Hi all!
Our family is traveling to Amsterdam for two weeks this spring (late April/early May) with our two toddlers. Any recommendations on day trips from Amsterdam that our two boys would enjoy? We're planning on taking 3 or 4 over our stay.
Posted by
MPLS, MN
399 posts
A suggested day trip would be to head to The Hague, maybe pop into Mauritshuis Royal Gallery. Wonderful art in a historic little building. If the kiddos behave okay for up to an hour, reward them by taking them to Madurodam, which is an outdoor miniature museum that even the kid in me enjoys. Then, take the tram to Delft, walk around the lovely town, have a nice meal, then take the train back to Amsterdam.
Posted by
California USA
4100 posts
Rent a bike with a child seat in Leiden or Lisse an ride around the flower fields which should be in full glorious bloom.. If the weather is “nice” take the train to Zandvoort and let the kids experience a sandy beach while you have a nice drink at one of the more than 30 restaurants in the sand.
Posted by
Colorado Springs
2980 posts
They might enjoy a bike ride over in the Waterland area just across the river from the central train station. There are a number of rental shops scattered around the city, but this place https://www.macbike.nl/ is located right at the train station itself, from where you can walk or ride the bikes down to the free ferry located about 100 yds away. From there you'll be on dedicated cycling paths (ie no vehicle traffic) for exploring the very pretty countryside ... a rural area with lots of little farms, cattle grazing in the fields, etc. One of the bike paths parallels the waterway (the Ijmeer I think) all the way up to the fishing village of Marken. There are a few little cafes along the way where you can fuel up with coffee, hot chocolate, etc. Would be a nice area for a picnic too - there are lots of scenic pulloffs available for that sort of thing, and I recall seeing children's playgrounds here and there that might be fun for the family.
As I recall the shops offer bikes with child seats at very affordable daily rates.
Renting a bike in the city is an option but would require you both to navigate thru city traffic to make your way to the ferry, and therefore might be a little nerve wracking with the kids in tow.
Posted by
307 posts
Great ideas submitted by others for bike rides in the countryside.
Would also recommend Zaanse Shanse to see the animals and windmills and wander around outside.
Enkhuizen would also be an option
RS book the Netherlands as a section for ideas for children; some may not be suitable for little ones, but worth a look.
You might consider train travel during nap time...
Have fun!
Posted by
martinez, ca, usa
2404 posts
hey legillott
look at withlocals.com and the family friendly things, kids are free. amsterdamcitytours.com has a tuktuk tour around the city, some bike tours but don't know if a child seat. like others have mentioned other companies that do them, the city is very busy with bikes everywhere. the countryside is the best bet, fietstaxi-sander-amsterdam.nl does pedicab tours to help you with the kids when and if they're tired of walking, amsterdam.info, holidayen.com, veritasvisit.com
you will be there during the tulip season and it will be busy and crowded so expect that. will you be taking strollers?
enjoy yourselves, you'll have fun
aloha
Posted by
Massachusetts
119 posts
A day trip to the Zuiderzee Museum in Enkhuizen was my family's "trip highlight" two years ago. My kids were seven and nine at the time. It's an hour train ride and then a short walk to the museum from the train station (or a boat ride to the entrance). We enjoyed walking around this "old fashioned" town. There were many interactive exhibits and open space to walk around and enjoy the surroundings. Lots of kids were here. I even noticed a few school field trips while we were there.
We also spent a day in Den Hague. There were lots of nice playgrounds there and we also went to Madurodam.
Posted by
New York, NY
4071 posts
In late April, take one of the many tour buses from Amsterdam & go to Keukenhof Gardens. They created a Disney-like atmosphere especially to appeal to young children with employees dressed like Disney-characters. It is essentially a Disney-type tourist site with very beautiful flowers in incredible architectural designs, a windmill, a playground, a maze, etc. Kids will be dazzled by the colors, the fun walking paths in which they can run around, and the amusements geared toward them.