2 Days in Amsterdam: Windmill Day Trips
Two days here means one Amsterdam settling-in day and exactly one day trip, Zaanse Schans, the closest and cheapest windmill fix near the city. Want more villages and a shot at Keukenhof? See the 3-day through 7-day versions of this same route.
Book these before you go
- Keukenhof, if your dates land 19 March-10 May 2026: reserve on keukenhof.nl before weekend slots vanish, EUR 20.50 online versus EUR 25 at the gate
- A guided Zaanse Schans windmills tour , useful if you’d rather skip the train-and-walk version
| Day | Day trip | Travel time |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Amsterdam (settle in) | N/A, this is home base |
| Day 2 | Zaanse Schans | About 17 min by train |
Day 1: Land, Get Settled Near Centraal
- Touch down at Schiphol and ride the NS train to Amsterdam Centraal, about 17 minutes, roughly EUR 6.20 tapped with contactless OVpay, no ticket machine queue.
- Book a base within a 10-minute walk of Centraal rather than deeper in the Canal Ring, tomorrow’s train starts from the same platforms. Compare rates on Booking.com .
- Spend the afternoon on one easy orientation walk, Dam Square and a stretch of the canal ring, save the deep city dive for our Amsterdam itinerary if a city trip is next on the list.
- Set up OVpay on your bank card or phone tonight, the train tomorrow taps the same way.
- Early night. Day 2 starts with a train.
Day 2: Zaanse Schans, the Closest Windmills
- Ride the NS train from Centraal to Zaandijk Zaanse Schans, 16-18 minutes, roughly 59 departures a day, EUR 4.20 one-way, then walk 10-15 minutes to the village gate.
- De Kat , a working paint mill grinding pigment since 1664, is the headline stop; Het Jonge Schaap and De Huisman are open to walk inside, De Zoeker, an oil mill from around 1610, is view-from-outside only now.
- Watch a clog-carving demonstration and stop at one of the waterside cheese warehouses for a tasting, village entry is free, individual windmills and workshops charge separately.
- Back in Amsterdam by evening for a relaxed dinner, nothing about this day needs to run late.
- Head back to Centraal and take the NS train to Schiphol before your flight, the same route and fare as your way in.
Should I add Keukenhof to this trip? Only if your dates land 19 March-10 May 2026 and you can stretch to the 5-day version , which is where it actually fits into this route. On a 2-day trip outside that window, or any time of year that isn’t spring, Keukenhof simply isn’t open, don’t try to squeeze it in.
Is 2 days enough for a day-trip base? Enough for exactly one, Zaanse Schans, plus a settling-in day in the city. It’s not enough for Haarlem or the Marken-Volendam loop on top, both need their own day. If a second day trip matters to you, this is genuinely a 3-day trip minimum.
A Few Things Worth Knowing
- GVB trams, buses, and the metro run about EUR 3.40 a ride tapped with OVpay, useful only on your Amsterdam-based hours today.
- The coffeeshop scene stays open to visitors 18+ in 2026, 5g purchase cap per day, relevant on your city day only.
- Everything about the city itself, the canal ring, the museums, the Anne Frank House, belongs to our Amsterdam guide ; Rotterdam, Utrecht, and The Hague as destinations of their own belong to our Amsterdam the Netherlands guide .
Confirm the Zaanse Schans train time the night before, a missed departure eats the only day trip this itinerary has room for.