Day Trip Suggestions from Noordwijk

Hi, you can go with the bus to Leiden, from there with the train to Haarlem, The Hague, Utrecht, Delft, Rotterdam and from there with the "Waterbus" to the mills of Kinderdijk. You can also visit Antwerp as a daytrip or have a stop there on the way to Brussels in Belgium, also Mechelen is nice to visit.

I would choose from among the closer and smaller-town destinations. Leiden-Brussels by train takes 2-3 hours each way and big-city Brussels is not Rick's favorite destination in the region.

Looking at Google maps, I see that Noordwijk is near Leiden. Although Leiden is not covered by RS, I enjoyed my day there a lot. It has the Netherlands' oldest university, and really has a "college town feel." There's also a science museum there I liked.

If you want to learn about the places mentioned by Wil in his post, get a copy of Rick Steves Amsterdam, Bruges and Brussels. Despite the title, he has extensive listings for daytrips from Amsterdam, and covers many of the places Wil listed.

While opinions about Brussels vary (I'm in the negative camp), it doesn't make sense to go there as a daytrip from Noordwijk, when there are so many other closer places (including Antwerp, which I did like, if you want to get to Belgium instead of staying in the Netherlands). I'm not as fond of Delft as most others, and I really like Utrecht. And if you want a city quite unlike any other in the Netherlands, try Rotterdam. The modern architecture, like the cube Houses and the Erasmus Bridge, is fascinating.

Thank you for the suggestions. I have decided to forego Brussels in favor of some place closer like Haarlem or Waterland.