Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Amsterdam Day Trips

Fodor's Travel Talk Forums (https://www.fodors.com/community/)

- Europe (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/)

- - Amsterdam Day Trips (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/amsterdam-day-trips-1663874/)

The biking area is great - Zaanse Schans is seriously touristy - I'd do the bikes and Haarlem another day - really cool city. If weather is poor day trip to some city like Haarlem.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Myer (Post 16876747)

I was away all day yesterday so didn't get to check out the Forum.

Menachem,

Your posts are extremely informative. It just takes me a few minutes to figure out the various places on the map.

My wife suffers from travel sickness so we try to avoid buses. She's fine on a train though. She's gotten somewhat better over the past several years by using various things such a wrist bands, etc. but we still try to avoid buses.

Touristy isn't always bad. There's usually a reason.

Though we are not all day bikers we do bike a fair amount.

Does it make any sense to rent bikes at the Amsterdam train station, train to Purmerend with bikes (is getting on those trains with bikes an issue?), bike around Edam and Volemdan, ferry to Marken with the bikes and after riding around the island (I'm a lighthouse person) we could either ride back to Amsterdam from there or depending upon the time, ferry across and train back to Amsterdam from Purmerend. Is there a route back to Amsterdam that would take us through a few towns or villages rather than ride along the sea barrier that doesn't look too exciting.

I haven't gotten to Utrecht and Rotterdam yet.

I've biked the bit between Purmerend and Edam and Monnickendam and I would advise against it. Especially going back it can be a hard slog against the prevailing wind. If you were to bike back to Amsterdam, the most beautiful route imo is along the Old Seadike past Uitdam, Durgerdam and back to Amsterdam via Nieuwendammerdijk so you can have a drink or dinner at Cafe Het Sluisje. Just to see what it could be like, I've made a route for you https://ridewithgps.com/routes/29386361 And I must say, the bit between Purmerend, Edam and Monnickendam would be my least favourite stretch. After Edam it gets better as you cycle along the old sea dike via Katwoude to Volendam. But the bit between Monnickendam and Marken is dull again, and so is the cycle to and from the island. From Uitdam back to Amsterdam is beautiful again. All in all 53 km. How trained are you?

Maybe it's just as nice to rent cycles at Amsterdam CS, get a ferry to Noord and then cycle out to Durgerdam and do a short circuit through Waterland back to Amsterdam via Holysloot and Ransdorp.

Menachem,

Thanks again for your great descriptions.

I have since described two other options. One with a bike ride though much shorter. I copied it below. I would really appreciate if you could give me your opinion on both.

Thanks.
= = = = = = = =
Since going to Ghent is not a very good option, I'm looking at one of two things for that day if we decide to go out of Amsterdam.

1) Either train to Zaanse Schans and walk around there. Then depending upon the time, we could train to Haarlem for a few hours.

2) Train to Purmerend, rent bikes and ride to Edam, Volendam, ferry to Marken and ride around the island and to the lighthouse.
= = = = = = = =

A neat option is to take train to Den Helder and ferry to Texel you can rent bikes and cycle around this neat island without dealing with traffic and see some great nature.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Myer (Post 16878732)

Other suggestion: take the train to Haarlem, rent bikes at the station, cycle to Overveen and Bloemendaal and ride the gorgeous Zuid Kennemer Duinen (interesting WW2 history there too, but you have to look for it). You can cycle out to Bloemendaal aan Zee on the coast, or head back to Haarlem and spend the rest of your day there. That area is beautiful, very genteel, where the richt people live, without ostentation.

Here's a route. The little squiggle on the way back is a visit to Erebegraafplaats Overveen, and part of the route through the dunes goes past the commemorative stones that are there to mark mass graves of executed resistance fighters from WW2.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/29390438

Menachem,
You ask a very good question. We are not power cyclers. If you notice I've been keeping my suggestions pretty short. We're in decent shape but we're in our mid-seventies.

A few times a week we bike about 5-6 KM to where my wife has a coffee and then we bike back.

The idea isn't to test our stamina or ability. We're visiting a foreign country and the idea is to see what's different from where we live. We don't have windmills among other things. What we would want to do is bike a while, see the scenery, stop for a bite, wander around, see more stuff and bike a bit more.

I'm an amateur photographer so I'm always looking for things to take photos.

The vast Vondel Park's bike paths could be more for you (except a rush hours when they may resemble more the Santa Ana freeway as this is a major north-side bikeway - but during most of day very nice - bike rentals there last I knew and you can leave the park and cycle thru on east side some and catch bike paths -ride to say the not so far Olympic Stadium - have a coffee at the FEBOs *snackbars and ride back thru a part of Amsterdam built in one fell swoop it seems in the 1920s and harmonious architecture on bike paths not nearly so mobbed as in the centrum.

Vondel Park was where Canadian troops bivouacked during WW2, one old local told me years ago.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PalenQ (Post 16879060)

Vondelpark has a few places where it's very nice to have coffee or lunch, Blauwe Theehuis, Groot Melkhuis, but for me, the best spot is the tearoom of De Roos Theehuis Vondelpark, koffie, zzp, vegetarische broodjes, lunch terras-de Roos

As I mentioned, I'm an amateur photographer so I'm always looking for different / unique subjects to photograph. Different from what we have at home.

I live between 30 and 60 minutes from motocross, the ocean with kite boarders and sandy beaches, two wetlands parks ideal for photographing birds in flight, the equestrian capital of the country and world class polo.

If it requires going to very touristy locations with many people visiting, there must be a reason they are there. The only time we've ever really been in a long line to get into a sight was years ago at the Vatican. We don't mind sharing sights with other tourists. After all, we're tourists as well.

take the free pedestrian ferries from behind Central Station to the other side of the IJ or harbor for neat photo shots of Amsterdam's imposing waterfront. Plus watching the many cyclists and mopeds jockeying for position to roar off as soon as gates are lowered is neat too.

Head to the A'dam Tower for its rooftop view for miles around and Europe's highest outdoor swing - the Tower - the old Shell HQs - has an eclectic array of attractions - something different on each floor.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PalenQ (Post 16879340)

Better yet, take the ferry to NDSM, an old shipyard. The ferry ride itself is 20 minutes, and landing at NDSM is an event in its own right. It's a nice area to wander around in, and do make sure to visit Art City in the old Shipyard shed. Lunch at Noorderlicht.

So much neat development in that once ugly area - wish I could see it but next best is to learn about it and research it.

If going to Utrecht, consider visiting the Riedveld Shröder house (reservations necessary):

Michael,
Thanks. Yes, we are planning on going to Utrecht.

We really like to visit house museums so I'll look into this one.

PalenQ, Menachem,

I'll look into that area. Thanks.

If you like modern avante garde architecture Amsterdam has tons of it but not in city center much - but if you take the ring railway on the east side of Amsterdam you go thru some really neat areas of really neat modern architecture in all-new cities. Or take the Ijs tram east from Centraal Station - it rolls by a string of former warehouses now converted to flats or other uses and then thru Amsterdam's Little Venice - a new housing area with lots of small canals like in Venice - then it goes under the Ij via a tunnel (or is it a bridge?) to new reclaimed islands where a new city is arising - this is a favorite tram journey of mine showing a very different atmosphere than in the inner city.