Provincie Utrecht Travel Forum

My boyfriend and I will be staying in Utrecht from 21st - 28th September. Do you know of any tour operators in Utrecht who organise tours to places like Delft, Edam, Volendam etc. I found a great tour operator: Keytours Holland but all their tours leave from Amsterdam and it will be more expensive as we have to take the train to Amsterdam everyday.

Hi
you could get a 5-return ticket Utrecht-Amsterdam for 5 days for 51.30 euro per person. Hopefully that is not too much a strain on your budget.
Or you could organise your own trips and take the train and bus. Edam for instance is 98 minutes with train and bus.

Dutch railway: www.ns.nl (click on the English version link)

Don't bother with a tour operator. Most places are quite easy to reach with public transport and all have tourist information offices where they can provide you with all you want to know.

You can also browse VT here. All places you mention are well documented here. And there are many more places of interest. Browse trhough the tips on the Netherlands and the tips of the places themsleves and you'll have a great time even before you arrive here

<Browse trhough the tips on the Netherlands and the tips of the places themsleves>

I second that wholeheartedly!

Is it wise to organise the Grand Holland tour alone aswell? We'll be visiting The Hague, Rotterdam, Delft, Madurodam and Sheveningen. I want to see the Girl with the Pearl Earring painting.

And also, is it wise to tour by bus (since most places are appr. 20mins apart)? We are trying to cut the costs as much as possible :)

Don't do ANY tour with a touroperator. It restricts your experience and will not let you enjoy the places you visit optimally. Yes, the cities you mention aren't very far from each other but you'll miss out on very much if you try to cramp them in a daytour.

The girl with the pearl earring you can find in the Mauritshuis (www.mauritshuis.nl) a museum in the Hague.