Day trips from Amsterdam with a stroller

Train from Amsterdam Centraal to Zaandijk Zaanse Schans, then a walk of roughly fifteen minutes over a bridge to the site. The route is paved and level the whole way.

On site, paths are firm gravel and boardwalk, with some narrow sections between buildings. A stroller handles it comfortably; the windmill interiors do not, so plan for one adult to stay outside with it.

Half a day is right. There is enough open space for a toddler to run and enough shelter to sit out a shower.

Fifteen minutes from Centraal and the least demanding trip on this list. The station sits a short flat walk from the main square, and the centre is compact enough that nothing is far from a café.

Cobbles appear around the church square but the surrounding streets are smooth. There are changing facilities in the department stores and the larger cafés.

This is the trip to pick with a baby, or on a day when nobody has slept and ambition should be low.

Direct trains run from Amsterdam to Zandvoort aan Zee in around half an hour, more frequently in summer. The station is a few minutes from the boulevard.

The promenade is paved and easy. The beach itself is soft sand and a stroller is not the tool for it — park it at the boulevard or at a beach pavilion and carry the child the last stretch.

Wind is constant on this coast even on warm days. Bring a layer more than the Amsterdam forecast suggests, and the rain cover regardless.

From mid-March to mid-May the fields between Haarlem and Leiden are the reason many families come. There is no station in the region itself: train to Leiden or Hoofddorp and take a bus, or a direct coach from Schiphol.

Ground beside the fields is soft and often damp, so this is the trip where wheel size matters most.

Full detail on timing, surfaces and crowds is on the tulip season page.

Dutch intercity trains take strollers at no extra cost, with space near the doors and near-level boarding at most stations. Nobody will ask you to fold it.

Avoid weekday rush hours in both directions. Between roughly seven and nine in the morning and half four and half six in the evening, the space near the doors is where everyone else is standing.

Buy tickets in advance or use a contactless card at the gates. Check which platform exit has a lift before you arrive at a smaller station — not all of them do.

One destination per day. Two is a schedule, not a holiday, and the return journey is always harder than the outbound with a tired child.

Aim to be heading back before late afternoon, keep food and a change of clothes with you rather than in the hotel, and treat the train ride itself as part of the entertainment.

For walking within the city on the other days, three routes chosen for surfaces and rest stops are on the stroller-friendly routes page.