Amsterdam day trips with ferry rides

#6, #9

I still think Enkhuizen-Stavoren is far more interesting, but here's a bit of background info about the North Sea Canal: There are a few historical site connected to the canal; by far the most interesting is the fortress island in IJmuiden. http://www.forteiland.nl/

It's the western counterpart of fort pampus, built in the 19th century to guard the entrance to canal. Back in the day it was built on shore, but the construction of an extra sluice at IJmuiden meant it's now an island in the middle of the port. It's a UNESCO world heritage monument.

Also interesting in IJmuiden: the German S-boot bunker. It's gigantic, which is quite amazing considering 75% of it was destroyed during the war. Sadly, not accessible to the general public.

Hi All,
Plenty food for thought here with all the information. Most of which I would have missed if I hadn't asked here. Once again thanks guys.

It seems like the trip across the Afsluitdijk is too much to add to the Enkhuizen to Staveren for one day. It does seem that the whole area around Hoorn and Enkhuizen is very interesting and it would be silly to rush it. We may just do the day trip to Enkhuizen on it's own. No ferry.

Arizona, there is a possibility we could add a couple of extra days at the end of our trip. (we fly KLM Singapore-Amsterdam return) and may fit your idea of ferry to Enkuuizen and overnight in the NE and then return via the Afsluitdijk the next day. I would really like to see it, but I don't want to spend 250 euro each on a mini-bus day trip from Amsterdam.
(http://www.hollandpersonaltravelguide.com/en/daytrips/default.asp)

So I have all this info and websites copied and we will go to do the Pumpus trip, and I will probably do the fast ferry and Forteiland trip on my own.

I had a look at the ov website. I'll use it for sure as I will be taking a netbook with me.

Cheers
Bill

I think the waterbus from Dordrecht to Rotterdam or back would also be an interesting idea. The rivers in front of Dordrecht are supposed to be the most densely navigated in the world. On the way you could stop off in Ridderkerk to take a connecting ferry to Kinderdijk for a look at the windmills in that area. For information see: http://www.waterbus.nl/. The website is only in dutch, but with google you can translate the information.

@10 dr_who

I certainly agree with you that IJmuiden itself is not the most interesting destination, unless you are interested in harbors. It's the trip with the fast-flying ferry that was the fun part for me. (I combined it with a walk through IJmuiden and industrial environment, just because I like walking...)

may fit your idea of ferry to Enkuuizen and overnight in the NE and then return via the Afsluitdijk the next day.
Good idea IMO.
(BTW: I think you mean tot ferry to Stavoren)

Well Bill,

This hould be a nice trip, also travelling a bit the Frisian landscape. (meadows/lakes/canals/rivers) You might have a break at the locks of Kornwerderzand and of course at the monument after 2/3 of the dyke.
And on your way back, Franeker, Harlingen, Zurich (...well, only the name and the restaurant) and beyond the dyke, Alkmaar aren't bad either.
Did you know there are drastic plans to renovate the dyke?
Some pics. (text abacadabra?)

Update: Oh, I forgot .... it seems a direct bus from Leeuwarden via the dyke to Den Oever.
Don't exactly know what are the possibilities for breaks, since I use car or bicyle there...
Hope there are some experts on this.

Edited by: arizona

Edited by: arizona

Hi Bill,

In case you are interested in seeing Enkhuizen with the Zuiderzee Museum and a boat ride, you might want to consider the following:
http://www.zuiderzeemuseum.nl/383/
This ticket gives you the possibility to
1) see the zuiderzee museum in enkhuizen
2) take the boat from enkhuizen to medemblik
3) take the old steamtrain from medemblik to hoorn
The trip can also be done v.v (steamtrain hoorn-medemblik, boat medemblik-enkhuizen).

Both Hoorn and Enkhuizen (start or ending point) are easily accessable by train from Amsterdam: www.9292ov.nl
I suppose this could make a nice daytrip from Amsterdam, but start early in case you want to visit Hoorn as well.

Have a good time in Holland!

Hi all,
More good stuff here, the only thing is I am beginning to realise that we need more time. If time was no object then I'd do the lot. We will try to fit in a few more days somehow.

We will do the one day trip as metje (15) says, starting early to the zuiderzee museum and ferry to medemblik return via Hoorn.

I like liberat's suggestion (12) of the the water bus trip from Dordrecht to Rotterdam with a look at the windmills at on the way. There is a good video of the trip on the water bus site.

Thanks again
Cheers
Bill

Hi Bill,

It's nice to see you are so enthousiastic about visiting our little country :-) Here's two more ideas to consider:

#1 I'm not sure if you'd feel comfortable driving in a foreign country, but if you really want to see the Afsluitdijk, you could also rent a car for about €150 for a day (much better than the €250 p.p. for a daytrip you mentioned earlier). Driving around Amsterdam is a bit tricky if you're not used to it, but you could consider taking a train to Schiphol airport and rent it there, the airport has easy access to the highway. From Amsterdam to Leeuwarden accross the Afsluitdijk is about 150km one way. The added value would be that you could also see a bit of the countryside in Friesland. As Arizona says the landscape is very different from the more urban area's around Amsterdam, it's very green, flat and a lot of farms/agriculture and cattle breeding.

#2 another nice day trip from Amsterdam is to visit the island Texel in the north (here's English language info about the island http://www.texel.net/en/). You take the train to Den Helder which takes about 1h15, then the bus to the ferry station where you find the boat to the island. The boat ride is only about 20 minutes, but it's a nice trip. Then on the island you can travel around by public transport (bus) or you can rent a bike (I think for a day the rent is about €8.50 p.p.). A return ticket for the train is about €25 p.p. and a return ticket for the boat is only €2.50 p.p.

Have fun in the Netherlands!
Lisa

Thanks for more good info Lisa.

I am not contemplating hiring a car at all on this trip. Driving in a strange area and on the opposite side of the road is not my idea of a relaxing holiday any more. It's a pity really as there is so much to see and do. I should have done it all years ago.

Holland may be small but it has a lot to offer. We were there for a short time a couple of years ago and enjoyed it so much. Mainly the friendliness of the people and no obvious ripping-off of tourists that we found in other places.

Cheers
Bill