Around Haarlem – Bloemendaal, Santpoort & beyond

Day-trips around Haarlem

Is there enough to keep you occupied in Haarlem for more than a few days? The answer is YES! With so many beautiful villages, parks and beaches around Haarlem, you will never run out of places to explore. Here are just a few ideas.

Villages

Bloemendaal
Scenic Bloemendaal is close to Haarlem, & offers two attractions for visitors – the lively picturesque village itself & Bloemendaal-aan-zee with it’s lovely beaches and the famous Dutch dunes.

Santpoort
Although at first glance it may appear to be a sleepy hollow, Santpoort-Zuid is home to the spectacular Brederode castle ruins.

Santpoort-Noord has a lovely windmill where you can buy delicious cookies and flour from the mill. They also have a great playground (best for children under 7), and a lovely little shopping street.

Overveen
Also not very well-known, the village of Overveen is a few minutes from Haarlem by train or car. The main shopping street of Overveen is very quaint and you should certainly not miss a stop at Luciano’s for fantastic Italian ice-cream. Combine this with a visit to Loetje or Stach for a great low-key and very family-oriented breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Parks

National Park Zuid-Kennemerland
You could spend days in the National Park Zuid-Kennemerland and not run out of things to do!

Cycle, run, walk or swim – an outing here will refresh all your senses. This 3800 ha. park is free (no entrance fee) – and there are several entrances. If you are lucky, you might even encounter some Dutch wildlife – wild horses and even buffalo abound.

Cities close to Haarlem

Amsterdam, Leiden, Den Haag or Rotterdam

Fancy staying somewhere quieter, and day-tripping to some of the Netherland’s more well-known cities? Then Haarlem is the ideal base! Direct train links will have you whisked off in under an hour to some famous Dutch cities, such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam or Leiden, where you can also change for many other cities and towns such as Utrecht!