Day trip from Amsterdam
 

We will be staying in Amsterdam for 5 nights in September. Is it feasible to travel to Marken, Volendam, Edam, Hoorn and Enkhuizen in one day? If so, what mode of transportation would be best? If not, what would you leave out?

Not really if you use public transport. I would leave out Marken, Volendam and Edam and go to Enkhuizen straight away (train from Amsterdam: about an hour) Do visit the Zuiderzeemuseum while you're in Enkhuizen.

Thanks for your reply menachem. Would you care to elaborate on your advice to skip all but Enkhuizen? Are they deemed touristy?

Thanks,
Jan

Partly (Volendam is the subject of Dutch jokes in this respect) but also because Edam/Volendam and Marken are outliers, location-wise, especially Marken. So for a day trip, Enkhuizen works better I think. It's a gorgeous city in its own right and that plus the Zuiderzeemuseum (a recreation of life on the the Zuiderzee, before it was enclosed by the Afsluitdijk) makes for a full day's visit.

Although I don't care much for Volendam and Edam, I like Marken much better. 45 minutes on a regular bus gets you to Marken from Amsterdam (buses leave from the busstation on the "roof" of the busstation). I often recommend walking around the island, patst the Werven (micro settlements) to its lighthouse, the "Horse of Marken". The area by the harbour is where the boats with tourists arrive. Monnickendam is a worthy sight in its own right, and it's on the bus route.

So my suggestion would be: either do the full day in Enkhuizen, or do a "roll it your own" bustrip to Marken and/or Monnickendam. In the summer months there is a ferry service between Marken and Monnickendam (its "big city"), so you might take the bus to Marken, walk around, then take the ferry to Monnickendam, visit there and take the bus back to Amsterdam. Not your standard tourist packave, but mostly off the beaten track in the "golden triangle of tourism" :)

Enkhuizen is really an all day visit as it has an skansen and an enclosed museum. The town itself is also attractive and worth a stroll.

https://flic.kr/p/ofCiPL

Thanks for all the replies. I will take a look at the Zuiderzeemuseum. It sounds quite interesting.

Enkhuizen is gorgeous. As an option, you might want to combine Enkhuizen with equally gorgeous Hoorn. Like Enkhuizen, this was one of the Zuiderzee cities that rose to prominence in the 17th century.