Amsterdam in 3 days

You have a car for day 2 & 3?

Hello Tonfromleiden,

Thank you for your reply. I have a car on day 2, picking it up after Albert Cuyp Market, and drive over to Keukenhof.
I am thinking whether to drive to Alkmaar or not, as I live near Sloderdijk area, I can take trains to Alkmaar directly, then take bus to Schermehorn, then back to Alkmaar. I am searching for places to go after Schermerhorn, if there are places worthwhile for a visit I may consider driving also.

Alkmaar and Schermerhorn won't keep you busy for the whole day. With a car you can easily continue to Hoorn. It's a beauty. Don't forget the Westfries Museum. The square in front of it has good terraces in case the weather is fine. On the way back Monnickendam and Edam are nice. Or you can go by way of De Rijp, a small village between two of the largest 17th-century reclamations. Interesting area.
Leiden or Haarlem (mind the spelling!) is a difficult choice. Haarlem has two wonderful museums (Frans Hals and Teylers) and a good market square, things Leiden has not on offer. You can slowly drive back to Sloterdijk via Spaarndam of Hans - Silver Skates - Brinkers fame. Nice spot.

Hello Tonfromleiden,
Thank you for your reply and the info you gave me. Just check the places you mentioned, I can just drop by and drive thru them, since driving point to point is quite near, and it should wrap up my day and head back to the city in the evening.
I guess I will choose Haarlem, well I haven't confirmed yet, cuz I googled around and said that they way to Leiden has a scenic tulip field. Also, I will need to see how long I will spend at Keukenhof(perhaps 2-3hrs or less), then if time allows I will see where I decided to go.
Thank you again for your reply again, really appreciate it. Hope my trip will be smooth.

Haarlem is a good choice.
There are also tulip fields between Lisse and Haarlem, for instance around the village of De Zilk. But everything depends on the weather. At the moment it's getting real spring, so it might be an early season.

Thank you for your message again. Yes, I marked down De Zilk on my day 2 schedule, along with Keukenhof, Haarlem/Leiden. Driving can allow us to hop on and off nearby and see the tulip field. I have one quick question, I will drive to Poldermolen can de Zemelpolden, any chance there will be other windmills nearby? Not necessarily a village, but one or two windmills I can take a pictures of?

I wouldn't know. Sorry.
But you've already got the windmill trio in Schermerhorn on your list, as beautiful and original as you can get. Cross the road and after a few hundred metres you'll find another two on the appropriately named Molendijk (Mill dike). Google Maps will show them.

Hi Tonfromleiden,
I just have a plan which I thought it may work, or it may not, if you don't mind to give me some comments about it?
So on day 3, I will visit the Alkmaar cheese market and Schermerhorn, then I am planning to head over to Edam/Volendam, rent bikes and stroll down to Monnickendam, Marken, Waterland. Then take public transport(bus 312,314,315,316) back to Amsterdam Centraal.
So the main issues I am facing are :
1. I googled around and read that people ride bikes from Edam/Volendam to the above villages then to Amsterdam, do you know if there's any bike rental companies which allows us to rent from Edam, and drop it off at Marken? Just read that the bike routes looks picturesque along so wanna bike thru them. Then will take a bus from Marker back to Amsterdam Central, as we may be dead tired from the bike rides.
2. From Schermerhorn or Alkmaar, the time for travelling by bus take about 1.5hrs, I MAY think to hire a private car to head over to Edam so save some time, would you recommend this idea?

Also, with these villages I am visiting along with Alkmaar and Schermerhorn, our schedule won't be too tight? Assuming we just gonna drop by Edam(perhaps less then an hour for food), Monnickendam, Marken and Waterland(I may skip this), and hopefully to be to Amsterdam in the evening.

Sorry to have bother you again, hope you can give me some suggestions with the route I just thought of.
Thank you very much.

1. I can't imagine a rental allowing you not to return your bicycle to the same place. What you've googled might have been people on some organised trip.
2. With a car you obviously have much more flexibility.

But why to Volendam and Marken? It's such a tourist trap. Rent a bicycle in Alkmaar and do the trip Schermerhoorn, Grootschermer, de Rijp and back to Alkmaar. Or rent a car and put Hoorn on your list, and return to Amsterdam by way of Monnickendam and Volendam (and be glad you've done other things).

1. Yes, that's the problem, and googled all night and seems no bike companies would allow me to do so, guessed I will have to forget about this route, might as well do it after the bike ride within Alkmaar, Schermerhoorn, Grootschermer, di Rijp and back to Alkmaar area, IF time allows. Or after this bike ride, rent a car from Alkmaar to Edam/Volendam, Marken then back to Amsterdam. My wife googled and thought Edam/Volendam and Marken looks really nice and likes the atmosphere of the fishy village. But I will let her know it's a tourist trap, haha.
2. I will be staying at the Sloterdijk area, taking train to Alkmaar is very convenient. But driving, like you said, will be more convenient, so I can fit every spot I mentioned above in a day, despite being a tight schedule. One issue holding back my decision from driving is the parking during the Alkmaar cheese market day, thought it may be crowded and fully packed, may head over earlier instead to avoid the crowds.