Amsterdam Day Trips
 

I have been fortunate to glean lots of great information and ideas from previous posts, but am now looking for some specific guidance regarding potential day trips for our upcoming Amsterdam trip in May. We will have 8 full days in Amsterdam (this is not including travel days, and we have an apartment booked for the entire trip in the de Pijp neighborhood), and based on our preferred activities have allotted three days for what we want to see and do in Amsterdam (these activities include the museums we are interested in visiting, flower market, walking tours and canal tours, photography tours). Each of the following areas/towns listed below interest us, but I am now considering if we should/can combine a couple in one day, and/or renting a car for one or more of the days would be more beneficial than the train (we are comfortable with both options).
- Leiden
- Den Haag
- Gouda
- Utrecht
- Edam
- Delft
- Kinderdijk
- Zaanse Schans

These are in no particular order, and other than Leiden (which looks really lovely) we are not pressed to see one more than the other, and don't necessarily expect to see them all (but wouldn't it be great if we did!) We are arriving May 20, so will miss the chance to see Keukenhof Gardens. Also Rotterdam did not grab us when doing some initial research. So, a long winded way to ask - is 5 days sufficient to do the bulk of these trips, should we combine a few in one day, and is renting a car a better (more efficient, or more scenic) option?
Appreciate and love to hear your thoughts and opinions as always!

Well Edam can be combined with Zaanse Schanse and Gouda and Kinderdijk too - from Gouda lovely little trafficked back roads go the fairly short distance to Kinderdijk. Den Haag and Delft could be combined depending on what you want to see in Den Haag, a BIG city more like Rotterdam than those other dreamy Dutch regional towns. But if you just want to see the Mauritshuis and the old Royal Palace area that would only take 2-3 hours with easy parking it seems.

It's been a LONG while ago now, but I joined a group tour out of Amsterdam that included Edam, the Zaanse Schans, and several other sites, including Volendam and Marken. I'm not generally overly fond of group tours, but this one worked for me! Unfortunately, I didn't have time to make it to the other places on your wishlist....

Enjoy!

we spent 2 weeks touring denmark some time ago. all of your choices are great... but if you are able to bike (slowly and at a flat level)... it is a bike tour to several small cheese farms that i remember best. so different biking along those canals from driving them. we bought some cheese that was just remarkable. (ok... maybe it's the cheese that we really remember...) just a thought for one of your days.

<i> Amsterdam Day Trips
Posted by: Jenn_Mitch on Mar 6, 16 at 4:35pm</i>

The best and most convenient is Haarlem.

Each of the following areas/towns listed below interest us, but I am now considering if we should/can combine a couple in one day, and/or renting a car for one or more of the days would be more beneficial than the train (we are comfortable with both options).>

Well for cities even like those trains are the best way of going between them - parking in these old cities can be expensive and a long walk from the city centres at times. Dutch trains are fantastic - going twice an hour or more usually anywhere - even Kinderdijk can be reached buy public transport - the nicest way by boat from central Rotterdam (which I find a fascinating foil to the older looking Dutch regional towns) - for lots on trains check www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

There are no real railpasses I think that would be cost-effective for those rather close cities. And I agree with spaarne - Haarlem to me is as nice as any of the others and makes a great base due to its great rail links besides being so so gorgeous.

Thanks very much-I actually "forgot" about Haarlem...will definitely consider that!

Oh good, don't go to Rotterdam! (just kidding, now that we're suddenly the darling of Lonely Planets, people are already complaining about "tourists")

Anyway,

I'll do a plug for two open air museums. One in Enkhuizen, which is a beautiful town: the Zuiderzee Museum. It focuses on life pre-1930 around the old Zuiderzee, now IJsselmeer and is a village with different areas: fishing villages, the nineteenth century, Frisian city life, etc.

Grander in its ambitions is the Openlucht Museum in Arnhem (in the East and a beautiful green city with many parks. Also it's the scene of Operation Market Garden and has moving memorials to that time in history)

Leiden, Delft and The Hague can be done in a day, Utrecht is a twenty minute train ride from Amsterdam and a wonderful city to spend a day in.

Edam and Zaanse Schans are a waste of time imo, they're more a name and reputation thing. Zaanse Schans especially is a bit of a tourist trap.

Gouda is beautiful and easily reached via Leiden by train, so you could combine those too.

For Kinderdijk (which is just the amazing mills, and a shack for coffee by the way) you could book a bustour, or diy, but it would require going through Rotterdam to get there. ... (and no, don't even think about it, we like to have our dear city to ourselves ;) )

what is that remark about "denmark" doing here? haha!

menachem... eeeeeekkk... huge apologies. netherlands. yikes! but the cheese was right on!

Agree about Enkhuizen - a neat town and a stellar indoor and open-air museum.

There is not much in Edam but a row of old warehouses along the main canal - impressive to me but besides that.

Zaanse Schanse may seem a tourist rip-off to Dutch folk like menachem but to tourists who have never seen one of those behemoth wooden Dutch windmills at full tilt and to be able to go inside one is neat - yes Kinderdijk is better but much harder to get to if you don't have a car or bicycle - Kinderdijk windmills were always there I think - Zaanse Schanse windmills were I think brought there from around the old Zuider Zee area.

The indoor museum at Zaanse Schanse is neat but the blatant souvenir gift shop next to it which attracts a parade of bus tour folks wanting to buy wooden shoes, flower bulbs, lace, etc yes is a blight on the area.

But Zaanse Schanse is so so close to Amsterdam and Haarlem it is easy to fit and in the opinion of this veteran traveler in a really scenic location:

https://www.google.com/search?q=zaan...HTwPC-AQsAQIHQ

I immensely enjoyed my day in beautiful Leiden. I was there on market day and also visited the botanical garden. There are several museums, but I was jet lagged and the one I wanted to see was closed. Just saying it could possibly fill a whole day based on your interests. The train was so convenient I cannot imagine not using it.

Bruxelles (even Brugge) are easily reachable.
They are great cities, located in a, er, hem, civilized country. Would make a break from the Netherlands...

About getting to Kinderdijk: there now is a direct waterbus from Rotterdam Erasmusbrug. Couldn't be easier, no car necessary. Getting there takes about 30 minutes from the Rotterdam waterbus stop. And while you're there you could do worse than have lunch at the Rotterdam Wereldmuseum: the building used to be the old royal yacht club and it's gorgeous. Beautiful views of the river.

Yes Leiden is a real sleeper - off most folks' radars but is a sweet Dutch regional town.

Thanks to your great feedback, and some more reading, I've crossed Zaanse Schanse and Edam off, and added Haarlem. Will most probably just use public transport, except maybe one day rent a car. I'll do some more research on market days and see what will align best for those. And while while we'd love to dip our toes into Belgium soil, we want to save that for a trip all on it's own in the near future. Looks like we'll get a glimpse of Rotterdam too! Thanks again for your kindness, suggestions, and sharing your experiences ��

I'll do some more research on market days and see what will align best for those.>

Alkmaar is yet another cute Dutch regional town and is famous for its old-fashioned cheese market on Friday mornings Apr-Sep I think.

If going to Kinderdijk then yes skip Zaanse Schanse. Edam is a long way by train for very little.

Hoorn, Enkhuizen, Alkmaar, all beautiful towns. That's where the real Dutch heritage is. Leiden too, The Hague.

Another tip, the De Rijp village.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Rijp

Google it for images: it's amazing. Such an interesting history too.

So many neat Dutch towns so little time - been to all mentioned above except De Rijp which I never heard of - on the bucket list - do trains go there.

Another day trip from Amsterdam for art lovers goes by train and bus to Kroller Muller Museum and open-air statue park - loads of Van Goghs inside. About 2 hours each way and you go thru Hooge Veluwe national park - an old sand dune - can get free bikes at entrance and ride thru the lovely wild park to the museum.

Hoorn is neat because it is a port with all kinds of waterways in it.

De Rijp by train?

The 301 bus from Amsterdam Central: takes 40 minutes

agree on Kroller Muller Museum... was a highlight for us!

Saving info as I am hoping to get to Amsterdam soon to visit my son, he lives in the de Pjip area too!

Try and get to Coffee and Coconuts, funky cafe in de Pjip.

De Rijp is a town well outside of Amsterdam and de Pijp is a funky section of Amsterdam - two different creature but I like de Pijp in Amsterdam a whole lot -never been to De rijp, the small town.

Don't miss Delft!

I disagree that one can see Leiden, Delft and den Hague in a day. There are some really nice museums in all 3 and Delft is so nice to walk around.

The trains are so easy in the Netherlands.

From Den Hague to Delft I enjoyed taking the tram - runs right thru towns and down main streets - of course slower than the train but kind of neat.

I was in Delft yesterday morning, visiting the beautiful synagogue on Koornmarkt, the oldest newly built one in the country after Napoleon's emancipation of "the Jewish Nation". It's a great example of early nineteenth century classicist architecture, like a little greek temple. Very nice and well kept interior.
After morning service we strolled through the city. It was a glorious spring day.

I disagree that one can see Leiden, Delft and den Hague in a day. There are some really nice museums in all 3 and Delft is so nice to walk around.>

What does 'see' mean? Yes you could see all three but do very little in each one - Leiden and Delft are great for just ambling around.

I picked up a walking map/tour of Delft at the VVV or Tourist Office and had a wonderful full day there - plus to go to the interesting Porcelen Fles - the largest of the remaining Delftware craft shops/factories with museum and seconds for sale - that is about a mile outside of Delft's Centrum:

http://www.royaldelft.com/home_en

I've really enjoyed my several visits there.

you spent an entire day in delft? what did you do there? it's a pretty small city, with a picturesque center of town, but that's it. Leiden: same. Good for a walk, maybe sit down and have a drink or lunch, but that's it.

Well I was researching an article I was writing on Delft and with the tourist office map stopped by and took in every site on the map (even some architectural one by the University) so I could write about a walking tour and I walked out to the Porcelene Fles place - about a mile each way - but come to think of it I did start in Den Hague and walked from CS station to HS station thru the royal palace area (Mauritshuis was closed for renovations) and took the tram to Delft - thus I was there about a good half-day - I agree just for small central Delft about a half-day is right.

I used Delft as a base for 4 nights, which worked very well.

In Delft, I went into both the Old Church and New Church, and went to the Prisenhof and Vermeer Art Center. I thought the Vermeer Art Center was very well done and I spent a while there. I also enjoyed walking down to the old gate, and to see what was supposedly the view from where Vermeer painted his "View of Delft" in 1660 (it looks a lot different today). Both those are a little bit from the main square area.

Leiden has some great museums - I only visited the Lakenhal (which I really liked) and the Ethnological Museum, which was fascinating. I only saw a bit of that one, b/c I was starting to run out of steam. I walked around the windmill, but didn't go inside.

In The Hague, the Maruisthaus is a great art museum; we also toured the prison museum. We also walked around Mini Holland, which was silly but fun. (Even the gargoyles on St. Jan Cathedral were represented!)

If you don't like museums, I guess you could see Leiden, Delft and The Hague in one day, but there are IMO very worthwhile museums in all 3 places.

I also took a tour of the Peace Palace or whatever they call it in The Hague - where the World Court sits - an ornate monumental building about a mile or so towards the sea from the town center. In good weather Schevingenen (sp?) makes an interesting aspect of The Hague - classy seaside resort - well kind of classy - trams go there and everywhere in The Hague.

I visited Leiden for an afternoon last summer. Those with an interest in American history would find a visit to the Pieterskerk remarkable. It is the church of the Pilgrims before they set sail on the Mayflower. You will learn that some American Presidents have ancestry in that group. The grave stones inside the mostly barren church are interesting.

I studied in Leiden (the Oxford of the Netherlands) so this spotlight on Leiden warms my heart.

I also want to point out its beautiful Hortus Botanicus, just off Rapenburg, behind the old university buildings. And a walk around town may get you to "De Burcht", a mount-like fortification with a rather nice cafe-restaurant at its base.

Leiden is not on most folks' radars it seems but certainly should be - loved the open-air market and neat canals.

Leiden was not originally on my itinerary. I was going to go down near Antwerp but decided to stay closer to my home base (Delft). I think the change of plans was a good one - I enjoyed walking around there.

There really is a lot to see in this neck of the woods. As a bonus, I was also able to meet hetismij2 and her husband in Utrecht. I really enjoyed meeting them. I was asking them if there was anywhere else in Europe where the trains were as easy to use, and ran as frequently - and there was so much too see, as in this area. (Or is that question a separate thread? I would say Belguim and Antwerp, Brugge, Ghent and Brussels also is a great itinerary with very easy train access between places).

Belgium is said to have the densest train system in Europe or did and like The Netherlands about 2-4 trains an hour going everywhere.

Dutch and Belgian trains are great but as most are basically commuter trains in these tiny countries whose population density rivals India or China I think - I love always having a first-class railpass that lets me sit nearly by myself many times whereas 2nd class can be SRO - at certain times of day. I suggest that it may be worth it to pay the relatively little extra on these trains to go first class and never have to worry about finding a seat - reservations are not possible on most trains.

It's even worse now. There's a shortage of rolling stock.

maybe all the more reason to go first class for a tourist on the trip of a lifetime perhaps?

Absolutely! It's not that much of a premium if you take into account all holiday expenses.

Though on short distances it's a waste of money imo. But if you have over half an hour of travel time to deal with it: go first class.