Itinerary for Netherland day trips.
 

We have an apartment in Zandvoort for two weeks starting in mid April. After a lot of research, we have decided on these day trips.

M. IAD to AMS
T. Zandvoort (arrival day)
W. Keukenhof and Haarlem
T. Steam train, roundtrip, from
Hoorn to Medemblik. Spend rest
of day in Hoorn
F. Alkmaar and Zaanse Schans
S. Lelystad and Urk
S. Three hour boat ride from Katwijk
aan Zee and Leiden
M. Volendam, Monnickendam, and
Marken
T. Amsterdam
W. Leiden
T. Delft and Den Haag
F. Enkhuisen
S. Flower Parade, town not yet
decided
S. Amsterdam
M. open

T. Early train to Brugge
W. Brugge, Quasimodo " Triple Treat
Tour"
T. Brussels
F. BRU to IAD

The open day may be spent in Middelburg or Utrecht

What are you planning to see in Lelystad? Other than the museums and the Bataviawerf (which is interesting and worth visiting) it is really not a place worth visiting being a rather grotty new town with a dubious reputation.
I assume you have a car for all this as urk for instance isn't accessible by train? if you do have a car then if you go to Urk carry on to Schokland, a UNESCO world heritage site, and another former island. If you have time you can also either enjoy the bulb fields of the Noord-Oost Polder (more there than in the traditional areas now) or go onto Blokzijl and see this lovely little village.

Also if you have a car then instead of taking the A6 to Lelystad turn off the motorway towards Almere Stad West (junction 3) just over the bridge, and follow the N702 then the N701 along the Oostvaardersdijk, edging the Ijsselmeer, for a more pleasant drive.

Otherwise it sounds like a good trip. I would have perhaps added a long day up to Friesland to it, but that's only because I love Friesland so much.

WOW!, ronkala.. Do you need someone to carry your luggage for you? I'm very envious of your upcoming travel plans. It's a Netherlands Lover's Dream Trip! Have a great time and a safe journey, and please post a report when you return.

Robyn :)>-

I forgot to add that you need to buy your tickets for the Van Gogh museum ahead of time for a timed entry ticket due to a special exhibition then. You can buy them from the museum website.

Hetismij,
We won't have a car. Train and bus will our way of travel. We will take the train to Lelystad and then the bus from there.

I saw your info about the Van Gogh tickets on another thread.

I also hilited Groningen in my Frommers book, but never really looked into it. Would that be a worthwhile trip? Three hours away by train, but that's ok, we want to see the country. Apeldorn is another consideration.

Artstuff,
We are ok with the luggage thankyou,
but if you would like to drive us from the Shenandoah Valley to Dulles, that would be great. =P~

Ah shame you won't have a car. Maybe I can tempt you to hire one - just for that one trip - so much more to see in that area which you can't get to easily by public transport.
As I said apart from Bataviawerf there is little to keep you in Lelystad.
Apeldoorn is worth a visit. Paleis het Loo has lovely gardens which should be looking good when you are over.

Maybe we will just walk around the Lelystad market Saturday morning for a while, then continue on to Urk. If we leave Urk early enough we will go back to Leiden, Haarlem or Amsterdam for dinner.

How late does it stay light the last two weeks of April?

It's light until around 9 pm late April.

Have a look at http://www.bataviawerf.nl/en/index.html, and see if that appeals to you - you can get a bus to it from the station.

I'm tempted to offer to take you up there, but I'm not I'll be in the country then ;)

If you like to shop, in Lelystad (next to the Bataviawerf) is a large outlet-malle (Batavia Stad).

Groningen is a nice city, but I don't know if it is worth the 3 hour train journee.

I would choose Utrecht over Middelburg. Easier to get and bigger, so more to do. Nice railway-museum.

Hetismij,
Thankyou for your kind thoughts and offer. We decided to skip Lelystad and Urk and use the day to go Apeldoorn and Hoge Veluwe National Park.

Tommie,
We enjoy walking through the town markets, but I had thirty years of retail management and no longer go to malls or large stores. We still have one unplanned day available to use if we wanted to return to any any of the places previously visited. We may use that one to go to Utrecht.

Don't be put off by your arrival in the middle of the Netherlands biggest Mall if you go to Utrecht. The station is part of it, and you can quickly get through it to the old town which is far more interesting. The canal trip is different to other cities because the canals are at basement level. Lots of lovely cafés and restaurant along side the canals too. Good museums are the Speelklok to Pierement, www.museumspeelklok.nl/
the railway museum www.spoorwegmuseum.nl
and the Centraal museum, www.centraalmuseum.nl including the The RietveldHuis www.rietveldschroderhuis.nl.
If the Dom tower is open and you can stand the height then you may enjoy the climb.
Utrecht also has a big open air market on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Saturdays have the most stalls, Fridays there is a small farmers market in addition to the main one.

Apeldoorn and Hoge Vuursche sounds a better bet with no car, and more attractive than Lelystad.

You can always mail me: b.g.buck at gmail.com

Once again I have to send you my thanks. All four museums look interesting, and Utrecht will most likely fill out our schedule.

ronk