DeborahAnn

Is there a tour company in Amsterdam that you have used for a day trip that you would recommend? I'm finding most of the companies offer the same tours on the same days so I was wondering if there is much difference between one tour company and another. My husband and I will be in Amsterdam in early Oct for 5 days and I wanted to schedule a day trip out of Amsterdam for one of those days. Thanks for any recommendations, Deborah

kismetchimera

I cant remember which company we used,sorry.However, we had a lots of fun exploring the famous fishing village,we reached it by boat and other small town..If you plan to see the famous windmills you are going to be disappointed..
they are really a thing of the past.

The tour bus took us to see the most famous, just one..

DeborahAnn

Thanks, I remember reading about the tour you took. I'm glad you thought it was a good tour. I had decided to take that one until a friend told me today I should go see the miniature Madurodam and the flower auction. I'm now looking at the "Grand Holland" tour offered by several companies. thanks again, Deborah

hetismij

DeborahAnn, you could easily see both Madurodam and the flower auction without using a tour company. Combine Madurodam with say the Mauritshuis and Panorama Mesdag, plus a wakl around Den Haag. Get the train from amsterdam.
For the flower auction you have to be up early and can get there by normal bus I elieve. It will be cheaper than using a tour and you can do things at your own pace.
If you want to see windmills then either a tour to Kinderdijk or Zaanse Schans would be an idea. Kinderdijk would be the one I'd choos.
Again you can get to them yourself using public transport if you prefer, though Kinderdijk is not as easy by PT as Zaanse Schans.
You might like to consider a trip to the Zuiderzee open air museum in Enkhuizen (again take a train from Amsterdam) or the Kroller Muller museum and enjoy the autumn colours in National Park Hoge Veluwe.

DeborahAnn

hetismij, Thanks for your suggestions. I thought visiting in early October we might encounter more rainy days than sunny and being shuttled around by a tour might be easier than trying to find our way in unfamiliar surroundings in the rain. Amsterdam has so much to offer but we will be there a total of 6 1/2 days during our 3 week trip so I wanted to include some of the surrounding area as well. thanks again, Deborah

iris1745

Hi; A good day trip would be to visit the town of Muiden, about ten miles south of Amsterdam. It has a lovely fairytale castle. Dick www.castles.nl/muid/muid.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/muiden

hetismij

We often get a period of dry sunny weather in early October. There is no guarantee of course, but it is often really nice until about mid October.
The trains are easy to cope with, certainly for Den Haag - it is a direct train. The Kroller Muller is a bit trickier requiring a bus as well as the train, but it is an easy journey really and well worth it.
I hope you enjoy your stay!

Palenque

kismetch i think is talking about Marken and Volendam - you can leave Amsterdamned by boat from in front of the train station, by the VVV (tourist office) and go first out Amsterdam's busy harbor - the Ij to the Ijselmeer, an inland fresh-water lake that was once the Zuider Zee, a part of the North Sea. Marken was a thriving fishing village on an island a century or so ago and it is now an open-air museum with lots of old houses and industrial buildings from its heyday and the Zuider Zee's heyday when these were important ports - due to land reclamation Marken is now practically surrounded by polders and is hooked to the mainland by a causeway - interesting to get a first-hand look at this amazing process.

Some locals in Marken still wear the old-time Dutch clothing like you see in Flemish masters pictures - though obviously contrived for tourists it adds a sweet touch IMO
Then from Marken you take a boat over to Volendam, on the other side of a bay - another historic Zuider Zee town but more a real one then Marken - it has a lovely port full of cafes, pancakeries, herring stands, etc. On a nice weekend day zillions of Dutch flock here to soak up the ambience (and suds) - the tour then return to Amsterdam by boat.

You can easily do this tour yourself by taking a bus to Marken then the little skiffs over the water to Volendam then bus from there back to Amsterdam

If into short hikes from Volendam you can walk on sweet water-side walking paths the two miles or so to Edam, a very historic old port and former cheese town. Edam has a bevy of old ornate Flemish-facaded warehouses, etc. that give you a hint of its former glory. Today a backwater it seems but really neat. Buses also run frequently from Edam to Amsterdam.

Palenque

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Visiting - The official website of the Amsterdam Tourism ...
Walking tour Dark Amsterdam · Ultimate Amsterdam · Hermitage Amsterdam · Jewish Historical Museum · Art City Arrangement · Spaander Active Package ...
www.iamsterdam.com/en/visiting - Cached - Similar
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Walking tours - I amsterdam
Costs: free, downloadable or for sale €1 at VVV tourist information offices. Download the walking tour here. Tell a friend; Print. I amsterdam portal ...
http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/.../tou..../walkingtours -

check the VVV site for excursion info.

DeborahAnn

Thank you for the suggestions for Amsterdam day trips. There are so many wonderful possibilities. Is there a place to find bus schedules before we arrive in Amsterdam; the bus schedule to and from Amsterdam for Marken and Edam for example? I'm wondering if the buses run frequently after Sept. 30th?? Thanks again, Deborah

hetismij

The regular buses run every half hour,every day. It takes about 45 minutes from Amsterdam to Marken on the normal bus (number 111.) It costs 6 strips on a strippenkaart or you can buy an OV chipkaart to use.

http://journeyplanner.9292.nl/ is the English planner. It doesn't give prices though.
You can always try and master the Dutch version www.9292ov.nl, which does.

DeborahAnn

Thanks heismij. I thought I read in my research that the strippenkaart is being phased out beginning Oct 1st. My understanding is that they cannot be used already for riding the metro. Will we be able to purchase and use the strippenkaart when we arrive on Oct 3rd? Thanks, Deborah

hetismij

You can still use strippenkaarten on the buses and trams, but not on the metro. Not that you are likely to take the metro anyway.
It will be quite some time before they are finally phased out. They are cheaper to use than the chip cards, and you can share one between more people, which you can't with the chip cards.
The throw away paper chip cards having been giving a lot of problems I understand.

hetismij

I meant to add you can only buy the strippenkaarten at the GVB office by Centraal Station, or at shops like Albert Heijn and Bruna. You can no longer buy them from machines, or in the bus/tram or at other GVB ticket offices.
If you opt for the chip card don't forget to swipe it as you leave the tram or bus as well as when you enter.

DeborahAnn

hetismij, thank you for that very helpful information.

Another question about sharing the strippenkaart between two people. My husband is now 65, can he buy the reduced price strippenkaart and can I also use it even though I have not reached that "golden age" I don't want to get a fine for misusing the strippenkaart but I'm looking at all the ways we can stretch our travel dollar!! thanks, Deborah

hetismij

No, you will have to have a full price strippenkaart, your husband can have the reduced price one though. Make sure he has some proof of age in case he is asked for it.