Muiderslot Castle?

Edam and Muiderslot are not in the same direction. The first is north of Amsterdam, the other east. Edam is not a bus stop on the way to Muiderslot. Are you sure about Muiderslot?

Even it’s fifty years ago, I can remember Muiderslot as a worthwhile visit. But that’s because I like castles anyway and was the filming location of one of the most famous Dutch youth series at the time “Floris”, with Blade Runner actor Rutger Hauer as leading character.

If you don’t mind biking you can go to Edam with the bike instead of the bus. The countryside north is very charming with lovely places like Ransdorp, Holysloot and Broek in Waterland. The latter worth a stop on the way to Edam if you take the bus. To my opinion certainly an option worth to consider.

Worth doing too, is biking along the Vecht river from Muiderslot all the way to (castle) Slot Zuylen near Utrecht. Have to say the best part is south of Vreeland. You can take the bike back on the train to Amsterdam, but check first if this is allowed. Castle De Haar west of Utrecht is certainly worth the detour.

I like @wil's cycling to Edam as well as the cycling around Muiderslot option.

When we first stayed in Amsterdam, and realized our hotel had bikes to borrow, our first ride was out to Volendam & Edam (via Broek in Waterland) which was a true eye opener. We followed up a couple days later with a ride out to Wetlands Safari in Watergang and then a looping ride from there to Uitdam and down the coast to Durgerdam and back to the hotel.

So much to see and do by bike instead of car or public transportation. But, obviously, it requires a bike and some effort to get from point to point.

Thank you Wil and Tom for your replies. I don't know how I got the idea that Muiderslot Castle and Edam were on the same (or at least related!) traveling route...I must have inadvertently looked at something else and got it mixed up.

I've done a little more research on the Edam, Volendam and Marken loop and it seems a little more appealing now. I think we'll stick with the bus transportation option--although I can certainly appreciate the idea of biking the Waterland landscape, the distance from Amsterdam Noord to Edam is a bit more than we'd like to take on that day. We could also rent bikes in Edam for a little tour....

Plus, I'm now intrigued about adding Broek into the mix on our way to Edam. It looks perfectly lovely, and with an extra hour or so (tops) stopping there, we'll have plenty to see in the other 3 towns. The museum in Edam sounds kind of interesting too. I think Volendam sounds pretty touristy, but I like the idea of taking the ferry from there to Marken. Then bus back to Amsterdam.

I looked up the Castle just outside of Utrecht and it looks pretty spectacular. We will be doing a couple of day trips down in that direction so perhaps that might fit in as a side trip from one of those towns. Thanks again for the input!

Volendam is famous for it’s traditional clothing as it is the national symbol of traditional Dutch clothing used much for marketing the Holland brand. Fun doing is that you can have taken pictures of yourself in “klederdracht”. Volendam is over the top touristy, but you have to be there anyway for the ferry to Marken, what is certainly a good idea.

You won't regret adding Broek in Waterland. Think you have a bus every half hour, so easy to fit in. Don’t forget to tap out leaving the bus, even if you take a later one.

For another daytrip you can take the train to Breukelen (from Utrecht or Amsterdam), and rent a bike there for exploring the Vecht if you still want to do this.

It will certainly be an enjoyable daytrip.