Episode #47: Amsterdam With Kids: Anne Frank House, Canal Cruise & Layover Tips

Amsterdam was the sixth and final country of our 19-day family trip through Europe, and we almost did not get to see it at all.

Our original itinerary gave us about a six-hour layover in Amsterdam on the way home from Copenhagen to Las Vegas. We had planned to leave the airport, take the train into the city, visit the Anne Frank House, walk around for a few hours, and then head back to Schiphol Airport for our flight home.

While we were in southern Sweden, I got a message from KLM saying that our flight had changed. Instead of having about six hours in Amsterdam, we would now only have around a 90-minute connection.

That was not enough time to leave the airport, and honestly, 90 minutes already felt pretty tight for an international connection. I was really disappointed because I had already purchased our Anne Frank House tickets and had built our layover around that visit.

Instead of giving up, I called KLM and asked if there were any other options. They found a 6 a.m. flight from Copenhagen to Amsterdam that would give us about a nine-hour layover instead.

The downside was obvious. We would have to leave our Copenhagen apartment around 3:30 a.m. with five kids at the very end of a 19-day European trip.

The upside was that we would actually have more time in Amsterdam than we had originally planned.

We decided to do it, and I am so glad we did.

A Very Early Morning in Copenhagen

We packed everything the night before so we could move quickly in the morning. When the alarm went off around 3:30 a.m., we woke up five very tired kids, loaded up our luggage, returned our rental car, and headed into Copenhagen Airport.

One unexpected perk of the KLM schedule change was that the airline had given us airport credit as a way of making up for the inconvenience. I believe we each had around $40 to spend in the Copenhagen airport.

For a family of seven, that added up to a lot of credit.

Since it was around 4:30 or 5 in the morning, there was not much we really needed. We found a 7-Eleven in the airport and basically told the kids to pick whatever they wanted.

They were thrilled.

They grabbed drinks, snacks, candy, little toys, souvenirs, and anything else that looked fun. We ended up spending well over $200 in airport credit, and it actually worked out really well because we stocked up on snacks for the entire trip home to Las Vegas.

The kids had no idea why we had suddenly become so generous at an airport convenience store, but they were not going to question it.

Flying From Copenhagen to Amsterdam

Our flight to Amsterdam was short, and we landed at Schiphol Airport around 7:30 in the morning.

The kids did not get much sleep on the plane, and we could all feel how tired we were. We had been up since the middle of the night, but we reminded everyone that this was our final adventure before an 11-hour flight home.

One reason Amsterdam works so well for a long layover is how easy it is to get from Schiphol Airport into the city center.

The train station is directly connected to the airport, and the ride to Amsterdam Central is only about 15 minutes.

That makes a huge difference when you only have a few hours.

Storing Our Luggage at Schiphol Airport

Before getting on the train, we dealt with our luggage.

There was no way I wanted to drag all of our suitcases through Amsterdam.

We had already condensed what we needed into a couple of backpacks and my purse, so we stored our larger bags in luggage lockers at the airport.

This made the day so much easier.

If you are doing a long layover with kids, I highly recommend storing as much as possible. Keep your passports, medications, phones, wallets, chargers, and anything else you need with you, but leave the big bags behind.

You do not want to be pulling suitcases over bridges, through crowded streets, into restaurants, and around museums.

Once our luggage was stored, we headed to the train station and took the short ride into Amsterdam.

First Impressions of Amsterdam

As soon as we arrived in the city center, it felt worth the early morning.

Amsterdam immediately looked different from the other cities we had visited. There were canals everywhere, narrow buildings, bikes, bridges, houseboats, and so many little details that made the city feel unique.

Because our new flight had given us more time than we originally expected, we decided to add a canal cruise before our Anne Frank House reservation.

We had loved our canal tour in Copenhagen, and it felt like the perfect activity for a family that had been awake since 3:30 in the morning.

Taking an Amsterdam Canal Cruise

Our canal cruise did not start until around 9 a.m., so we had a little time to walk around before boarding.

Once we got on the boat, everyone was happy to sit down.

The canal cruise was a great way to see a lot of Amsterdam without asking the kids to walk nonstop. We could look at the architecture, bridges, houseboats, and city streets from the water while everyone rested.

Our younger kids were doing surprisingly well, but our two oldest eventually fell asleep on the boat.

I did not care.

At that point, the canal cruise was probably more for my husband and me anyway, and if they could squeeze in a little nap, that was a win.

That is something I have learned to accept when traveling with kids. They are not going to appreciate every moment exactly the way you want them to.

Sometimes they will sleep through the scenic boat ride. Sometimes they will care more about a playground than a castle. Sometimes they will be fascinated by bugs in the dirt while you are standing next to a major historical site.

They are still experiencing the trip, and sometimes letting them rest is the best thing you can do.

Seeing the Bridges of Amsterdam

One of the coolest things we saw from the water was a viewpoint where multiple bridges lined up perfectly.

From the right angle, you could look through one bridge and see bridge after bridge behind it, almost like a tunnel.

I was able to get some really fun photos and videos from the boat.

This is one reason I love canal tours in cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen. You get views you simply cannot see from the street, and it is a great way to combine sightseeing with a break.

Brunch in Amsterdam

After our canal cruise, we started walking again.

We had planned to visit one of the cathedrals, but it was closed, so we decided that was a good time to stop for food.

We found a place for a late breakfast or early lunch.

I ordered a traditional English-style breakfast with eggs, toast, beans, and other breakfast items. The kids ordered Dutch pancakes, which reminded us more of crepes than the thick pancakes we usually eat in the United States.

It was a nice break, and everyone was able to sit down, eat, and recharge.

When you are doing a layover day like this, I think it is important to pay attention to everyone’s energy.

The goal is not to squeeze in as many attractions as possible.

The goal is to experience the city without making everyone completely miserable before a long flight home.

Visiting Tony’s Chocolonely

After brunch, we headed over to Tony’s Chocolonely.

We had heard that you could create your own chocolate bar by choosing the type of chocolate and different mix-ins, which sounded like a really fun activity for the kids.

We asked how long it would take, and they said about three hours.

That was not going to work for us.

You make the chocolate bar, then return later once it has been prepared and set.

If you are spending a full day or several days in Amsterdam, this could be such a fun thing to do with kids. You could make your bar earlier in the day and come back later to pick it up.

We did not have enough time, so we just explored the store.

They had a really fun wall filled with chocolate bars where you could pull a lever and your bar would come out. There were also interactive displays for the kids.

We ended up buying a few variety packs so everyone could try different flavors while we kept walking.

It was the perfect quick stop.

Walking Through Amsterdam

We walked everywhere once we were in the city.

We did not take taxis or public transportation between attractions because the weather was nice and we had enough time.

Walking was also part of the experience.

We crossed bridges, walked along the canals, saw endless rows of bikes, and noticed little things we probably would have missed if we had gone directly from one attraction to another.

At one point, we saw the tiniest car I had ever seen.

We have Smart cars in the United States, but this thing made a Smart car look huge.

It appeared to have one seat, a steering wheel, and almost no space behind it.

The kids thought it was hilarious.

Eventually, we started making our way toward the main reason we wanted to visit Amsterdam in the first place.

The Anne Frank House.

How to Get Anne Frank House Tickets

If you want to visit the Anne Frank House, you need to plan ahead.

This is not an attraction where you should expect to walk up and purchase tickets.

Tickets are released online for specific time slots, and they can sell out quickly.

The schedule opens six weeks ahead of time on Tuesdays, so I had marked the release date and set an alarm so I could be online when our dates became available.

Because of the time difference, that meant I was up very late at night in Las Vegas trying to get our tickets.

I did not want to take any chances.

The Anne Frank House was the entire reason we were trying to leave the airport during our layover, so I needed to know we had a confirmed time.

We booked a 12:45 p.m. entry.

If you are planning your own visit, I would go directly to the official Anne Frank House website and look at the ticket release schedule well before your trip.

Preparing Our Kids for the Anne Frank House

One thing I think made a huge difference was that we prepared our kids before going.

We did not want the Anne Frank House to be their first introduction to the story.

In the weeks leading up to our trip, we read books, talked about Anne Frank, and explained what happened during the Holocaust in age-appropriate ways.

We also watched A Small Light, the National Geographic series about Miep Gies and the role she played in helping hide Anne Frank’s family and the others living in the Secret Annex.

My husband and I had watched the series before, but we watched it again with our older kids before the trip.

It gave them a much better understanding of who the people were, why the family was hiding, and what they were about to see.

That preparation made the actual visit much more meaningful.

Arriving at the Anne Frank House

We had 12:45 timed tickets.

When we arrived, there was already a line wrapping around part of the building.

I initially got in line, but an employee asked what time our tickets were. When I told him 12:45, he explained that we were too early and needed to wait.

The museum keeps entry very organized because the building and the Secret Annex are small.

We waited nearby until we were closer to our time and then joined the line.

Once we got inside, everyone received an audio device.

Even our younger children had their own devices, which I thought was great because it helped them stay engaged and understand what they were seeing.

Walking Through the Anne Frank House

This was easily the most meaningful part of our day.

It is hard to explain how different it feels to stand inside a place you have read about for years.

You are not looking at a replica.

You are standing in the actual building.

You walk through the business below.

You see the bookcase.

You walk into the Secret Annex.

You go through Anne’s room and the shared living spaces.

You see the rooms where eight people hid for more than two years.

Some original elements of the building have been preserved, including parts of the kitchen and other spaces that were there while the families were hiding.

There is something incredibly sobering about standing inside those rooms.

You start thinking about how small the space was, how quiet they had to be, and how long they lived that way.

As a parent, it was especially emotional.

I kept thinking about what it would mean to ask your children to stay hidden and quiet every day because their lives depended on it.

My 4 year old listening to the Anne Frank House tour information- kid friendly version :)

Visiting the Anne Frank House With Kids

I was really proud of how our kids handled the experience.

Our children ranged in age from four to twelve, and they were quiet, respectful, and engaged.

I think the Anne Frank House can absolutely be appropriate and meaningful for children, but I would prepare them before you go.

Read an age-appropriate book together.

Talk about Anne and her family.

Explain why they had to hide.

Talk about the Holocaust in a way that is appropriate for your child’s age.

Help them understand that this is not a normal museum visit.

When they already understand the story, walking through the actual rooms feels much more real.

Seeing Anne Frank’s Room

Walking into Anne’s room was especially moving.

She was a teenage girl living in hiding, writing about her thoughts, fears, frustrations, dreams, and hopes for the future.

Standing in that room made her story feel much more personal.

You realize how small their world became and how much uncertainty they lived with every day.

It was one of those travel experiences that stays with you long after the trip is over.

Seeing the Different Editions of Anne Frank’s Diary

Toward the end of the museum, there was a wall showing Anne Frank’s diary translated into languages from around the world.

I loved seeing all the different editions.

I was even able to find the cover of the version I remembered reading when I was younger.

That felt like a full-circle moment.

I had read her story as a child in the United States, and now I was standing inside the building where she wrote it while my own children were learning about her life.

Shopping at the Anne Frank House Gift Shop

The museum also has a gift shop, and they sell journals inspired by Anne’s red-and-white checked diary.

A couple of our kids wanted their own journals, so we bought some for them.

I loved that as a souvenir because it was connected to something meaningful they had just experienced.

After leaving the museum, we walked around the building to see the original exterior entrance connected to the business that operated there.

Because we had watched A Small Light and learned about the building before our visit, seeing the actual location helped everything come together.

Then we looked at the time and realized we needed to head back to the airport.

Getting Back to Schiphol Airport

We walked back toward Amsterdam Central Station and took the train back to Schiphol Airport.

Once we arrived, we collected our luggage from the lockers and started making our way through the airport.

At that point, I felt pretty good about our timing.

We had taken a canal cruise, walked through Amsterdam, eaten brunch, bought chocolate, visited the Anne Frank House, and made it back to the airport with plenty of time.

Then we hit passport control.

The 90-Minute Airport Line

The electronic passport-control system was not working normally during our visit, so everyone had to go through staffed passport-control lines.

The line was huge.

It ended up taking us around 90 minutes to get through.

At that point, our kids were done.

They had been awake since 3:30 in the morning. They had flown to another country, taken a train, walked through Amsterdam, gone on a canal cruise, toured the Anne Frank House, walked back to the train station, and now they were standing in a giant airport line.

They were losing it.

I have a funny video saved in my Amsterdam Instagram highlight that shows exactly what our family looked like by that point.

It was definitely not glamorous family travel.

Thankfully, we had planned enough extra time that we were still okay.

How Long of a Layover Do You Need to Leave Amsterdam Airport?

Based on our experience, I would personally want at least six hours before trying to leave Schiphol Airport with kids.

Even with six hours, I would keep the plan simple.

The train ride into the city is short, but there are many other things you need to account for.

You need time to get off your arriving flight, store luggage if necessary, get to the train station, wait for the train, travel into the city, get to your attraction, and then reverse the entire process.

You also need to allow plenty of time for passport control, security, train delays, bathroom stops, and anything else that could go wrong.

Our passport-control line alone took about 90 minutes.

I would much rather spend an extra hour sitting at the gate than be running through the airport with five kids trying to make an international flight.

What I Would Do With a Six-Hour Amsterdam Layover

If I had around six hours, I would choose one main activity.

For us, that would probably still be the Anne Frank House because that was the most important reason we wanted to visit Amsterdam.

You could also choose a canal cruise, walk through the historic center, grab something quick to eat, and then head back to the airport.

I would not try to recreate our full nine-hour itinerary with only six hours.

You do not need to.

Even getting a couple of hours in the city can be worth it if you are organized and comfortable with your timing.

If your layover is much shorter than six hours, especially with children, I personally would stay at the airport.

A 90-minute connection is definitely not the time to try something like this.

Why I Love Long Layovers

I think travelers often automatically search for the shortest possible connection.

Sometimes that makes sense.

But I also think long layovers can be an incredible travel opportunity.

You are already flying through the city.

You are already paying for the plane ticket.

You do not need to pay for another hotel or another flight.

If the airport is close enough to the city and the timing works, you may be able to experience another destination for very little additional cost.

That is exactly what Amsterdam became for us.

We did not add another hotel night.

We did not book another flight.

We simply changed our Copenhagen-to-Amsterdam flight after KLM changed our original itinerary.

That gave our family the chance to experience another country before heading home.

Our Sixth Country in 19 Days

Amsterdam was the sixth and final country of our 19-day European adventure.

By this point, we were exhausted.

The kids were exhausted.

We had been living out of suitcases for almost three weeks.

I would still do this layover again.

Of course I would love to return to Amsterdam and spend several days there. We barely scratched the surface of what the city has to offer.

But I do not look at our trip and think that we only had a few hours in Amsterdam.

I look at it as the fact that we got a few hours in Amsterdam.

We walked along the canals, took a boat ride, ate Dutch pancakes, tried chocolate, explored a new city, and most importantly, took our kids to the Anne Frank House.

That alone made the 3:30 a.m. wake-up worth it.

My Biggest Tips for an Amsterdam Layover With Kids

If you want to do something similar, plan your day around one thing that matters most to your family.

Book any timed attractions before the trip and build everything else around that reservation.

Store your luggage at the airport and carry as little as possible.

Use the train between Schiphol Airport and Amsterdam Central because it is fast and easy.

Choose at least one activity where everyone can sit down. Our canal cruise was perfect because we were still sightseeing while the kids rested.

Prepare your children before visiting serious historical sites like the Anne Frank House.

Most importantly, give yourself much more airport buffer than you think you need.

Do not plan based on the best-case scenario.

Assume you could hit a long line, delayed train, bathroom emergency, or airport issue.

If everything goes smoothly, you have extra time at the gate.

That is much better than missing your flight home.

Final Thoughts on Our Amsterdam Layover

Our nine-hour Amsterdam layover was such a perfect way to finish this trip.

Over 19 days, we visited six countries with five kids and used planes, trains, rental cars, boats, metros, and a lot of walking to get around.

Not everything went according to plan.

KLM changed our flight.

We had to wake up at 3:30 a.m.

Two kids slept through part of the canal cruise.

The cathedral we planned to visit was closed.

We did not have time to make personalized chocolate bars.

Then we spent around 90 minutes standing in an airport line.

None of that ruined the day.

We adjusted.

Because we were willing to change our flight and deal with one very early morning, we got one final family adventure out of our European trip.

Amsterdam was never going to be a full vacation for us.

It was a layover.

It still became one of the most meaningful parts of the trip.

You can listen to the full episode of The Traveling Family Circus for all the details from our nine-hour Amsterdam layover with five kids.

You can also find more of our family travel itineraries, destination guides, packing resources, and practical tips at HappyLittleTraveler.co.

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