Amsterdam: 5 easy and affordable day excursions

Amsterdam is obvious when visiting the Netherlands. He has tons of old world charm and many excellent hotels on a budget.

After a few days in this dynamic city, generally the next on the list would be a day trip to Rotterdam, the Keukenhof Flower Garden or The Hague.

But staying in Amsterdam offers a variety of other a day excursions for Cheapos. Escape the crowd and the general public sites by trying one of these five other options to a bicycle or a train journey.

Our favorite Amsterdam day excursions

Haarlem

The city of origin from where Harlem of New York takes its name is a Picturesque and Cute Dutch City. A day can easily be wandered in the old streets and channels of Haarlem which date back to the 1600s.

Admiring Grote Kerk Square with a coffee on a terrace is a must. Corrie Ten Boomhouse is the place where a family hid hundreds of Jews during the Second World War. Today, the house is a free museum with a feeling of the 1940s which captures an important moment in the history of Haarlem. He also rarely has an expectation (unlike the Anne Frank house). Jopenkerk is a popular microbrewery inside an old church. The owners’ outside also come for live music for employers Concert Hall. The purchase emins love Haarlem for endless shops and department stores, while gourmets can appreciate the relaxed meal of organic vegetarian in India and Japan.

Arrive there: The trains of Amsterdam Central station leave a few times per hour. The trip lasts about 20 minutes in one way and a round-trip ticket costs around 5 to 9 €.

Related: a guide to visit Haarlem on a budget

Voyage from Vélondam

Vollendam is a small place off the coast of Lake Islomeer with an adorable sailboat port. You can get there by an hour of bike through the Dutch countryside with a few cheese farms and hoof shops open to visit along the way. The strip of small town is dotted with souvenir shops, fried fish stands, ice cream salons and authentic brown cafes.

Artists like Picasso and Renoir liked to hang out here, and nowadays it looks like a lazy Dutch seaside city. The traditional costume of caps and striped vests is generally spotted on a few inhabitants, with a few sessions of photos dressed in business as well. There is also a ferry here which goes to the Marken peninsula – a somewhat forgotten fishermen’s village with traditional wooden houses and an adorable lighthouse.

Arrive there: Take the central ferry of Amsterdam through the IJ river in Amsterdam Noord. From there, follow the cycle path panels for Broek in Waterland (the original city Brooklyn bears the name) and continue north to Monnickendam then to the northeast to Stolendam. The signs of green bikes mean picturesque, the reds mean the fastest. It takes about an hour in each direction. Want the bus? Take number 316 on the north side of Amsterdam Centraal and go down to Katwoude, Hotel Steendam. The trip lasts about 25 minutes and a round-trip ticket costs 6 to 8 €.

Zaanse Schans is a picturesque district of Zandaam with a museum and windmills. Photo: Bert K

Sandaam and Zaanse Schans

The city of Zandaam is famous for its picturesque collection of six historic windmills, house clusters and landscapes of water. The Zaanse Schans windmills here remained from its seventeenth -century glimpses as a major grinding area for oil, saw, dyeing and mustard. Most windmills are always open to the public, and some still sell what they do.

The village never seems to have left the 1600s. There is an old market from Albert Hein (the great grocer of Amsterdam), a Slog factory and a cheese. Tourist buses love to drag visitors aboard a day trip, but go ahead to absorb the historic feeling of Zandaam and its environment. It is easier to dodge the crowd this way. Try to make a boat visit to the Zaan river, it’s a tour of € 12 in April to September and a large tourist advantage.

Arrive there: The trip is an hour of bicycle in each direction, but it is best to have a card for loop turns. Otherwise, the local trains (alias Sprinter) going to Alkmaar from the stop at Amsterdam Centraal station in Koog-Zandijk are about 35 minutes. Go down there and walk along the “Dijk” to the windmills (about 10 minutes). The cost of the train is around € 19.50 round trip. You can also get there if you buy an Amsterdam & Region Day ticket.

The magnificent Haar castle is straight out of a fairy tale. Photo: Ryan Beck

Dutch castle: Den Haar

One of the best advantages of Europe’s visit is all the castles, and the Benelux region is full. Just outside Utrecht is Castle de Haar, a beautiful place open to visualization and train around the lush gardens. The oldest parts of the foundation come from the early 1500s, but most of the castle you see today was built in the 1890s by the same architect who designed Amsterdam Central Station and the Rijksmuseum. The exterior is a beautiful garden of flowers and trees between a ditch and small canals. The one hour guided tours are the only way to see the interior. The Dutch family who has this property has defeated and dinner of celebrities such as Brigitte Bardot and Roger Moore to their peak.

Château details: The gardens are open every day from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., while the castle is open on Monday. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., an adult ticket is 20 €, but if you just want to admire the castle from the outside and wander in the gardens, it’s only 8 €. More information on www.kasteldehaar.nl

Arrive there: Take an Amsterdam Centraal train at Utrecht central station and change the trains to catch the sprinter in Vleuten on the 18 platform (train destination: Den Haag Central, not the Interzcity, but the sprinter). In Vleuten, take bus 127 to Kockengen and go down to the “Brink” bus stop in Haarzuilens. From Monday to Saturday, the bus leaves every hour, Sunday every two hours (from noon). It’s 15 minutes walk from the castle from the bus stop. This is a trip at around 60 minutes in total and travel costs are around € 20 round trip.

Only 30 minutes from Amsterdam, Utrecht is well worth the visit. Photo: Olivia Netter

Utrecht

A student city with a good dose of channels, cafes and character, a day trip to Utrecht offers an overview of life in Holland which is relaxed and windy. One of the most unique sites in Utrecht is the old quays along the Oudegracht main canal that have been transformed into terraces at the water’s water. People come here to walk in the old city center and take a look at the Big Dom church which was destroyed by a storm in the 1600s. It also has a low-budget hotel options if you want to stay outside Amsterdam.

At night, cafes bring out the menus from the dinner with Dutch classics such as fish and steak tartare. Also consult music announcements in Tivoli, a five -bedroom concert hall that attracts impressive and popular acts of all genres.

Arrive there: Take an Amsterdam Centraal train at Utrecht central station. This is a 20-minute route and the cost is around € 21 round trip.