# Volendam and Marken The dyke and harbour of Volendam, half an hour by boat across the Markermeer and the wooden houses of Marken, a former island without cars. 30 minutes by bus from Amsterdam. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/the-netherlands/volendam-and-marken · Revisado: 2026-11-12 Volendam and Marken are the two villages on the old Zuiderzee that everyone visits from Amsterdam, and you can do them together in a day: bus to Volendam, boat to Marken, bus back. They are very different. Volendam is a lively tourist village, with a dyke full of fish stalls, shops and photographers who dress you in traditional costume. Marken was an island until 1957, when it was joined to the mainland by a causeway, and is still a small village of green and black wooden houses on mounds, with no cars inside. ## How do I get there from Amsterdam? By bus. The EBS buses leave from the upper-level bus station on the IJ side, behind Amsterdam Centraal, and take about 30 minutes to Volendam. Marken has its own line. Pay with a contactless card when you get on and off, and check lines and timetables on 9292.nl. Between the two villages, the Volendam Marken Express boat crosses the Markermeer in half an hour every day, with departures between 11:00 and 17:30. It is the piece that makes the day a loop: without it you would have to go back towards Amsterdam and change buses. By car it is about 20 kilometres to Volendam. You cannot drive into Marken without a permit: park at the entrance and walk in. ## How do I organise the day? Leave Amsterdam around 9:30. Stroll along the dyke and harbour of Volendam before the crowds arrive, go down to the alleyway district of the Doolhof and, if you are interested, go into the Volendams Museum. Have fish at the harbour: a paper cone from the stalls on the dyke or a table at Smit-Bokkum, with its smoked eel. After lunch, take the boat to Marken. Walk around the Havenbuurt, the harbour district, and the Kerkbuurt, with the Marker Museum from late March to October, and if you have the energy walk along the dyke to the Paard van Marken lighthouse. Return to Amsterdam by bus from Marken. If you prefer, reverse the order: Marken in the morning, when it is almost empty, and Volendam in the afternoon. ## Is it worth sleeping there? If you go in high season, yes. The coaches leave mid-afternoon and the Volendam dyke is left to the locals. The Hotel Spaander, on the dyke itself since 1881, has rooms overlooking the lake and a swimming pool for guests. If you have a car, the Van der Valk at the entrance has free parking. From here, the Zaanse Schans is about 25 minutes away by car. ## When to go? From April to September: frequent boats, museums open and the lake calm. In winter the Marker Museum closes (from 1 November 2026 to 20 March 2027) and the wind on the dyke is noticeable, but the villages are quiet. ## Dónde está - Cerca: Edam (a 4.8 km), Amsterdam (a 17.6 km), Muiden and Naarden (a 18.2 km), Zaanse Schans (a 18.4 km) ## Qué hacer - **The dyke and harbour of Volendam** (1 h · All ages · Free): Volendam was a fishing village on the old Zuiderzee, the inland sea that was closed off with a dyke in 1932 and is today Lake Markermeer. The Haven promenade, on the dyke, is the main street: low houses on one side, wooden boats on the other and a row of stalls selling herring and smoked eel. Behind the dyke, down a few steps, is the old district of the Doolhof, a maze of narrow alleys and wooden houses with tiny gardens, much quieter. Walk the dyke from end to end, go down into the Doolhof and return to the harbour to catch the boat to Marken. In season and at midday the dyke fills up; first thing in the morning or at the end of the afternoon it is a different place. - **Boat from Volendam to Marken across the Markermeer** (30 min · All ages · Single or return ticket, with online sales): Volendam and Marken are in sight of each other, but by road you have to go round the lake. The Volendam Marken Express crosses the Markermeer in half an hour from Volendam harbour (Haven 39) to Marken's, every day, with departures between 11:00 and 17:30. The boats have heating, a bar and a toilet, and an upper deck from which you can see the outline of Marken draw near. You can take your bike on board. The classic plan is to take the bus from Amsterdam to Volendam, cross by boat to Marken and return to Amsterdam by bus from Marken, or the other way round. Buy your ticket online or at the harbour; in summer, at midday, there may be a queue. - **Volendams Museum** (1 h · All ages · Paid admission, with online sales): A small museum at the entrance to the village that shows the Volendam from before tourism: interiors of fishermen's houses, life in the harbour and, above all, the traditional costume, with its white-winged cap and coral necklaces, which can still be seen at festivals. In 2026 it also has an exhibition on the village's music, which has given the country many of its pop stars. It is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00; tickets can also be bought online. - **Dyke walk to the Paard van Marken lighthouse** (1 h 30 · All ages; flat, no shade · Free): The Paard van Marken, "the horse of Marken", is the white lighthouse that marks the eastern tip of the old island, attached to a keeper's cottage. From the harbour, follow the dyke east: on one side you have the Markermeer and on the other the polders with cows and the houses on mounds. It is a flat there-and-back walk of an hour and a half without hurrying, which can also be done by bike. There is no shade or bar on the way; bring water and a warm layer, because on the dyke there is always a breeze. - **Marker Museum, six little houses of Marken** (45 min · All ages · €4 adults · €2 up to age 12): Six little wooden houses joined together in the Kerkbuurt, the church district, show how people lived in Marken when it was a fishing island: a house furnished as it used to be, with alcove beds and Delft plates on the walls, and rooms with the Marken costume, the most embroidered and colourful in the country, which changed according to age and occasion. It is open from late March to October and costs €4, €2 for under-12s. In winter it is closed. - **Smit-Bokkum eel smokehouse** (45 min · Adults and teenagers · Guided visit by reservation): Smoked eel is Volendam's delicacy, and at the Smit-Bokkum smokehouse, beside the harbour, it is still made in the traditional way, hung on rods over a wood fire. They run guided visits to the smokehouse with a tasting, which are booked on their website or by phone, and they have a smoked-fish shop and a small museum devoted to the village's music. The shop is open from Tuesday to Sunday. If you coincide with the first Saturday of September, it is Eel Day, with tastings across the country. ## Dónde comer - **Smit-Bokkum** (Restaurant, Volendam, €€€). Qué pedir: the smoked eel from its own smokehouse, as a starter to share. ## By plane: Fly to Amsterdam and take a bus to Volendam Volendam and Marken are half an hour by bus from Amsterdam, which has direct flights from Madrid, Barcelona and many other Spanish cities. From Schiphol, a train of about 15 minutes to Amsterdam Centraal and, behind the station, the EBS bus to Volendam. You do not need a car: the boat runs between the two villages. ### Dónde dormir if you're flying - **Hotel Spaander** (Hotel): The place Spaander opened as a café in 1854 and as a hotel in 1881, when Volendam became fashionable among the painters who came to portray the fishermen and their costumes. It is still in the same place, on the harbour dyke, and some rooms keep the style of different eras. The best have a balcony over the Markermeer. Why here Sleeping in Volendam lets you see the dyke empty in the morning and at dusk, when the coaches leave, and catch the first boat to Marken without hurrying. Guests use the wellness club, with pool, sauna and gym, free of charge. It has private parking and family rooms for four. - **Van der Valk Hotel Volendam** (Hotel): A Van der Valk chain hotel at the entrance to Volendam, in Katwoude, beside the Amsterdam road. The Deluxe rooms have been renovated, with a balcony and bath, and downstairs it has a pastry shop, the ZYLT restaurant and a bar. The best thing is how practical it is: free parking for guests and a direct route towards Amsterdam, the Zaanse Schans or Edam. It is a walk of about twenty minutes to the harbour. ### Servicios - **Bus from Amsterdam Centraal to Volendam and Marken**: EBS buses leave from the bus station on the IJ side, behind Amsterdam Centraal: about 30 minutes to Volendam; Marken has its own line. ## Car-free: Bus, boat and bus: Volendam and Marken without a car The car-free circuit is the prettiest: bus from Amsterdam to Volendam, a half-hour boat to Marken and a bus back from Marken, or the other way round. That way you cross the Markermeer and do not go round the lake by road. The budget per person per day includes sleeping in Volendam, eating fish and bus and boat tickets. Presupuesto orientativo: 100–170 € por persona y día. ### Dónde dormir without a car - **Hotel Spaander** (Hotel): The place Spaander opened as a café in 1854 and as a hotel in 1881, when Volendam became fashionable among the painters who came to portray the fishermen and their costumes. It is still in the same place, on the harbour dyke, and some rooms keep the style of different eras. The best have a balcony over the Markermeer. Why here Sleeping in Volendam lets you see the dyke empty in the morning and at dusk, when the coaches leave, and catch the first boat to Marken without hurrying. Guests use the wellness club, with pool, sauna and gym, free of charge. It has private parking and family rooms for four. - **Van der Valk Hotel Volendam** (Hotel): A Van der Valk chain hotel at the entrance to Volendam, in Katwoude, beside the Amsterdam road. The Deluxe rooms have been renovated, with a balcony and bath, and downstairs it has a pastry shop, the ZYLT restaurant and a bar. The best thing is how practical it is: free parking for guests and a direct route towards Amsterdam, the Zaanse Schans or Edam. It is a walk of about twenty minutes to the harbour. ### Servicios - **Bus from Amsterdam Centraal to Volendam and Marken**: EBS buses leave from the bus station on the IJ side, behind Amsterdam Centraal: about 30 minutes to Volendam; Marken has its own line. ## By car: By car through Waterland: Volendam, Marken and Edam By car you can link the Waterland villages in a day: Volendam, Marken and, if you like, the Zaanse Schans or Edam, which are a few minutes away. The problem is parking: in Volendam, leave the car in the car parks at the entrance; in Marken, in the central car park, because you cannot drive inside. The budget includes sleeping, food, petrol and parking. Presupuesto orientativo: 110–180 € por persona y día. ### Dónde dormir if you're driving - **Hotel Spaander** (Hotel): The place Spaander opened as a café in 1854 and as a hotel in 1881, when Volendam became fashionable among the painters who came to portray the fishermen and their costumes. It is still in the same place, on the harbour dyke, and some rooms keep the style of different eras. The best have a balcony over the Markermeer. Why here Sleeping in Volendam lets you see the dyke empty in the morning and at dusk, when the coaches leave, and catch the first boat to Marken without hurrying. Guests use the wellness club, with pool, sauna and gym, free of charge. It has private parking and family rooms for four. - **Van der Valk Hotel Volendam** (Hotel): A Van der Valk chain hotel at the entrance to Volendam, in Katwoude, beside the Amsterdam road. The Deluxe rooms have been renovated, with a balcony and bath, and downstairs it has a pastry shop, the ZYLT restaurant and a bar. The best thing is how practical it is: free parking for guests and a direct route towards Amsterdam, the Zaanse Schans or Edam. It is a walk of about twenty minutes to the harbour. ### Servicios - **Parking at the entrance to Marken**: You cannot drive in Marken without a permit: leave the car in the central car park at the entrance and walk in, about five minutes. ## As a family: Volendam and Marken with the family A day of boat, harbour and lighthouse that works at any age: the half-hour boat trip is the part children remember most, and there are no cars in Marken. ### What works best The Volendam Marken Express boat The dyke walk to the Marken lighthouse The Marker Museum, small and cheap A paper cone of fried fish on the Volendam dyke ### Where to sleep Hotel Spaander, with family rooms and a pool ### Where to eat Smit-Bokkum, to try the eel ### Bear in mind There are lots of people on the Volendam dyke at midday: careful with pushchairs The walk to the lighthouse has no shade or bars ### Qué hacer as a family - The dyke and harbour of Volendam - Boat from Volendam to Marken across the Markermeer - Volendams Museum - Dyke walk to the Paard van Marken lighthouse - Marker Museum, six little houses of Marken ## With young children: Volendam and Marken with small children With small children, stick to the short things: the boat, the harbour and the little houses of Marken. The lighthouse only if they go by bike or in a buggy. ### What works best The boat between the two villages, with a deck and toilet The boats in Volendam harbour The Marker Museum, with real dolls' houses ### Where to sleep Hotel Spaander, with an indoor pool ### Where to eat Smit-Bokkum or a paper cone of fried fish on the dyke ### Bear in mind The quays have no railings ### Qué hacer with young children - The dyke and harbour of Volendam - Boat from Volendam to Marken across the Markermeer - Marker Museum, six little houses of Marken ## With teenagers: Volendam and Marken with teenagers For teenagers, better by bike: take the bikes on the boat and ride to the Marken lighthouse along the dyke. And let them try the smoked eel, if only to say they did. ### What works best Cycling along the dyke to the Paard van Marken The boat across the Markermeer The visit to the Smit-Bokkum eel smokehouse ### Where to sleep Hotel Spaander, with a gym and pool ### Where to eat Smit-Bokkum ### Bear in mind In strong wind, the dyke by bike is hard going ### Qué hacer with teenagers - The dyke and harbour of Volendam - Boat from Volendam to Marken across the Markermeer - Dyke walk to the Paard van Marken lighthouse - Smit-Bokkum eel smokehouse ## Consejos ### Start with Marken if you get up early First thing, the former island is almost empty. ### Bring a coat for the boat and the dyke There is always a breeze on the Markermeer, even in summer. ### Try the eel It is the speciality of Volendam: in a restaurant or by the portion at the smokehouse shop. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### How do you get to Volendam from Amsterdam? By EBS bus from the bus station on the IJ side, behind Amsterdam Centraal, in about 30 minutes. ### How do you get from Volendam to Marken? By the Volendam Marken Express boat, 30 minutes, every day between 11:00 and 17:30. ### Can you see both villages in a day? Yes: bus to Volendam, boat to Marken and bus back to Amsterdam from Marken. ### Can you drive into Marken? Not without a permit. You park at the entrance to the village and continue on foot. ### What do you eat in Volendam? Fish, above all smoked eel and herring, at the stalls on the dyke or in a restaurant.