Does anyone have a two day family fairy tale in the Netherlands they'd like to share? I'm interested in the cute little towns of Volendam, Edam, Marken, etc., or a stay in Haarlem, or a trip out to one of the outdoor museums. I'd appreciate any successes you've had with kids (we want to see a windmill, canal, ride a bike, and/or just have a quintessential experience). :)
Posted by
Everett, WA
1288 posts
How old are the kids? We did a great ride from Amsterdam to Edam, then Volendam and a ferry to Marken. However, it was an all day ride. We loved the countryside and small villages in the Waterland area.
Posted by
Downingtown, USA
2364 posts
Age of children is important. Took teenagers to Haarlem, rented bikes, loved canal, windmill which I seem to remember was not working but cute to see. Spent an hour or so in the lovely area outside church where they just wandered while we relaxed. Ten Boom Museum was for us highlight of trip, maybe more so than Anne Franks, but that is just our opinion.
Posted by
OP
Kaysville
5 posts
Thank you! My children will be 13, 9, and 7. We may have some other family members come who will pull a 4 and 5 year old in bike trailers. So, I think we'd be up for a 2-3 hour ride.
Posted by
Denver
787 posts
Just to keep in mind, I do not recall seeing any / many bike trailers in Amsterdam. Seems like with younger kids, they primarily have child seats that go between the handlebars in front, or behind the parent in back - or both! I might have seen a tag-along, as I recall, maybe, but I don't know if those would be available as rental bikes.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23262 posts
I completed agree with Lexma. And started to post the same thing. I have never seen a trailer. But once saw a young lady with a very young one strapped to her chest, a bigger one riding in the seat up front and bigger one yet on the seat behind her (all without helmets) with panniers full of groceries and going at a pretty good clip. In the US, we would have gone nuts over this irresponsible mom exposing her children to such great risks -- BUT she had great legs and.......
Posted by
OP
Kaysville
5 posts
Thanks for all the ideas. I did find a place in the Netherlands, and thanks to Google translation, was able to decipher the website and get in touch with the shop in Edam. Ronald Schot <info@ronaldschot.nl> carries bikes, the small front carriers between the handle bars, tag along bikes (one of my favorite ways to tote kids) and trailers. The route from Edam all the way to Markem is about 15 miles, so I'll have to give that some though, and perhaps just bike around Edam. They have maps there, and it sounds like any direction you go is going to be beautiful.
Posted by
Everett, WA
1288 posts
Melissa- You could bike to Volendam and then take a ferry to Marken. Then depending on how it was going, you could take the ferry back or ride around the long way. (I think you will probably take the ferry back. The day we were there it was windy going on the causeway that connects Marken to the mainland and made for some hard pedaling) Edam was my favorite of the 3 towns and you might also consider just biking to a neighboring town and back.