The Netherlands has an excellent public transportation network, making it quick and easy to take a day trip from the country’s capital city of Amsterdam. In this post, I’ve outlined 12 of the best day trips from Amsterdam.
For each location, I’ve included a list of the highlights, info on how to get there, and advice on the best time to go. The destinations are ordered from nearest to farthest. All of my suggested day trips are within two hours of the city center to ensure you’ll have plenty of time to explore before having to head back.
Recommended Reading:
The guide also has a dedicated section on Day Trips and includes a good overview on all of the destinations outlined in my post. Most destinations have excellent self-guided walking tours as well.
Click here to purchase Rick Steves Amsterdam & the Netherlands travel guide.
Overview
To help narrow down the choices, I’ve put together this chart so you can easily decide which is best given your interests, time restraints, and the time of year. Clicking on “Read More” will take you to the part of the post related to that particular destination.
| Destination | Highlights | Travel Time from Amsterdam Centraal | Best Time to Visit | Additional Info |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haarlem | Historic town; museums; market | 15-20 mins by train; 1 hr by bike | Year-round; Summer if you want to visit the nearby beach | Read More |
| Utrecht | Historic town; museums; flower market; good food | 30 mins by train | Year-round | Read More |
| Waterlands: Edam, Volendam, Maarken | Villages; cheese market | 30 mins by bus (to the first stop, Edam) | July through August for the cheese market | Read More |
| Hoorn | Historic town | 30 mins by train; 1 hr by bus | Year-round | |
| Leiden | Historic town | 30-45 mins by train | Year-round | Read More |
| Keukenhof | Gardens and greenhouses; biking | 40 mins (20 mins by train + 20 mins by bus) | Late-March to late-May | Read More |
| Zaanse Schans | Historic town; open-air museum | 50 mins by bus or train + walk; 1 hr by bike | Year-round; April through October are peak | Read More |
| Gouda | Village; cheese market | 50 mins by train | April through August for the cheese market | |
| The Hague | Museums | 1 hr by train | Year-round | |
| Delft | Historic town; museums; Royal Delft factory; good food | 1 hr by train | Year-round | Read More |
| Rotterdam | Modern architecture; museums | 1 hr 15 mins by train | Year-round | |
| Hoge Veluwe National Park | Hiking, biking; wildlife; museums | 1 hr 40 mins by public transport (1 hr by train + 25 mins by bus + 15 mins walk); 1 hr by car | April through November; the Heather blooms in August | Read More |
Haarlem
Haarlem is a very walkable town and a fun place to explore with its winding Medieval streets and brick alleyways.
At the center of Haarlem’s historic old town is a large square that transforms into an open-air market on Saturdays. Here, St. Bavo Cathedral towers overhead and is one of the highlights of a visit to this idyllic Dutch town. It’s impressive organ was even once played by a young Mozart! One of the Netherland’s famous artists, Frans Hals, is from here, too, and there’s a nice museum dedicated to his life and work. One of the most picturesque windmills in Holland is just on the edge of the old town and is not to be missed.
In the summer months, you can continue west to Bloemendaal aan Zee Beach, a popular destination for locals and fun place to grab a drink and relax after a day of sightseeing.
READ MORE: A Walk Around Historic Haarlem
HIGHLIGHTS:
- St. Bavo Cathedral
- Grote Markt
- Frans Hals Museum
- Teylers Museum
- De Adriaan Windmill
GETTING THERE: Take the intercity train from Amsterdam Centraal to Haarlem Centraal, which takes approximately 15-20 minutes. Or if you’re feeling adventurous, you can bike the 20km from Amsterdam to Haarlem, which takes around an hour.
BEST TIME TO GO: Year-round, although summer is best if you want to combine your trip to Haarlem with a trip to the beach. Grote Markt has their open-air market every Saturday and Monday.
Utrecht
Utrecht wins my vote for Most Picturesque Canals in the Netherlands.
The canal that runs through the old city is unusual in its double-decker design. Unlike Amsterdam’s canals, the houses hover just above the water; long stretches of the canal are lined with restaurants with canalside seating.
The old town feels quaint, so you may be surprised to know the country’s largest university is here. A climb to the top of Dom Tower gives an excellent view of the city. There are also some especially fun museums here, including a museum dedicated to mechanized musical instruments and a Railway Museum that occupies a former train station. An icon of the De Stijl movement, the Rietveld Schröder House is a must-see for architecture enthusiasts.
Visit on a Saturday and enjoy the bustling flower market at Janskerkhof square!
READ MORE: One Day in Utrecht: Exploring the Dutch City’s Historic Old Town
HIGHLIGHTS:
- St Martin’s Cathedral & Dom Tower
- Musical Clock Museum (Museum Speelklok)
- Railway Museum (Spoorwegmuseum)
- Janskerkhof Flower Market
- Rietveld Schröder House
GETTING THERE: Take the intercity train from Amsterdam Centraal to Utrecht Centraal, which takes approximately 30 minutes.
BEST TIME TO GO: Year-round; the Flower Market is on Saturdays
Waterlands (Edam, Volendam, Marken)
The Waterlands all-day bus pass makes it easy to visit a few quaint villages in this region in one day. The most popular route is the Edam-Volendam-Marken loop, which takes you from the cheesy town of Edam to the historic (former) island and fishing village of Marken. If you’re looking for a day trip to a quaint Dutch village (with the added bonus of a traditional cheese market during the summer months), this would be your best bet!
READ MORE: Day Trip to the Waterlands
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Edam’s Cheese Market
- The Edam Museum
- Fish & chips along Volendam’s waterfront
- Marken’s Historic fishing village and marina
- Marker Museum
GETTING THERE: An all-day bus ticket for the Waterland region can be purchased at Amsterdam Central Station for €10. This will get you from Amsterdam to Edam, Edam to Volendam, and Marken back to Amsterdam. For connection from Volendam to Marken, you’ll need to buy a ferry ticket (purchased at the ferry dock). The bus to the first stop, Edam, takes around 30-35 minutes.
BEST TIME TO GO: The bus route runs year-round, but the best time to visit is July through August to see Edam’s traditional cheese market.
Leiden
Leiden is home to the Netherland’s oldest and most prestigious university, and many parts of town feel like an Ivy League campus. Stately brick buildings with more ornamentation than your average Dutch facades line the canals; ornate gates and counterweight bridges bookend small pedestrian bridges.
Walking around the historic old town, it’s easy to feel as though you’ve been transported to 17th-century Holland during the peak of the Dutch Golden Age when the Netherlands was known worldwide for its booming trade industry, scientific innovation, and religious tolerance. It’s amazing to think that at one point Rembrandt and the pilgrims were living side-by-side here — that is until the pilgrims set sail for the New World in 1620.
READ MORE: One Day in Leiden: A Lovely Town with a Prestigious University
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Molenmuseum de Valk (Windmill Museum)
- Lakenhal Museum
- Boerhaave Museum
- Pieterskerk (St. Peter’s Church) and Square
- Hortus Botanicus (Botanical Gardens)
- Burcht
- American Pilgrim Museum
GETTING THERE: Take the intercity or Sprinter train from Amsterdam Centraal to Delft, which takes approximately 30-45 minutes.
BEST TIME TO GO: Year-round
Keukenhof Gardens
If you’re coming to the Netherlands in the Spring, then a day trip to Keukenhof is an absolute must. Keukenhof is one of the world’s largest gardens, covering nearly 80 acres and home to over 7 million bulbs. The tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths are only in bloom for two months, so spring is prime tourist season in Holland with over a million people visiting the gardens each year.
As an added bonus, you can also rent bikes in the parking lot at Keukenhof just outside the entrance and bike around the brightly-colored fields in the surrounding town of Lisse.
READ MORE: Day Trip to Keukenhof Gardens
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Gardens, greenhouses, and seasonal exhibitions at Keukenhof
- Biking through the flower fields around Lisse
GETTING THERE: The easiest way to reach Keukenhof is from Schipol Airport where you can catch the bus, which will take you to the gardens in about 20 minutes.
BEST TIME TO GO: Keukenhof is only open from late-March to late-May.
Zaanse Schans
This open-air museum is one of the most popular day trips from Amsterdam. Walking and biking trails weave between Zaanse Schans’ iconic windmills, many of which are still in operation and can be toured for a small fee. Old wooden houses in the regional “Zaan” style line narrow canals, and a number of old buildings and barns have been converted into museums showcasing trades traditional to this region, such as cheese-making or clog-making.
To learn more about the interesting history of the region and its industrial past, you can visit the Zaans Museum or Zandam Time Museum.
READ MORE: A Fall Visit to the Netherland’s Zaanse Schans Open-Air Museum
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Windmills
- Museum Shop Albert Heijn
- Catharina Hoeve Cheese Farm
- Wooden Shoe Workshop
- Zandaam Time Museum
- Zaans Museum
GETTING THERE: The Zaanse Schans open-air museum can be reached by bus or train from Amsterdam Centraal in around 20 minutes. You can also bike there, which takes around 1 hour.
BEST TIME TO GO: Year-round; some attractions may be closed from November to March.
Delft
READ MORE: One Day in Delft: Discovering its Royal History & Famous Factory
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Markt Square & Nieuwe Kerk (New Church)
- Oude Kerk (Old Church)
- Museum Prinsenhof
- Vermeer Centrum
- Royal Delft Factory
GETTING THERE: Take the intercity train from Amsterdam Centraal to Delft, which takes approximately 1 hour.
BEST TIME TO GO: Year-round
De Hoge Veluwe National Park
If an escape from the city is what you’re after, De Hoge Veluwe National Park is the perfect place to experience the best of the Netherland’s great outdoors. De Hoge is one of several parks that are grouped together in this part of the country in an area called the Veluwe. The park has 40 km (25 mi) miles of paved, car-free bike paths and even has communal and free-to-use bikes for those visiting without their own bicycle.
There’s an amazing diversity of landscapes within this relatively compact park — deciduous and coniferous forests, barren sand drifts, and grasslands reminiscent of the Serengeti. The park is also home to two excellent museums, one of which houses the world’s second largest collection of Van Goghs (second to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam).
READ MORE: Visiting the Netherland’s Hoge Veluwe National Park in the Fall
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Hiking or biking around the park
- Kröller-Müller Museum
- Jachthuis Sint Hubertus
GETTING THERE: Driving is definitely the easiest and quickest way to reach the park and will take around 1 hour from Amsterdam. If you’d rather take public transportation, you can take a train to Arnhem and then catch the bus to the park, which takes around 2 hours all together.
BEST TIME TO GO: Spring, Summer, or Fall are best, although the park is open year-round; to see the beautiful purple fields of Heather, you’ll want to visit in August.
Recommended Reading:
The guide also has a dedicated section on Day Trips and includes a good overview on all of the destinations outlined in my post. Most destinations have excellent self-guided walking tours as well.
Click here to purchase Rick Steves Amsterdam & the Netherlands travel guide.
Related Posts:
- Tips for First-Time Visitors to the Netherlands
- 3 Days in Amsterdam: What to Do & Where to Eat
- Complete Guide to Amsterdam’s Museum Passes
- 20 Interesting (& Surprising!) Facts About the Netherlands
- All other posts about the Netherlands
