Weekend Trips from NL Every American Should Take for Expats

One of the best parts about living in the Netherlands under the Dutch-American Friendship Treaty (DAFT) is the geography. You're sitting in the middle of Western Europe with fast trains, budget airlines, and highways that connect you to a dozen countries within a few hours.

After years of flying five hours just to reach another American timezone, the ability to hop on a train and be in Paris for lunch or Brussels for dinner still feels unreal.

Here are the trips we think every American in the Netherlands should take, from quick day trips to overnight getaways.

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Day Trips Within the Netherlands

Before you start crossing borders, don't overlook what's in your own backyard. The Netherlands is small but packed with variety.

1. Kinderdijk

Distance from Amsterdam: About 90 minutes by car or train plus bus.

Nineteen windmills from the 1700s, lined up along a polder waterway. It's the most iconic windmill site in the Netherlands and a UNESCO World Heritage location.

Visit on a weekday morning to avoid crowds. Rent a bike nearby and ride along the paths between the windmills. It's flat (obviously), peaceful, and genuinely beautiful.

This is the photo you'll send home that makes your family finally understand why you moved here.

2. Giethoorn

Distance from Amsterdam: About 90 minutes by car, or two hours by train plus bus.

Called the "Venice of the Netherlands," Giethoorn is a village where many homes are accessible only by boat or footbridge. The canals are narrow and tree-lined, the thatched-roof farmhouses are immaculate, and the whole place feels like a storybook.

Rent a small electric boat (called a whisper boat) and putter through the canals yourself. No boating experience needed. The boats are simple and the canals are calm.

Pro Tip: Go in early spring or fall. Summer weekends bring tour buses and crowds that overwhelm the small village. A Tuesday in April is a completely different experience than a Saturday in July.

3. Delft

Distance from Amsterdam: About an hour by train.

Historic, walkable, and far less crowded than Amsterdam. Delft is famous for its blue-and-white pottery, its connection to Vermeer, and its beautiful old town. The Nieuwe Kerk on the market square is worth the climb for the view.

It's an easy day trip from anywhere in the Randstad (the urban area encompassing Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht). Combine it with a stop in The Hague, which is just 15 minutes away by train.

4. Leiden

Distance from Amsterdam: About 35 minutes by train.

Leiden is a smaller university city with a historic center that rivals Delft's beauty. It's home to the oldest university in the Netherlands (founded 1575) and has a connection to the Pilgrims, who lived here before sailing to Plymouth.

The Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (National Museum of Antiquities) has an actual Egyptian temple. The botanical gardens are among the oldest in Europe. And the city has more than a dozen museums packed into a compact, walkable center.

What makes Leiden special for Americans: the Leiden American Pilgrim Museum tells the story of the Pilgrims' time in the Netherlands. It's a small museum but a meaningful connection to shared history.

5. Texel

Distance from Amsterdam: About 90 minutes by car plus a 20-minute ferry from Den Helder.

Texel is the largest of the Wadden Islands, off the northern coast. Wide beaches, sand dunes, sheep farms, and a brewery. It feels like a completely different country from the Randstad.

Rent bikes on the island and explore. The beaches are expansive and rarely crowded, even in summer. If you're from a coastal state, Texel scratches an itch that city life in the Netherlands doesn't.

For getting around on these trips, our guide to Dutch public transportation and the OV-chipkaart covers everything you need.

5. Delta Works (Zeeland)

Distance from Amsterdam: About two hours by car.

The Delta Works is one of the most impressive engineering projects in the world. After the catastrophic flood of 1953, the Netherlands built a series of dams, sluices, locks, dikes, and storm surge barriers to protect the southwestern coast.

The Neeltje Jans visitor center on the Oosterscheldekering (Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier) explains the engineering and history. It's fascinating even if you're not an engineering person.

Beyond the Delta Works, Zeeland's beaches are some of the best in the Netherlands. The town of Domburg is a favorite for a beach day, and nearby Middelburg is a charming small city worth exploring for an afternoon.

What We Wish We Knew: Many of these Dutch day trips are best on weekdays. The Dutch are avid weekend trippers themselves, so popular destinations like Giethoorn, Kinderdijk, and Texel can get crowded on Saturdays. One perk of being a DAFT entrepreneur with a flexible schedule is that you can visit these places on a quiet Tuesday.

6. Hoge Veluwe National Park

Distance from Amsterdam: About 90 minutes by car, or train to Ede-Wageningen plus bus.

The largest national park in the Netherlands. Forest, heathland, and sand dunes. The Kroller-Muller Museum is inside the park and holds the second-largest Van Gogh collection in the world.

Free white bikes are available in the park for exploring. Bring a picnic. Spend a full day. It's the closest you'll get to a national park experience like the ones back home.

If you're missing American-style nature -- trees, trails, open space -- this park is the antidote. After months of flat urban landscape, the rolling hills and forest of the Veluwe feel like a different planet.

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Cross-Border Weekend Trips

This is where living in the Netherlands gets truly exciting for Americans.

7. Bruges, Belgium

Distance from Amsterdam: About three hours by train, or 2.5 hours by car.

Bruges is a medieval fairy tale. Canals, cobblestones, Gothic architecture, chocolate shops, and some of the best beer in the world. It's small enough to cover on foot in a day, but an overnight lets you experience it after the day-trippers leave.

Stay near the Markt square. Walk to the Belfry. Eat frites with mayo (not ketchup -- trust us). Visit a beer cafe and try something Belgian you've never heard of.

Bruges is touristy during the day, but it's touristy for a reason. It's gorgeous.

What We Wish We Knew: Belgian train tickets from the Netherlands are surprisingly affordable. Check the NS International website or app for deals. A round-trip to Bruges can be under 40 EUR if you book in advance.

8. Paris, France

Distance from Amsterdam: About 3.5 hours by Thalys/Eurostar high-speed train, or a one-hour flight.

Paris from the Netherlands is a genuine weekend trip. Leave Friday after work, arrive by dinner. Spend Saturday and Sunday exploring, and take the train home Sunday evening.

The high-speed train from Amsterdam Centraal drops you at Paris Gare du Nord, in the heart of the city. No airport security, no two-hour early arrival. Just show up, board, and go.

Book Thalys tickets early for the best prices. We've seen round-trip fares as low as 70 EUR.

For Americans who dreamed of visiting Paris but never made the trip from the US, living in the Netherlands makes it a casual weekend plan rather than a major vacation.

9. Cologne, Germany

Distance from Amsterdam: About 2.5 hours by train or car.

Cologne's cathedral (Kolner Dom) is one of the most impressive buildings in Europe. It dominates the skyline and it's free to enter. Climb the 533 steps to the top for a view of the Rhine.

The old town has excellent beer halls serving Kolsch, Cologne's local beer served in small 200ml glasses. The waiter keeps bringing them until you put your coaster on top of your glass.

Cologne also has a good Christmas market season (late November through December), which is worth a special trip.

10. Antwerp, Belgium

Distance from Amsterdam: About two hours by train or car.

Antwerp is Rotterdam's cooler Belgian cousin. Fashion, diamonds, excellent food, and a stunning central train station. The old town is walkable and beautiful.

Het Eilandje is the redeveloped harbor area with the MAS museum (Museum aan de Stroom) and waterfront restaurants. The fashion district around the Nationalestraat is worth browsing even if you're not shopping.

Antwerp feels less touristy than Bruges and more authentic. It's a working city with great bones. Also, Belgian fries and Belgian beer here are outstanding, if you somehow haven't had enough in Bruges.

11. Luxembourg City, Luxembourg

Distance from Amsterdam: About four hours by train or 3.5 hours by car.

Luxembourg City is small but stunning. Built on deep gorges with medieval fortifications, it has a dramatic landscape that surprises first-time visitors. The old town is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

It's also the wealthiest country per capita in the world, which means everything is expensive. But a weekend walk through the Grund valley, lunch in the old town, and a visit to the casemates (underground fortifications) makes for a memorable trip.

12. The Rhine Valley, Germany

Distance from Amsterdam: About three to four hours by train to Koblenz or Mainz.

The stretch of the Rhine between Koblenz and Mainz is lined with hilltop castles, vineyards, and charming towns. Take the Rhine River cruise between Koblenz and Rudesheim for the full experience.

Bacharach is our favorite small town along the route. Stay at a guesthouse, hike up to a castle, and drink Riesling with a river view.

Pro Tip: Germany's Deutschland-Ticket (49 EUR per month for all regional transport) is available to anyone. If you plan multiple German trips, it's incredible value.

13. Maastricht, Netherlands

Distance from Amsterdam: About 2.5 hours by train.

Technically not a cross-border trip, but Maastricht feels like a different country. It's in the far south of the Netherlands, sandwiched between Belgium and Germany. The accent is different, the food is different, and the hilly landscape is nothing like the flat Randstad.

The Vrijthof square, the Boekhandel Dominicanen (a bookshop in a 13th-century church), and the St. Pietersberg caves are highlights. The food scene draws on Belgian, German, and French influences.

It's the most un-Dutch city in the Netherlands, in the best way.

14. Ghent, Belgium

Distance from Amsterdam: About 2.5 hours by train.

If Bruges is the fairy tale and Antwerp is the fashionable one, Ghent is the one the locals recommend. A university city with medieval architecture, a thriving food scene, and a canal system that's beautiful but not overrun with tourists.

The Gravensteen castle sits in the middle of the city like something from a movie set. The Graslei and Korenlei waterfront is stunning. And the street food scene, including the famous Ghent nose (a cone-shaped candy), is fun to explore.

Ghent is our pick for the most underrated city within train range of the Netherlands. It deserves an overnight stay.

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Planning Tips

Trains are your best friend. The Dutch rail system connects to Belgium, Germany, and France via high-speed and regional trains. Download the NS app and the Trainline app. Book international tickets early for the best prices.

Budget airlines from Eindhoven and Schiphol. Ryanair, Transavia, EasyJet, and others connect you to dozens of European cities for surprisingly little. Weekend flights to Barcelona, Rome, or Lisbon can be under 100 EUR round-trip if you're flexible and book ahead.

Flixbus for budget travel. Not glamorous, but Flixbus connects Dutch cities to destinations across Europe at very low prices. Good for students and budget-conscious travelers.

Rent a car for flexibility. Some trips, like the Delta Works or Texel, are easier by car. Sixt, Europcar, and local rental companies are available. International driving permits from the US are accepted for a limited period.

Check out our guide to useful apps for American expats in the Netherlands for more travel planning tools.

For more Amsterdam-area getaway ideas, see our original weekend trips from Amsterdam guide.

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We're not immigration lawyers -- just Americans who did this. Requirements change, so verify with official sources.