Is the itinerary a bit too rushy?

more than a bit...
Are you renting a car for everything after the biketour? (I really miss the transport time in yourr schedule).
If travelling by car it would be easier to stay outside Amsterdam (some suburb or near airport) as it seems that you are not planning to see anything in Amsterdam.

This is extremely rushed. You can't see Amsterdam in one morning (even if you're not interested in the Anne Frank House, Rijksmuseum or Van Gogh Museums), and from my experience the Keukenhof easily takes up all of your afternoon - also, when and how are you going to move from Amsterdam to the Keukenhof?

Zaanse Schans: same story, even if you make an early start, it's past noon by the time you finished taking everything in. Again, how do you plan to get around?

Half a day each in Haarlem and Utrecht (not on the same day, I hope!?) is too short as well.

In short: with this itinerary you're going to set foot in a lot of different places, but won't have time left to appreciate them.

I'm not sure if this plan will be too rushy?

I don't know you, so it may be fine for you. You drafted it so it must means either a) you like rushing very much, b) you haven't done properly your own homework and have underestimated the number of interesting sights which, in Amsterdam alone, could keep you busy for weeks. If you asked my opinion, yes, it's too rushy. Without taking Amsterdam as an example because it' too obvious, I spent a weekend in Haarlem and could not even see all what it offers.

Any better idea pls?

This is based on my experience and interests, which may be different from yours, but I'd spend all my time in Amsterdam with possibly a day trip to just one of the place you listed above. But only you can decide whether this is the trip you're looking after, or you prefer tick off your wish list as many places as possible.

In any case, have a good trip.

Apart from what has been said above, I personally think you can easily skip Haarlem and Utrecht, and spend that time in Amsterdam. Both Haarlem and Utrecht are quite similar to Amsterdam: quaint canals, old houses, nice cafes and restaurants and shops, museums, markets... no need to travel to another city to see all that.

If you want to visit a city other than Amsterdam, at least choose one that is very different (for example rough and modern Rotterdam, 2000 year old Nijmegen, or southern / posh / catholic Maastricht). But in your case I'd recommend an extra day in Amsterdam, check my website for things to see and do (under Travel > Amsterdam Tips).

It depends on your travel style. Travel times are not very long in the Netherlands (depending on what you're used to), except to smaller places. For example Giethoorn might be a bit of a stretch.

I think the combination day of Zaanse Schans, Volendam and Marken is doable, you can probably book it as an organised tour with transportation.

It also depends on what you're hoping to see..? Old-fashioned lifestyle / history, museums, modern art, flowers, cheese, nightlife, shopping, flea markets, parks, festivals?

When are you coming over? Keukenhof is not open year-round.

Veel plezier, have fun!

Thank you all for the prompt replies. Your commnents are all very helpful indeed! I drafted the plan mainly based on what I read about the recommended organized tours on LP website. I think I'm going to use public transportation most of the time instead of renting a car. I read that many surrounding places can be connected by train within an hour's ride. Someone posted somewhere "Haarlem and Zaanse Schans/Zaandam are just a short 15 train ride from Amsterdam Centraal, and Utrecht is about 25 minutes." And those are really small towns so I thought I could visit a few places in one breath in a relatively short time.

Cecilia: Are you saying Giethoorn is not worth visiting given the long distance? It says it costs only 1.5 hours' ride by train from Armsterdam. It is my cousin who actually wants to visit this place. She saw some nice pics on the web and decides to go. I don't know if it is the similar sight as that in Armsterdam.

Does anyone know if the organized day tour very expensive compared to a tour by myselfs using public transportation? If it is just a bit more expensive why not : )

We plan to go there in late June. I would defintely wanna slow down my steps to appreciate a single place for a few days or even weeks but we don't have that luxury of vacations. We probably have only 15 days and we plan to visit other countries in neighborhood so you see why I'm a bit of rushy or maybe too rushy for you. Anyway I'll improve my plan and post again! Thank you all again!

"...and Utrecht is .... And those are really small towns so I thought I could visit a few places in one breath in a relatively short time."

Utrecht has 300 000 inh (like Florence/Firenze) - ppl from some continents may consider this a "really small town" - for a European you would normally say "then you need 1-2-3 days to see it".

Taking all your comments into consideration and given the limited vacations, I cancelled the trip to Haarlem and Utrecht as they are not so much different from Armsterdam. Keukenhof Gardens will be closed in May so I removed it as well. I modified the plan as below hope it fits better than the 1st draft.
1 day Amsterdam city bike tour and walking tour
1 day Zaanse Schans, Volendam and Marken, Dutch cheese farm
1 day Giethoorn
1 day Roterdam
From Roterdam we'll go down to Belgium.
I know 4 days is far from enough to appreciate the Netherlands but what I can do is to take a bit taste of everything with the limited vacations. Thanks for reading and again comments are welcome.

Edited by: winniexj

As for Giethoorn:
be aware the trip takes about 2:40, train and bus.
Since you like cycling: go to Steenwijk by train and rent a bike at the railwaystation.
Though it's a pretty unique 'site'in NL I should go for an alternative visit/activity.

E.g. if Brugge is your destination in Belgium, go there by bus from Rotterdam to Middelburg for the extra day, breaking the trip for the storm surge barrier
Overnight in Middelburg and if the weather is great you might include a short break for one of the great beaches.
Next day Middelburg - Brugge by bus or bus/ferry.

Again, it all depends on what you're looking for and what you're into.

Rotterdam is quite a rough city like I said. It was bombed in the second world war and rebuilt very quickly and in quite an ugly way. :-) But it is arty, hip, modern & funky, has cool museums (Dutch Photography Museum and others), a real city feel, great international restaurants (for example Bazar is nice for breakfast or lunch or dinner, or try Toko 94 for Caribean / South American / Asian fusion kitchen for dinner... Bagel Bakery is nice for breakfast or lunch), and you can do harbour tours through one of Europe's biggest harbours. Hotel New York is a nice place for an afternoon cup of coffee or lunch. You can get there by watertaxi from Leuvehaven, or by walking / biking across the Erasmus bridge, or taking a tram.

It sounds like you're interested in seeing and doing a lot in a short timespan. And you will have to get up early to fit it all into your day. But then again you can always take some rest on the trains (watch your luggage though) and while eating lunch / dinner.

One day in Amsterdam is not much but at the same time you will see, hear and learn a lot by doing the bike and walking tours.
You may be interested to know that there are also bike tours all the way to Marken, taking in Durgerdam along the way (another cute small town along the water with tiny wooden houses). Find loads of info through the IAmsterdam website > about cycling but also about other things to see and do in Amsterdam + what's on... see the links on the site.

Also have a look at www.like-a-local.com.

I can't help you with Giethoorn, I was there as a kid but don't remember much. And 2.40h travel time sounds more realistic than the 1.5 hour you mentioned.

Hope this helps.