Rethinking Kinderdijk..other day trip options?

You will miss out if you skip Delft and Kinderdijk. Nothing else that you list compares to them. With five days you have more than enough time to visit them both.

I personally think the issue of getting to Kinderdijk was overstated earlier. From Central station (and Den Haag CS) you can also get the metro to the ferry landing. Train to Rotterdam, metro and riverboat.
That is normally.
The problem at the moment is that the railway line through Leiden still seems to be disrupted after the recent rail accident, currently showing as until 5am on 21 April.

If you think that Zaanse Schans is too touristy then Marken, Broek in Waterland and most certainly the cheese market in Alkmaar are too touristy too.
But on the other hand, you are tourists aren’t you? So why not visit Zaanse Schans, Kinderdijk, Marken, Broek in Waterland. There is a reason all these tourists go there; they are all very nice places to visit.

I'm not going to withdraw my opinion, but I want to add that my evaluation/review of a "Daytrip to Kinderdijk" from Haarlem is heavily dependent on the time needed to get there and back. It's a perfectly nice attraction, but up to 4 hours of travel for a 2-hour attraction is questionable.

It's not fair to compare it to my life as a suburbanite, but since my town has poor public transportation, I have to evaluate the merits of a 90-minute play or concert, with a one-hour drive to NYC each way. I prefer to add a museum and a dinner, at least. In comparison, den Haag with or without Delft, is a chock-full day out. Can you find additional things to do in Rotterdam?

It was not a difficult trip at all. After flying across the Atlantic Ocean, it is not a big deal at all.

Of course there are other things to do in Rotterdam. But you can also continue an extra half hour on the waterbus (it is a regular transport service you catch on the river, not a tourist special cruise) along the river to the city of Dordrecht, and catch the train back from there.

We are looking for a scenic, quaint town with a slower pace.

I am currently infatuated with Amersfoort. It's an absolutely lovely little town with an outsized bell tower and thick beautiful sections of city wall and gate still standing. It has the Mondrian museum, but is mostly just a pretty, upscale, not so touristy place to have a good meal and stroll around with the expensive prams etc. The two times I've been it seemed to me that locals were quite nice, more town people less overwhelmed by tourism. If I moved to the Netherlands it would be high on my live there list.

Delft is good too for what you describe!

My buddy and his Dutch wife and family love doing a day trip to Harlingen. It's north of Amsterdam on the North Sea and very much focused as such - pretty ships and salt canals, sturdy brick merchant row houses. She's Friesan so they bias north, but it's a cool town, a bit more Denmark-like than places in North and South Holland.

And of course my other true heart just south of the Green Heart, Den Bosch. It's bigger than the other places above but just an absolutely outstanding place for a tourism visit and great meal. Tons to do and see. The Hieronymous Bosch museum is wonderful. The boat tour of the city's mostly underground canal system is unique.

Amersfoort 1-1.5h one change in Amsterdam

Delft less than an hour direct or easy change in Leiden

Harlingen a bit of a trek, 2.5 hours on train and bus and bus, so probably not in your preferred window logistically.

Den Bosch 1.5h or less from Haarlem, one change in Amsterdam.

I completely agree about Amersfoort, but it's not really comparable to a UNESCO WHS of windmills, or a major city known for modern architecture and water-control. I even had that same thought about residents of Amersfoort being contented, prosperous citizens. It's an actual walk from the train station, however. Don't miss the marked Boulder you pass, marking the origin tale of the town.

I do think it compares physically to Lier or Turnhout, Belgium, although Amersfoort has much better street life. And Amersfoort's medieval remnants are excellent. It is a small town, however, and doesn't qualify as a "village". But not much does.

Thank you for the suggestion of Amersfoort. It was definitely off my radar!
You guys are why I love these forums...

You mentioned 5 days next week. Be prepared for Kings Day Thursday April 27th. Some towns start celebrating Wednesday evening. Have celebrated once and coming back this year. It’s quite the party atmosphere across The Netherlands. My first year I collected candlesticks from the town (Utrecht) “garage sale”. This year I’ll be looking for little coffee spoons & sugar spoons people are selling. Amazing treasures in the neighborhoods. The whole country is on holiday and many are off the long weekend. BTW I was extremely under impressed with Giethoorn and would never recommend it. It was a big tourist trap and catered to large bus groups. Utrecht is not a small town but unique with restaurants on the canal, think of San Antonio, actually SA came to Utrecht to see theirs. My favorite museum is the Speelklok which has music boxes to the big barrels organs. Before COVID in the shopping district there was a family with a Dutch street organ playing in random locations throughout town. It’s an easy walk from the central train station and highly recommended.