My Editorial Process

This page explains how the guides on this site get made: what has to happen before I publish advice, who checks my work, and how I keep older articles from going stale. If you are going to plan a trip around my recommendations, you deserve to know how they come about.

I visit before I write

I am from here. Before I write about a museum, a town, or an attraction, I go there. When I tell you which entrance to use or which room to skip, it is because I’ve been there myself, not because I read it somewhere.

I visit places more than once. Opening hours change, wings close for renovation, collections move, and exhibitions update all the time. A place that was worth your time in 2025 is not always worth it today. Going back again and again is how I keep my advice current.

Who checks my work

Dutch is my first language, not English. I passed the Cambridge English C1 Advanced exam, and Herman Oostveen proofreads what I publish. My eyes are on the facts on the ground; his are on the language. Even so, mistakes slip through. If you’ve found one, please use the contact page link below to let me know.

I aim to review every article once a year

A guide that has not been checked in years will get things wrong. So my aim is a full review of every article once a year: prices, opening hours, transport, and my own recommendations. I do not always hit that schedule; some guides wait longer than I want them to. When I get to a page and something no longer holds, it gets rewritten or removed.

My background

I hold a BSc in Tourism Management, and I have been writing about the Netherlands on this site since 2019. The longer story of why I started Hidden Holland is on my about page.

Your trip comes before my commission

Some links on this site are affiliate links. If you book a ticket or tour through one, I earn a commission. That is how this site earns its money.

My rule: your trip comes before my commission. When the right answer costs me a sale, I say so in the article itself, whether that means skipping a museum or buying the cheaper ticket.

How I use AI

AI became important in the workplace, I use AI to. It helps me with technical work behind the site, with structure and editing, and with translating my English guides into the other languages I publish in.

What it does not do: it does not visit places, it does create images for me, it does not decide what I recommend, and it does not put a fact on this site that I have not checked myself. Every experience on this site is mine. I read every word before it goes live, and I am the one who hits publish.

Found something that has changed?

If an article no longer matches what you saw on the ground, tell me through my contact page. Thank you.