Amsterdam Day Trips: 6 Day Itinerary
Six days is the point where repeating a bus-and-ferry day beats inventing a new one. The 5-day spine already covers Zaandam, Zaanse Schans, Haarlem, Marken and Volendam, Keukenhof, and Kinderdijk; Day 6 goes back to Marken and Volendam by bike instead of bus and ferry, a genuinely different and slower way to see the same villages. The 7-day version adds one more repeat day on top of this one.
Book these before you go
- Keukenhof entry , the priority booking if any of your six days fall inside 19 March to 10 May 2026.
- A Zaanse Schans windmill tour for Day 1.
- A combined Volendam and Marken tour for Day 3, useful if you would rather not plan the bus-and-ferry connection yourself before doing it again by bike on Day 6.
- Where to stay in Amsterdam , your base for all six nights.
| Day | Focus | Travel time from Amsterdam |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Zaandam and Zaanse Schans | ~11 min train, then one more stop (~6 min) |
| Day 2 | Haarlem | ~15-16 min train |
| Day 3 | Marken and Volendam by bus and ferry | ~34 min bus, +30 min ferry (seasonal) |
| Day 4 | Keukenhof (in season) or Kinderdijk | ~45 min shuttle, or ~40 min train + ~30 min shuttle via Rotterdam |
| Day 5 | Kinderdijk, or a second Zaanse Schans if out of season | ~40 min train + ~30 min shuttle, or ~17-18 min train |
| Day 6 | Waterland by bike, back to Marken | ~2-3 hrs round trip by bike, self-paced |
Day 1: Zaandam and Zaanse Schans
The NS train from Centraal reaches Zaandam in about 11 minutes, roughly EUR 3.50. Stop first for the Inntel Hotel’s stacked green-house facade and the Czaar Peterhuisje, the cottage where Peter the Great lodged in 1697 to study shipbuilding under an assumed name. One more stop, 6 minutes on, is Zaandijk Zaanse Schans. Entry to the open-air village is free; individual mills, the cheese demonstration, and the clog workshop each charge a few euros. Go before 10:30am, ahead of the tour buses.
Day 2: Haarlem
Haarlem is 15 to 16 minutes away, about EUR 5-6 one-way, on one of the busiest rail lines in the country (roughly 148 trains a day), the cheapest and fastest trip on this list. Half a day covers the Grote Kerk, home to the Müller organ a ten-year-old Mozart once played, and the Frans Hals Museum , with lunch on the Grote Markt.
Day 3: Marken and Volendam by bus and ferry
Skip Volendam alone; paired with Marken, a former-island fishing village of green wooden houses on artificial mounds, it earns the day. Bus 316 leaves from behind Centraal (platform level, IJ side) roughly every 15 minutes, reaches Volendam in about 34 minutes, EUR 5.80. From late March through October, the Volendam-Marken ferry crosses about every 45 minutes, a 30-minute ride, EUR 10 one-way or EUR 16.50 return; outside that season, bus 315 via Monnickendam covers the connection instead. Check iamsterdam.com for the current season.
Day 4: Keukenhof or Kinderdijk
If your trip falls inside 19 March to 10 May 2026, book Keukenhof ahead (the ticket link is above): about EUR 20.50 online, or EUR 35-38.50 for a shuttle-and-entry combo, roughly 45 minutes each way. Confirm exact hours and the closing date on keukenhof.nl . Outside that window, use this day for Kinderdijk instead.
Day 5: Kinderdijk, or a second Zaanse Schans
If Day 4 was Keukenhof, spend Day 5 at Kinderdijk, a UNESCO-listed network of 19 windmills built to drain the polder, reached via an Intercity train to Rotterdam (about 40 minutes, a connection point only) and then the WaterShuttle (Friday to Sunday, about 30 minutes from Willemskade) or the daily Waterbus. Entry runs roughly EUR 18 on weekdays, EUR 19.50 on weekends. If Day 4 was already Kinderdijk because your trip landed outside Keukenhof’s season, use Day 5 for a slower second Zaanse Schans visit instead, covering the sawmill, the oil mill, and the Zaans Museum that a fast first visit skips.
Day 6: Waterland by bike, back to Marken
For a sixth day, rent a bike in Amsterdam and ride out through Waterland, the polder landscape north of the city, rather than repeating Day 3’s bus-and-ferry route. The ride passes Broek in Waterland and Uitdam before reaching Marken directly by road, a genuinely different way to arrive at the same village, roughly 2 to 3 hours each way at an easy pace with stops. Return via the Volendam-Marken ferry (late March through October, EUR 10 one-way) and the train back from Volendam’s connecting bus stop, or simply cycle back the way you came outside ferry season. This is a repeat visit for people with time to spend, not a first introduction to the villages.
Is a bike day to Marken worth it if I already did Day 3?
Yes, if six days means you have already covered the fast version by bus and ferry and want a slower one. The Waterland route shows a different side of the same polder landscape, at a pace the bus does not allow, and it only makes sense once you already know the villages from Day 3.
Do I need a road bike for the Waterland route?
No. A standard rental city bike handles the flat polder roads without issue; this is largely paved cycle path and quiet farm road, not technical terrain. Lights are legally required if you are still out after dark, and Amsterdam rental shops brief every renter on Dutch cycling rules before handing over a bike.
Rent the bike for Day 6 the night before rather than the same morning; the shops nearest Centraal sell out of standard city bikes fast on clear-weather days in shoulder season.