdam, Amsterdam

This morning we step back several centuries at Zaanse Schans, a living open-air museum on the banks of the River Zaan just north of Amsterdam. The site preserves a collection of original 17th and 18th-century Dutch windmills, workshops, and houses in a setting that gives an immediate sense of what this part of the Netherlands looked like during the Golden Age. We begin with a visit to a working windmill — our guide explains how these engineering marvels ground spices, pressed oil, and sawed timber for a city being built on the water. We then move on to a clog-making workshop, where the ancient craft of carving wooden shoes is demonstrated from rough log to finished product, before visiting a traditional Dutch cheese farm where tastings await.

After the programme, there is free time at Zaanse Schans to wander the riverside, browse the craft shops, or find a coffee and a Dutch pancake at one of the on-site restaurants before we return to Amsterdam. The afternoon in the city is entirely free — a welcome chance to revisit a neighbourhood you loved, do some shopping, or simply enjoy a quiet few hours at the hotel before our evening out.

Tonight we walk together to dinner at one of Amsterdam’s most atmospheric restaurants — a collection of five interconnected 17th-century canal houses, often described as a culinary museum, with dining rooms decorated with original Rembrandt etchings, antique Delft blue tiles, and centuries-old gilt leather walls. The menu celebrates modern Dutch seasonal cuisine. It is a dinner that feels like the city itself: layered, beautiful, and deeply rooted in its own history.

Overnight: Radisson Blu Hotel Amsterdam, Amsterdam

We walk from the hotel to the Anne Frank House on the Prinsengracht for our timed group entry — the preserved hiding place where Anne Frank and seven others lived in concealment for more than two years during the Nazi occupation. The experience is deeply moving and not easily described; it is the kind of visit that stays with you long after you have left Amsterdam. We walk through at our own pace, guided by the audio commentary, with time to reflect.

We continue to the Hortus Botanicus — one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world, founded in 1638, and a place of remarkable tranquillity in the middle of the city. In April, the tulip and bulb garden is at or near its peak, and the three-climate greenhouse holds plants from every corner of the globe.

After the garden we make our way to the Rembrandt House Museum, where the great painter lived and worked for nearly 20 years. A guided visit takes us through the reconstructed studio and living quarters, and our guide connects the works on display to the man who created them.

Tonight we gather for our farewell dinner at a lively waterfront brasserie a short walk from the hotel, situated opposite Amsterdam’s Central Station with views over the IJ harbour. The menu is built on ingredients from Dutch soil and waters — a fitting final toast to the food and culture of the Low Countries.

Overnight: Radisson Blu Hotel Amsterdam, Amsterdam

Early breakfast at hotel.

Depart hotel by coach transfer to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

Depart Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) at 10:25 AM on KLM Flight 615 to Portland (PDX).

Arrive Portland International Airport (PDX) — welcome home.