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Also, I know you can either plane, train, or ferry yourself to Amsterdam...has anyone done this? Any advice would be appreciated. Our trip will last about 9 days in total (including flight b/t US and Europe). We are flying out from Amsterdam.
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I have taken the ferry and flown between Amsterdam and London.
Flying is faster and cheaper. You can get one-way fares on bmi for as little as £30 each. And when you show up at Schiphol (great airport) you are a 15 minute train ride from Amsterdam Central Station.
The ferry is of course longer, and at first glance no cheaper. You need to also take longer train rides on both sides because the ferry leaves from Harwich, so you have to get there from London. You end up in Hoek van Holland, near Rotterdam south of Amsterdam.
However, the ferry has some advantages. First off, it is longer, but you can do it overnight. This effectively saves you the cost of a room that night. You can do a
"Rail & Sail" on the Stena line for two on Nov 15 with an outside facing cabin for £125. Now when you start to compare that to flights plus a room for the night, not so bad.
Plus, the ferry trip in itself is an experience. And the train ride in Holland in the morning goes past windmills, farms, etc. Wrong time of year for the flower fields between Leiden and Haarlem, unfortunately.
As far as touristy stuff in the Netherlands, Amsterdam offers good art museums. The van Gogh museum has a great collection spanning Vincent's short but brilliant career. The Rijksmuseum (national gallery) features masters like Rembrandt (Nightwatch alone worth seeing), Vermeer, van Eyck, etc., as well as things you might not expect like a very cool dollhouse collection.
The Anne Frank house always has a long wait to get in, and is a downer, but there is no doubt it makes an impact and can be worth seeing.
Touristy as it may seem, taking a canal tour is a good idea. Even ignoring the standard narrative from your guide, you get to experience moving through the city on the canal. It was the way to get around for hundreds of years, and the trip helps you understand why. Plus, many of the canal boats offer all day passes, and this can help on a day when you want to hit multiple spots in the city.
I suggest also renting bikes for a day and either staying around Amsterdam, or better yet biking around outside. Haarlem is a good choice. The local
VVV is a AAA equivalent, and can offer you great bike travel routes including where to see windmills up close and cafes to pull in and grab a beer and an snack.