Day Trips from Amsterdam: Haarlem, Utrecht, Giethoorn, The Hague

Choosing your day trip at a glance

All of these cities can be reached by train from Amsterdam Centraal, without changing trains except for Giethoorn. The price shown is a full-fare one-way ticket in 2nd class; a return costs twice as much.

NS fares found in October 2026 (NS 2026 fares, contactless payment or e-ticket). Travel times are those of the most frequent trains and vary with the time of day.

Taking the train in the Netherlands: tickets and tips

Trains are run by NS (Nederlandse Spoorwegen). There are no seat reservations: you simply board the next train, and Intercity trains to Haarlem, Utrecht or The Hague leave several times an hour.

• Contactless bank card (OVpay): as on Amsterdam's trams, tap your card or phone on the card reader before boarding (check-in) and when you arrive (check-out). You pay the full fare for the journey, with no surcharge. Do not forget to check out, or a fixed amount is charged.
• E-ticket: the NS app and website sell single tickets and same-day returns (Dagretour) with no surcharge. At ticket machines, a ticket on a single-use card costs €1.60 extra.
• Children: up to the age of 3 they travel free; from 4 to 11, the Railrunner ticket costs €2.50 for the whole day, whatever the distance, when they travel with an adult.
• Holland Travel Ticket: one day of unlimited travel by train (2nd class), bus, tram and metro across the whole country, for €79, or €54 for the off-peak version, which is not valid on weekdays between 6:30am and 9am or between 4pm and 6:30pm. It pays off for Giethoorn or if you visit several cities on the same day.
• Amsterdam & Region Travel Ticket: from €23 a day, it also covers the train to Haarlem (see our guide to getting around Amsterdam).

If you can, avoid the weekday morning and late-afternoon rush hours: trains to Utrecht and The Hague are packed at those times.

Haarlem, the neighbour 15 minutes away

Just 15 minutes by train, Haarlem is the easiest day trip: the station is a 10-minute walk from the centre. The city has kept a compact historic centre, lively shopping streets and hofjes, almshouse courtyards lined with small houses, several of which are open to visitors during opening hours.

• The Grote Markt and the Grote Kerk (Sint-Bavokerk): the main square, lined by the town hall and the Vleeshal (the old meat hall), is dominated by the Gothic Church of St Bavo and its Müller organ, which Mozart played as a child.
• The Frans Hals Museum, Groot Heiligland 62: portraits by Frans Hals and Golden Age painting in a former almshouse. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 11am to 5pm; €18.50, free up to 18.
• The Teylers Museum, Spaarne 16: the oldest museum in the Netherlands, opened in 1784, with its fossils, scientific instruments and original Oval Room. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm; €18.50, €2.50 for ages 6 to 17.

Haarlem combines well with the beach at Zandvoort, about ten minutes further by train, or in spring with Keukenhof gardens, served from Haarlem by a seasonal bus.

Utrecht, the two-level canals

The country's fourth-largest city and a major university town, Utrecht is less than half an hour away by train. Its special feature is on the Oudegracht: the canal is lined with low wharves, the werven, where the old merchants' cellars now house cafés and terraces right by the water.

• The Domtoren: at 112 metres, it is the tallest church tower in the Netherlands. You climb it on a guided tour, up 465 steps; tickets €13.50, €8.50 for ages 4 to 12, free under 4. Bags are not allowed in the tower: free lockers are provided.
• The centre around the Dom: Dom Square, the cathedral cloister and its garden, then the shopping streets around the Oudegracht.
• The Centraal Museum and the Nijntje Museum, devoted to Dick Bruna's rabbit Miffy, who was born in Utrecht: a good stop with young children.

Allow a full day to climb the Dom, walk along the wharves and take a boat or canoe trip on the canals.

The Hague, the Mauritshuis and Scheveningen beach

The Hague (Den Haag) is not the capital, but it is home to the government, the parliament and the King's working palace. Den Haag Centraal station is a few minutes' walk from the centre.

• The Mauritshuis: this small museum in a 17th-century palace holds Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring, Fabritius's The Goldfinch and works by Rembrandt. Tickets €21, free up to 18; open 10am to 6pm Tuesday to Sunday, from 1pm on Mondays.
• The Binnenhof: the group of buildings where the parliament used to sit is being renovated for several years; you can walk past its façades and the Hofvijver pond, right next to the Mauritshuis.
• Scheveningen: The Hague's large beach, with its pier and the Kurhaus, is reached by HTM tram (lines 1 and 9) from the central station in about fifteen minutes.

The Hague combines easily with Delft, about ten minutes away by train.

Delft, Vermeer's town

A small town of canals lined with lime trees, Delft is Johannes Vermeer's birthplace and the home of blue-and-white Delftware. Everything can be seen on foot from the station.

• The Markt: the main square is framed by the town hall and the Nieuwe Kerk, where William of Orange and members of the royal family are buried. A joint ticket gives access to the Nieuwe Kerk and the Oude Kerk, whose tower leans noticeably; climbing the Nieuwe Kerk tower costs extra.
• Vermeer Centrum Delft: it traces the painter's life and technique through reproductions (no original Vermeer is kept in Delft).
• Royal Delft: the last historic Delftware factory, in business since the 17th century, can be visited along with its workshop and museum.

Rotterdam, modern architecture

Rotterdam's centre was destroyed by the German bombing of 14 May 1940; the rebuilt city became a testing ground for contemporary architecture, very different from the canal towns. The fastest option is the Intercity Direct, which runs via Schiphol and the high-speed line: about 40 minutes, with a €3.20 supplement between Schiphol and Rotterdam, to buy on top of your ticket. Regular Intercity trains, with no supplement, take about 1 hr 10.

• The Markthal, near Blaak station: an arch-shaped covered market whose ceiling is covered with a huge mural of fruit and vegetables. Free entry.
• Piet Blom's cube houses (Kubuswoningen), right next door: yellow cubes tilted on pillars; one of them can be visited as a show home.
• Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen: the Boijmans museum's publicly accessible storage, a bowl-shaped building covered in mirrors, with a rooftop terrace. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 11am to 5pm, with a time slot booked online only.
• The Erasmus Bridge (Erasmusbrug) and the banks of the Maas, to explore on foot or by water taxi.

Giethoorn, the village without roads

Giethoorn, in the province of Overijssel, is the most searched-for and the longest day trip. In the old village, thatched farmhouses line canals crossed by wooden footbridges; you get around on foot, by bike or by boat. The village lies on the edge of Weerribben-Wieden National Park.

Getting there by public transport: train from Amsterdam Centraal to Steenwijk (about 1 hr 45, direct or with a change at Zwolle depending on the timetable, €29.00 one way in 2nd class), then RRReis bus 70 to Giethoorn, about fifteen minutes. From April to October, line 270 adds extra services between Steenwijk and Giethoorn; out of season and at weekends, bus 70 runs no more than once an hour. You can also pay on the bus with a contactless card. Allow 2 to 2.5 hours door to door: leave early and check the time of the last bus back.

Once there, most visitors rent a small electric boat, which needs no licence, or take a guided boat tour. In summer and at weekends the canals are very busy: come on a weekday, early in the morning or out of season if you can. The houses are lived in; stay on the public paths and footbridges.

Nearby day trips, already covered in detail

Several classics less than an hour from Amsterdam have their own page, with opening hours, prices and directions:

• Zaanse Schans: working windmills on the banks of the Zaan, about twenty minutes away by bus or train.
• Volendam and Marken: two former fishing villages on the Markermeer, by bus from the central station.
• Keukenhof: the tulip gardens in Lisse, open in spring only.
• Muiderslot: the medieval castle of Muiden, east of Amsterdam, by train to Weesp then bus.

Further reading

To fit a day trip into your stay, see our Amsterdam in 3 days itinerary, which keeps one day for getting out of the city. Check-in rules and travel passes are explained in our guide to getting around Amsterdam, and our guide to the best time to visit Amsterdam helps you choose the season, especially for Keukenhof and Giethoorn.