4 day-trips in the Netherlands by public transport

If you’re looking for great day-trip in the Netherlands by public transport look no further. I have written up 4 great options for you to discover things in the Netherlands that aren’t the usual tourist attractions and are easy to reach by bus or train. I’ve tried my best to get a good mix of culture, art and history in here, so I hope you enjoy them.

Efteling

I have to start with Efteling as it has been an extremely important place to me since I was a child. So much so that this will probably get it’s own extended blog post. But until then I will try to keep this short.

Efteling is a fairy tale themed amusement park, located in the southern part of the Netherlands. Think Disneyland, but without the excessive intellectual properties. It’s focus on storytelling is clear throughout the park. It becomes especially clear at the rides and attractions. Many of them have literal storybooks giving a short overview of the stories in multiple languages. Some rides have a pre-show with an audio recordings that play, and if you use the app it translates the pre-show for you live!

It is the most beautiful theme park I have ever visited. This is not just down to magical and whimsical theming, but also because of the huge amount of nature. It genuinely feels like you are walking through a forest, where you occasionally go around the corner and stumble upon a castle, gnome village, haunted house or knights fighting fire breathing dragons.

Now I don’t want to skip over the theming though. The theming in this park is everywhere. From the rides to the music (most of which was composed especially for Efteling). From the buildings down to the bins (some of them talk). And to top it all off they even have their own train line in the park! 2 mini locomotives ride around the park. They are actual steam engines, but they are currently testing to see if they can electrify the line, while keeping the charm of the steam engine.

Honestly I can’t recommend visiting Efteling enough, if you love whimsy, you’ll love Efteling. If you are travelling with kids this is a day-trip in the Netherlands by public transport you can’t miss

How to get to Efteling with public transport

You can take a bus to Efteling from either Tilburg Centraal or den Bosch Centraal. During peak season there are even extra shuttle buses with special Efteling livery. If you want to take your time to discover the whole park you can stay overnight in one of their themed hotels or one of the holiday parks tucked away in the surrounding forest.

Remastered + Modern art in Rotterdam

Rotterdam is one of the most modern feeling cities in the Netherlands. After suffering heavy damage during world war 2 most of this port city needed rebuilding. Now Rotterdam has fully embraced this modern city label. It has some of the best modern art and architecture you will find in the country. It’s not just inside museums that you can find this. That is why I split this day between one inside activity and an outdoor one.

Let’s start off with Remastered which is located under the famous Erasmus bridge and definitely worth your time. During this +- 60 minute tour you get to see interpretations of the Dutch Masters by what they call the new Dutch masters. You walk through different rooms, each enveloped by a digital light piece.

Now I will say that this can be a pretty intense experience, so if you are sensitive to flashing lights, loud noises or anything like that either take precautions or avoid this one. I personally bring a set sound muffling earplugs when visiting. This allows me to enjoy it without getting too overstimulated.

Next up is any of the Rotterdam Routes. Use the app or get a paper version of your chosen route at the tourist information centre. The lengths of the routes vary between 2 and 13 kilometers and each is themed around a specific subject. Each of these routes comes with an audio guide via the app. If you use the app you get audio commentary from locals as you walk around. It’s a great way to discover the city. Whether you are interested in art, history or just want to see the city through the eyes of a local, there is a route for you. For this themed day I would suggest choosing one of the street-art tours, which takes about 90 minutes. Of course using an app means you can take as long as you want.

In case the weather is too miserable for you to do an outdoor tour you can always visit the Boijmans depot or the Kunsthal to complete your day of modern art in Rotterdam. Both these museums are located at the museumpark which is easily accessible by tram or metro.

Openlucht Museum

At the Openlucht Museum in Arnhem (open air museum) you discover the history of the Netherlands. Not by the great artists, nor the castles but by how regular people lived their lives through the ages.

It shows how people lived, worked and what they did to relax. They do this by recreating or moving existing buildings, which are manned by staff. The staff will explain thing as well as demonstrate crafts and skills. For example, there are millers, blacksmiths, brewers, printers and weavers on most days who will happily demonstrate what they do. In weekends and holidays they also teach workshops for a small fee (to cover materials). So make sure you check the website to book a spot if you are interested in this.

The museum stretches out across more than a 100 acres so even on busy days it doesn’t feel that crowded. And it can get busy, last year over 600.000 people visited this museum. And if a 100 acres sounds like too much for you to comfortably walk in a day, don’t worry, they also have a historic tram line that can take you around the grounds.

On the grounds you can find around 100 authentic buildings from different areas and eras in the Netherlands. The vast majority of these buildings have been moved from their original location and carefully rebuilt in the museum. As a visitor you can enter these historically decorated buildings .

I always find it so much more interesting to see how regular people lived their lives when learning about a new place. Visiting a palace or a manor house can be lovely, but it doesn’t tell you much about a culture. It is much more valuable to see how normal people lived, and gives you that much more appreciation for their history and culture.

My personal favourites are the sod house, the 19^th century wheelwright and the various functional wind and water mills.

How to get to the Openlucht Museum in Arnhem by public transport

The openlucht museum is a short bus ride from Arnhem centraal station. It shares the bus stop with Burger’s Zoo, a zoo worth visiting if you are in the area.

Diergaarde Blijdorp

Diergaarde Blijdorp is our second destination in Rotterdam. There are many zoos in the Netherlands, but this one stands out for a few reasons. It is a 10 minute walk from Rotterdam central station to the entrance, which you know I love. The train tracks even run between the 2 parts of the Zoo, so if you are coming into Rotterdam from the North you can already get a glimpse at the zoo from the train! Don’t worry though, there are no zoo-animals living near the tracks.

Blijdorp also does some amazing work when it comes to conservation and education. They not only participate and coordinate in population management programs, but they also have special “last resort” species that are basically extinct in the wild.

Other areas in the park are focused on different types of habitat. For example the African plains and jungle or the Himalayan peaks. In these areas you can find different types of flora and fauna as well as learn what threatens them, and what we can do to combat this.

My personal highlight at Diergaarde Blijdorp is the Oceanium, specifically the North Sea aquarium tunnel. I love an aquarium, and walking through one surrounded by sharks and fish is just such an amazing experience to me.

How to get to Diergaarde Blijdorp by public transit?

Rotterdam Centraal is easy to reach from basically anywhere in the country by train. In addition to this, it is a stop on both Eurostar and from the Eurocity trains coming from Belgium.

I hope you enjoyed these 4 recommendations for day-trip by public transport in the Netherlands. There are so many more options that I will highlight at later date. If you have a personal favourite I missed do let me know in the comments and I will bump it to the top of my next list.

I am also working on a list of great hikes and other outdoor day-trip in the Netherlands by public transport. If you are interested in that make sure to subscribe to my newsletter!

If you are planning a trip to the Netherlands and need inspiration for a place to stay have a look at my recommendations for 10 Alternatives to Amsterdam. Or have a look at my other posts about the Netherlands.