Welcome to Rotterdam, a vibrant city known for its cutting-edge architecture, bustling port and rich cultural/food scene. Whether you’re visiting for the first time or returning to explore more, this two-day itinerary is designed to help you experience the best of the city while staying within a medium budget. Rotterdam offers a unique blend of modern innovation and historic charm. This guide will take you through carefully curated activities, food spots, and attractions that offer great value, ensuring you make the most of your time without breaking the bank.
The Cheapest Way To Get To Rotterdam
If you’re leaving from the UK, the cheapest way to get to Rotterdam is likely to fly to Amsterdam with a budget airline and then either catch the train or hire a car to drive to Rotterdam, roughly an hour away.
Click here to see how much flights to Amsterdam might cost.
Click here for train tickets from Schipol airport to Rotterdam AND 3-day travel on buses, ferries, metro trains, and trams. Prices start at €18.
Using the Metro (RET): 2 days in Rotterdam
2-days doesn’t seem like a lot but Rotterdam is both easily walkable and the metro is affordable and easy to use. The first day we were in Rotterdam we chose to walk but we racked up nearly 40,000 steps and my teen was not impressed so we decided to use the metro after that which was much quicker and less painful.
That being said, we were foolish and didn’t book metro tickets in advance and many of the ticket machines were out of order. Instead, we did a “tap on, tap off” with our bank cards. This resulted in charges of €4.16 one day and €5.20 the next day, each (roughly €30 total). Instead of doing this, you can book RET tickets here in advance at a fee of €10. This ticket gives you unlimited travel on all trams, buses and the metro.
The metro runs on alphabetic lines and you’ll probably use A, B and C the most. These run through Beurs which is central to things like MarketHal, Rotterdam Surf and the Cube Houses.
Where To Stay In Rotterdam
Because my husband was on a business trip in Rotterdam, me and my youngest daughter tagged along so we didn’t pay for accommodation.
For a hotel overlooking the water, with a gym and a swimming pool, click here for the hotel we stayed in. Rooms range from £133 – 207 per night.
Alternatively, use this interactive map to search for accommodation in Rotterdam that suits you. I have added a QR code if you find that easier. I liked the west of Rotterdam, I thought it was easy to navigate and much of what we wanted to see was located there.
In order to use this map, you’ll need to scroll out to see the most amount of choices and areas,
Rotterdam Itinerary For 2-Days, Day 1.
I think the MarketHal is really cool to go and see, walk through and around but I wasn’t particularly thrilled by the food and drinks on offer. It all seemed a bit touristy to me and the food wasn’t great quality. However, while you’re here you could book an hour at Rotterdam Surf or just watch from above. From here you can pop over to the Cube houses and Oude Haven to have a stroll around.
After this, catch the metro to Coolhaven. If it’s a nice day, walk along the Tuschinskipark and have a picnic or buy pizza at Old Scuola West Pizza. Whilst you’re here you could visit the Museum Rotterdam. Alternatively, walk to Delfshaven where there are picnic benches on the Voorhaven Canal. You can access the water and even have a picnic on floating wooden platforms. On the island of Delfshaven, you will find the Pinball Museum and a Windmill. If it’s a nice day and you fancy a walk up the Aelbrechtskade canal there’s an ice cream shop called IJssalon Noli, and it’s like an old ice cream parlour, however, it is a 20-minute walk up there at least.
After our evening meal, we caught the metro and went to Glow Golf Schiedam. It was really fun playing mini golf very badly in the dark.
Rotterdam Itinerary For 2-Days, Day 2.
Visiting the Euromast and the Euroscoop is a must-do activity. The Euromast lookout tower takes you to 100 metres but the Euroscoop takes you to 182 metres and gently rotates giving you 360-degree views over the city and southern Holland. By turning up with no booking, it cost me €10 more therefore I recommend pre-booking your ticket! You can pre-book your time slot and ticket here. If you’re brave enough you can also abseil over the edge from 100 metres. Contact the centre directly if you want to book that. Prices start at €65.
Just opposite the Euromast park is the Floating Chinese supermarket ‘Amazing oriental’ parkhaven. This is where the Pancake Cruise leaves from too. The boat trip is a 75-minute pancake cruise around the Rotterdam inlets. You go under the Erasmus Bridge and past the SS Rotterdam. We took the 19:30 cruise to see the sunset, but that meant the area was very dark afterwards. I’d recommend taking a day cruise so you can see the water and all the buildings. It’s an all-you-can-eat cruise, we managed three pancakes and were so full after that we couldn’t eat more. There are three choices of pancake (meat, apple and natural) alongside loads of savoury and sweet toppings. The boat is kid-friendly and even has a ball pit in its hull.
From this area, you can walk through the Maasttunnel (cool olden-style 1940s wooden escalators) & catch the Charloisse Hoof water taxi over to the SS Rotterdam. This peninsula also hosts the Fenix Food Factory which has market stalls, food, a brewery and various events. If you’re brave enough you could go for an outdoor swim in the basin Zwembad Rijnhaven. The Nederland Foto Museum is currently being renovated and is due to feature 8 floors and a range of images from the 20th and 21st centuries. From here you can walk over to the Erasmus Bridge and on the other side you can pop into Remastered (pre-book your Remastered tickets here), an interactive digit art experience and stop off at Bar-Restaurant PRACHTIG for a bite to eat or a late drink watching the sunset over the water.
Cool Things Not Included In This Itinerary
There is a Floating farm over at Schiedam and if it’s truly terrible weather and none of you want to be outside, Boulder Neoliet Rotterdam is close by for active people who want to boulder and climb.
If you’re there on a Saturday, there is a market on Hoogstraat behind the MarketHal. It is big and has a range of food, clothes, cloth, second-hand items and more
Museumpark is a huge park with five museums in it. As the weather was beautifully sunny when we visited Rotterdam, we chose to only visit briefly. I wouldn’t describe the museums as particularly child-friendly or orientated though. Personally, I wouldn’t rush back.
The Trompenburg Botanical Gardens looked amazing but we ran out of time and they were on the opposite side of the city. If you’d like to visit you can pre-book your tickets here.
We really wanted to do this Splash Tour where the bus drives into the water but we didn’t have enough time.
Places We Recommend Eating
Souffle cafe, Marinierswerg 80A, 3011 – Japanese souffle waffles, bubble and boba tea.
De IJsmaker, Witte de Withstraat 7A, 3012 – You should expect long queues at peak times but nice ice cream. In my opinion, this street is over-rated and when I visited was full of men’s trips and the atmosphere was unpleasant.
Harvest Cafe & Bakery, Glashaven 105-107, 3011 – Breakfast and coffee with a view over the canal
Pho Hanoi, Schiedamsedjik 85A, 3011 – A small Vietnamese cafe/restaurant but lovely food.
IJssalon Noli, Mathenesserplein 83, 3022 – Ice cream, is quite far out and no queue.
Bar-Restaurant PRACHTIG, Willemsplein 77, 3016 – This is a nice place to sit in the sun alongside the water. You can have snacks, full meals, coffee and cake and soda.
Old Scuola West Pizza, Abraham Tuschinskistraat 58, 3015 – Delicious pizza opposite the water. Eat outside in the sunshine.
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