Getaways from Amsterdam: day trips and destinations close by.

From Schiphol, some trains go direct to Leiden and Delft

Schiphol, Amsterdam's airport, has direct flights from Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Valencia, Alicante, Seville, Málaga, Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza, Gran Canaria, Tenerife South, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and La Palma. Some trains towards Leiden and Delft stop at the airport itself, so one of those cities can be your first stop without going through the centre.

Almost everything leaves from Amsterdam Centraal. By train, Haarlem is about 15 minutes away, the Zaanse Schans 17, Utrecht half an hour, Alkmaar and Leiden about 35, The Hague 45 to 50 and Delft an hour. The Intercity Direct gets you to Rotterdam in about 40 minutes, and from there the WaterShuttle goes up the river to the Kinderdijk windmills. To the north, the train goes to Hoorn for the Enkhuizen and Hoorn triangle, and to the north-east, to Steenwijk, where bus 70 takes you to Giethoorn in about two hours in total. Behind the station, on the IJ side, the EBS buses leave for Edam, every quarter of an hour, and for Volendam, in about half an hour.

You hardly need a car. The only plan that calls for one is the canoe trip on De Wieden, an hour and a half away, through the reed beds of the national park next to Giethoorn.

Windmills and water villages half an hour away

Less than half an hour by road are the water villages and windmills: Edam, the Zaanse Schans and the castle at Muiden with Naarden, 25 minutes away, and Haarlem and Volendam with Marken, 30. They fit in a morning, but they are enough for a day.

Between half an hour and an hour is the bulk: Keukenhof (40 minutes), Alkmaar, Leiden and Utrecht (45), Gouda (50), The Hague and the triangle of Hoorn, Medemblik and Enkhuizen (55), and Delft (60). Almost all have a direct train and an easy return for dinner in Amsterdam.

More than an hour away are Dordrecht (65), Rotterdam with Kinderdijk (70) and Giethoorn (90). For them there are getaways: two nights in Rotterdam with Kinderdijk and The Hague and one night in Giethoorn, to take a boat out when the excursions leave.

Keukenhof is open from 18 March to 9 May

Spring is the bulb season. Keukenhof is open from 18 March to 9 May 2027 and the bloom depends on the weather; with two nights in Haarlem you can get in at 8:00. Leiden has flower fields nearby in March, April and May.

From spring to late summer are the cheese markets: Alkmaar, on Fridays from late March to late September, and also on Tuesday evenings in July and August; Gouda, on Thursdays from April to August, and Edam, on Wednesdays in July and August. From April to October the steam tram of the Historic Triangle, the Delft boats and the Dordrecht Waterbus to Kinderdijk run; from May to September, the De Wieden canoe, with birds in the reed beds.

In winter it is best to stay in the cities with museums that open all year: Haarlem, Leiden, Utrecht, The Hague and Muiderslot. Kinderdijk closes for a few weeks in January and the boat only sails Friday to Sunday; in Giethoorn, from November to March, the museum is open only Friday to Monday.

Haarlem, a quarter of an hour by train

• Without a car, in a day: Haarlem from Amsterdam. A quarter of an hour by train, St Bavo's church, the oldest museum in the country, a windmill on the river and a boat on the Spaarne; Tuesday to Saturday.
• With one night: Delft. An hour by train, the tower and the two churches, Vermeer, the blue pottery factory and a night beside the oldest canal.
• With two nights: Rotterdam. The harbour and architecture, the Kinderdijk windmills by boat and a day in The Hague with Vermeer and Scheveningen beach.