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HELP- 4days challenge: Amsterdam + Zaanse.S + D.Haag+ Kinderdijk

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HELP- 4days challenge: Amsterdam + Zaanse.S + D.Haag+ Kinderdijk

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Old Oct 1st, 2015 | 07:38 AM
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HELP- 4days challenge: Amsterdam + Zaanse.S + D.Haag+ Kinderdijk

Hi there, I know it sounds crazy, but if I really want to put this in my plan, how can I get this done?date will be from 25 Nov to 29 Nov, amsterdam will be my last station and I will be going back to my home country on 29 Nov, 10pm flight.

I will reach Amsterdam at about 8.30am, I intend to go to Alkmaar/Den Haag right after, hoping that I can visit the destination mentioned above in the 1st two days, I will leave the last two days for Amsterdam and Zaanse Schans.

Any advice guys?

Thanks.
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Old Oct 1st, 2015 | 07:39 AM
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Missed one, Alkmaar as well.
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Old Oct 1st, 2015 | 08:03 AM
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Assuming you can be at Amsterdam Centraal at 09.00, you take the 09.04 to Koog-Zaandijk, where you arrive at 09.20.
From here it's a short walk to the Zaanse Schans.
Assuming you're back at the Koog-Zaandijk station at 12.00, you take the 12.05 to Alkmaar, where you arrive at 12.44.
Alkmaar not being such a large city, you could easily be back at the station to take the 15.16 to Haarlem, another good place to visit. You're there at 15.48.
After looking around and having a beer at a terrace, you can easily be back at the station at 18.00 to get the 18.02 back to Amsterdam, which takes a mere 15 minutes.

From Amsterdam to Den Haag Centraal is easy. The 08.58 gets you there directly in 49 minutes.
Kinderdijk has a lot of options. The easiest is the 13.22 from The Hague to Dordrecht, arriving there at 14.01. Near the railway station you'll find bus 18, leaving at 14.11. At 14.49 you're at Kinderdijk, from where it's a 5- or 10-minute walk to what you came for.

All can easily be done by yourself by using the public transport planner http://9292.nl/en
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Old Oct 1st, 2015 | 08:05 AM
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To add a critical note: the term »challenge« is used so much, it's almost getting a totally empty expression.
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Old Oct 1st, 2015 | 08:40 AM
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Oh yes, I've taken the liberty to change your schedule. It's not very practical to have Alkmaar and Den Haag on one day, and Kinderdijk on another. A quick look on the map will learn you why. Unless you have good reasons to do so, in which case the link I gave you will show you how to plan your journeys.
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Old Oct 1st, 2015 | 09:40 AM
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Zaanse Schans if a fraction of greatness of Kinderdijk - could eliminate Zaanse Schans IMO - why Alkmaar unless on cheese market day - oh a nice old city but not better than a dozen or so more.
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Old Oct 1st, 2015 | 10:06 AM
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»Zaanse Schans if a fraction of greatness of Kinderdijk«
You're totally right, if only because the mills at Kinderdijk are in their natural habitat. I'd love to send our dear OP from Alkmaar via Schermerhorn to Hoorn, but I'm afraid that would really be a »challenge«.
The windmill complex at Schermerhorn is also such a beauty, in the middle of the endless green of North Holland. And Hoorn is a good destination, with the wonderful Westfries Museum.
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Old Oct 1st, 2015 | 08:25 PM
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lol~ just forget about the word challenge as i have no idea how big all these places are.

I will play around with the planner later.

Should i stay in Amsterdam for all these four days? and should i forget about Alkmaar because the cheese market is already over? or still worth the visit?
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Old Oct 1st, 2015 | 11:26 PM
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imo Alkmaar is too far out for what you want to do.

For Kinderdijk, you go to Rotterdam and take the Waterbus to Ridderkerk and change there to the ferry to Kinderdijk. You could continue to Dordrecht from there and take the train back to Amsterdam from Dordrecht. Or you could factor in Rotterdam as well, a totally different experience from Amsterdam and all those vaguely 17th century Provincial towns with a canal.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2015 | 12:47 AM
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»Should i stay in Amsterdam?«
If you mean whether you should change base, the answer is a clear no. Distances in the Netherlands are so small and the public transport is so efficient, there is no real need for it.
If you mean whether it is necessary to stay in Amsterdam, the answer is also a clear no. Why not have your base in, say, Haarlem? Nice city. Not overcrowded with all those tourists who think the Netherlands starts and finishes with Amsterdam. And only 15 train minutes from Amsterdam.

Alkmaar in itself is not very special. It has its nice things, but not really worth a train ride. Hoorn is much better if you want to go out.
The Waterbus from Rotterdam to Kinderdijk is one of the nicest ways to get to Kinderdijk, but it's more complicated then taking the bus from Dordrecht. After having visited Kinderdijk, you can take the ferry to Dordrecht. Interesting city.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2015 | 12:50 AM
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Nothing "complicated" about the Waterbus, I assure you. The Dordrecht busstation to me is quite a confusing place, and i go there quite often. The river is nicer.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2015 | 09:31 AM
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Guys. Please accept my apology, i didn't realise that i actually have 5 days, instead of 4 (25/11-29/11).

I will take your advice to put aside Alkmaar,based on your suggestion and after referring to the map, this is my plan.

1st day: Zaanse Schans & Hoorn
2nd day: Harleem & Den Haag
3rd day: Kinderdjik & Dordretch
4th & 5th: Amsterdam

There is a couple of passes available, can you advise which one fit my plan best? What is the name of the pass? How much and what does it include?

I tried to play around with the 9292 journey planner and i could have done it inaccurately, the total fare involved is more than 200 euro for 2 pax! That is shockingly expensive, i hope i got a wrong calculation.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2015 | 01:00 PM
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Passes- railpasses - none that are economic enough for your plans - there is a Benelux Railpass - check www.seat61.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com for lots on Benelux trains - anyway check the Benelux Railpass at sites above to see if it is better - probably more expensive than 100 euro a person.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2015 | 01:06 PM
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Those EUR 200 are very well possible. You're doing a lot of travelling on those 3 days. It amounts to some EUR 30 per person per day.
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Old Oct 3rd, 2015 | 04:36 AM
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I've checked it and it comes somewhat less than EUR 100 per person in total:
# EUR 16 Zaanse Schans and Hoorn (on the same ticket; Koog-Zaandijk is on the line Amsterdam - Hoorn; interrupting the journey is allowed);
# EUR 24 Haarlem and Den Haag (also on same ticket; Haarlem is on one of the lines Amsterdam - Den Haag);
# EUR 40 Dordrecht and Kinderdijk.
It's the trip to Dordrecht and Kinderdijk which is relatively expensive. It's up to you to decide whether you think it's worth it. Would you hesitate when it was EUR 30? Or 25? So, it's a EUR 10 or 15 difference which would make you miss something unique, and which you would regret afterwards. Just do it!
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Old Oct 4th, 2015 | 09:29 AM
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10-15 euro is about the price of 4-5 cups of coffee. Europe even with declining euro is still expensive. There are no cheaper alternatives - no buses really duplicating train travel.
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Old Oct 25th, 2015 | 06:14 AM
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May I know what does it mean by "interrupting the journey"? Taking Zaanse Schans and hoorn for instance, means I just need to buy one ticket (16euro) and I can travel to both destinations? (One way?) any duration given?
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Old Oct 25th, 2015 | 06:40 AM
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yes you can buy just one ticket for those. Provided the journey is completed on the same day and by the most direct route available the ticket is valid.
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