# Cerca de Amsterdam

From Amsterdam almost everything is within an hour by train or bus: Haarlem, Leiden, The Hague and Delft towards the coast; Utrecht and Gouda to the south; Edam, Volendam and Alkmaar to the north, with their cheeses, and further away Rotterdam, Kinderdijk and Giethoorn.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/the-netherlands/amsterdam/getaways

## Planes de un día
- [Edam: the cheese village](https://www.geocalia.com/en/the-netherlands/edam/itineraries/day-trip-to-edam-from-amsterdam.md) (25 min en coche): Half an hour by bus, the cheese market or the Henri Willig tasting, the museum with the floating cellar, lunch by the canal and the afternoon on the Markermeer.
- [Muiden and Naarden: castle and fortress](https://www.geocalia.com/en/the-netherlands/muiden-and-naarden/itineraries/muiderslot-and-naarden-from-amsterdam.md) (25 min en coche): Train and bus 110 to Muiden castle, the 1673 locks, lunch in a fort by the harbour and the afternoon in the star-shaped town of Naarden.
- [Zaanse Schans: windmills and boat](https://www.geocalia.com/en/the-netherlands/zaanse-schans/itineraries/windmills-boat-and-pancakes-from-amsterdam.md) (25 min en coche): A 17-minute train, windmills that still work, the boat on the Zaan, a cheese dairy and clogs, and 29-centimetre pancakes. Back in Amsterdam by mid-afternoon.
- [Volendam and Marken by boat](https://www.geocalia.com/en/the-netherlands/volendam-and-marken/itineraries/bus-boat-and-lighthouse-from-amsterdam.md) (30 min en coche): A half-hour bus to Volendam, the dyke and the harbour, smoked eel, a boat across the Markermeer to Marken, the wooden houses and the lighthouse. Return by bus from Marken.
- [Haarlem: square, museums and windmill](https://www.geocalia.com/en/the-netherlands/haarlem/itineraries/grote-markt-teylers-and-windmill.md) (30 min en coche): Fifteen minutes by train, St Bavo's church, the country's oldest museum, chips in the square, a windmill on the river and a boat on the Spaarne.
- [Keukenhof and Haarlem in spring](https://www.geocalia.com/en/the-netherlands/haarlem/itineraries/keukenhof-and-the-tulip-fields.md) (40 min en coche): 18 March to 9 May 2027: Keukenhof first thing, before the groups, the bulb fields around it and an afternoon in Haarlem before returning to Amsterdam.
- [Utrecht: the tower and the Oudegracht](https://www.geocalia.com/en/the-netherlands/utrecht/itineraries/domtoren-canals-and-wharves.md) (45 min en coche): Half an hour by train, the guided climb up the Domtoren, organs at Speelklok, lunch in a tower house, a canal boat and the Oudegracht wharves at dusk.
- [Leiden: antiquities, Hortus and canals](https://www.geocalia.com/en/the-netherlands/leiden/itineraries/egyptian-temple-garden-and-canals.md) (45 min en coche): Thirty-five minutes by train, the Egyptian temple at the antiquities museum, a sandwich opposite the university, the oldest botanical garden, a boat and a windmill.
- [Alkmaar: the cheese market](https://www.geocalia.com/en/the-netherlands/alkmaar/itineraries/friday-of-cheese-and-canals.md) (45 min en coche): Thirty-five minutes by train, the cheese market on the Waagplein, the museum in the weigh house, a boat under twenty bridges, lunch opposite the town hall and the cannonball house.
- [Gouda: cheese and stroopwafels](https://www.geocalia.com/en/the-netherlands/gouda/itineraries/cheese-stroopwafels-and-stained-glass.md) (50 min en coche): Train to Gouda, the cheese market opposite the Waag, lunch on the Markt, the stroopwafel factory, the Sint-Jan's 72 stained-glass windows and the city museum.
- [Steam tram and boat to Enkhuizen](https://www.geocalia.com/en/the-netherlands/enkhuizen-and-hoorn/itineraries/historic-triangle-hoorn-medemblik-enkhuizen.md) (55 min en coche): Train to Hoorn, the harbour and the Hoofdtoren, steam tram to Medemblik, boat to Enkhuizen, the Zuiderzeemuseum and dinner in the harbour before the train back.
- [The Hague: Vermeer, Escher and Scheveningen](https://www.geocalia.com/en/the-netherlands/the-hague-and-scheveningen/itineraries/vermeer-madurodam-and-beach-from-amsterdam.md) (55 min en coche): Fifty minutes by train, Vermeer at the Mauritshuis, Escher in a palace, lunch at a classic café, Madurodam and sunset on the Scheveningen pier.
- [Delft: tower, Vermeer and canals](https://www.geocalia.com/en/the-netherlands/delft/itineraries/tower-vermeer-and-blue-pottery.md) (1 h en coche): An hour by train, the Nieuwe Kerk tower above the Markt, Vermeer's grave, lunch at a canalside café, a boat under stone bridges and the blue pottery factory.
- [Dordrecht and Kinderdijk along the river](https://www.geocalia.com/en/the-netherlands/dordrecht/itineraries/dordrecht-and-kinderdijk-by-waterbus.md) (1 h 5 en coche): Train to Dordrecht, the Grote Kerk tower and Huis Van Gijn, lunch on the Statenplein and the Waterbus along the river to the Kinderdijk windmills.
- [Kinderdijk and Rotterdam: windmills and harbour](https://www.geocalia.com/en/the-netherlands/rotterdam/itineraries/kinderdijk-windmills-boat-and-harbour.md) (1 h 10 en coche): Fast train to Rotterdam, a boat to the Kinderdijk windmills, back along the river, the harbour with Spido and dinner at the Hotel New York, opposite the Erasmus Bridge.
- [Giethoorn in a day, without a car](https://www.geocalia.com/en/the-netherlands/giethoorn/itineraries/by-train-with-an-electric-boat.md) (1 h 30 en coche): Train to Steenwijk and bus 70. The canal path first thing, two hours in an electric boat along the Dorpsgracht and the lakes, lunch by the water and the peat museum.
- [Canoeing in the national park and the Giethoorn canal](https://www.geocalia.com/en/the-netherlands/giethoorn/itineraries/sunday-canoeing-in-de-wieden.md) (1 h 30 en coche): The Dwarsgracht canoe route through the national park, with no motorboats, lunch by the Giethoorn canal and a walk along the Dorpsgracht at the hour when it empties.

## 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](/en/the-netherlands/leiden) and [Delft](/en/the-netherlands/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](/en/the-netherlands/haarlem) is about 15 minutes away, the [Zaanse Schans](/en/the-netherlands/zaanse-schans) 17, [Utrecht](/en/the-netherlands/utrecht) half an hour, [Alkmaar](/en/the-netherlands/alkmaar) and Leiden about 35, [The Hague](/en/the-netherlands/the-hague-and-scheveningen) 45 to 50 and Delft an hour. The Intercity Direct gets you to [Rotterdam](/en/the-netherlands/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](/en/the-netherlands/enkhuizen-and-hoorn) triangle, and to the north-east, to Steenwijk, where bus 70 takes you to [Giethoorn](/en/the-netherlands/giethoorn) in about two hours in total. Behind the station, on the IJ side, the EBS buses leave for [Edam](/en/the-netherlands/edam), every quarter of an hour, and for [Volendam](/en/the-netherlands/volendam-and-marken), in about half an hour.

You hardly need a car. The only plan that calls for one is the [canoe trip on De Wieden](/en/the-netherlands/giethoorn/itineraries/sunday-canoeing-in-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](/en/the-netherlands/muiden-and-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](/en/the-netherlands/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](/en/the-netherlands/dordrecht) (65), Rotterdam with Kinderdijk (70) and Giethoorn (90). For them there are getaways: [two nights in Rotterdam with Kinderdijk and The Hague](/en/the-netherlands/rotterdam/itineraries/two-nights-with-kinderdijk-and-windmills) and [one night in Giethoorn](/en/the-netherlands/giethoorn/itineraries/one-night-in-giethoorn-from-amsterdam), to take a boat out when the excursions leave.

## Keukenhof is open from 18 March to 9 May

Spring is the bulb season. [Keukenhof](/en/the-netherlands/haarlem/itineraries/keukenhof-and-the-tulip-fields) is open from 18 March to 9 May 2027 and the bloom depends on the weather; with [two nights in Haarlem](/en/the-netherlands/haarlem/itineraries/two-nights-with-keukenhof-from-amsterdam) 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](/en/the-netherlands/alkmaar/itineraries/friday-of-cheese-and-canals), on Fridays from late March to late September, and also on Tuesday evenings in July and August; [Gouda](/en/the-netherlands/gouda/itineraries/cheese-stroopwafels-and-stained-glass), 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](/en/the-netherlands/enkhuizen-and-hoorn/itineraries/historic-triangle-hoorn-medemblik-enkhuizen), 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](/en/the-netherlands/haarlem/itineraries/grote-markt-teylers-and-windmill). 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](/en/the-netherlands/delft/itineraries/one-night-in-delft-from-amsterdam). 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](/en/the-netherlands/rotterdam/itineraries/two-nights-with-kinderdijk-and-windmills). The harbour and architecture, the Kinderdijk windmills by boat and a day in The Hague with Vermeer and Scheveningen beach.