In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Haarlem is an NS train from Amsterdam Centraal in under 20 minutes, €5.50 each way (€11.00 return), and nothing needs booking. Teylers Museum (€18.50) and the Frans Hals Museum (€18.50) are open Tuesday to Sunday and St Bavo (€4.00) Monday to Saturday, so Tuesday to Saturday is the day to go. The beach at Zandvoort is 10 minutes further by train. No tour is needed: the Haarlem listings on GetYourGuide with hundreds of reviews are boat trips, such as the open-boat canal tourad (from £17.04, 4.9 stars from 902 reviews, 1 October 2026).
Going on your own
Fares are NS’s own 2026 second-class e-ticket fares for an adult, as listed on 1 October 2026. NS raised fares by 6.52% on average on 1 January 2026.
- The train: Amsterdam Centraal to Haarlem, €5.50 each way, €11.00 return. Visit Haarlem puts the journey at under 20 minutes (visithaarlem.com). Children aged 4 to 11 can travel on a Railrunner for €2.50 a day (NS).
- On foot: the Grote Markt is within walking distance of the station, and the Frans Hals Museum puts the walk from the station at about 20 minutes.
- Zandvoort: Haarlem to Zandvoort aan Zee is €3.00 and 10 minutes; Centraal to Zandvoort is €7.30 and 30 minutes. Trains run twice an hour, and four times an hour in summer (Visit Zandvoort). Centraal to Haarlem (€5.50), Haarlem to Zandvoort (€3.00) and Zandvoort back to Centraal (€7.30) come to €15.80.
- A day ticket does not pay: the Amsterdam & Region Travel Ticket (€23 for a day) covers the trains to Haarlem and Zandvoort aan Zee (Discover Holland), but costs more than the €15.80 in single tickets. The Amsterdam public transport guide has the tram and metro fares inside the city.
Boat trips
GetYourGuide’s Haarlem listings with hundreds of reviews are cruises on the Spaarne, which you reach on your own train. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” price for one adult on 1 October 2026.
Open-boat canal tour
From £17.04 · 4.9 stars from 902 reviews · 1 hour 15 minutes
Haarlem: Open Boat Canal Tour in the Historical City Centread is run by Haarlem Canal Tours from an open sloop, with a guide who speaks Dutch and English. It sails the Spaarne and the Nieuwe Gracht past Teylers Museum, St Bavo and the windmill De Adriaan, and meets on the Spaarne opposite number 17, beside Teylers. The listing says it is not suitable for wheelchair users.
Covered canal cruise
From £17.04 on GetYourGuide, from €17.98 at the operator · 4.4 stars from 976 reviews · 50 minutes
Haarlem: Scenic Canal Cruise through the Old City of Haarlemad is Smidtje Canal Cruises’ 50-minute cruise on a heated boat with a panorama roof, so it sails in rain. It boards at Spaarne 11a, and Smidtje sells its 50-minute cruise from €17.98 at smidtjecanalcruises.nl.
What to see
Teylers opens at 10:00, St Bavo at 10:00 and the Frans Hals Museum at 11:00, so go in that order.
- Teylers Museum. €18.50 · Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 17:00 · free with the I amsterdam City Card. Open to the public since 1784, which makes it the oldest museum in the Netherlands, and its Oval Room has barely changed since. The ticket covers fossils, scientific instruments, paintings and the ground and first floors of founder Pieter Teyler’s house. Ages 6 to 17 are €2.50, ages 18 to 24 €9.25, and Museum Pass holders enter free (teylersmuseum.nl, iamsterdam.com). The City Card guide says what else the card covers.
- The Grote Markt and St Bavo. St Bavo €4.00 · Monday to Saturday, 10:00 to 17:00. The church towers over the market square and holds the Müller organ of 1738, almost 30 metres high, which Handel played in 1740 and 1750, and the grave of Frans Hals. A guided tour of about an hour runs on Saturdays at 14:00 with no booking, and ages 13 to 16 are €2.00 (bavo.nl). The square holds a market on Saturdays from 08:30 to 17:00 and a smaller one on Mondays from 09:00 to 16:00 (Visit Haarlem).
- The Frans Hals Museum. €18.50 · Tuesday to Sunday, 11:00 to 17:00. The museum has 14 paintings by Hals, calls its collection the largest in the world, and adds works by Judith Leyster and Jacob van Ruisdael and modern art from 1880. Under 19s are free, ages 19 to 24 are €9.00, and the Hals–Rembrandt exhibition (6 November 2026 to 28 February 2027) brings an opening time of 10:00. Three exhibition rooms are closed until 15 October 2026, and every Hals painting stays on show (franshalsmuseum.nl).
- The beach at Zandvoort. €3.00 from Haarlem · 10 minutes. A seaside town whose station is 200 metres from the beach and 10 minutes’ walk from Circuit Zandvoort, the Formula 1 track. Check the last train back on NS before you go.
- Skip: a boat trip on a day with two museums, and a second museum on a day that includes Zandvoort. Museums close at 17:00.
Practical information
- Closed days: on Mondays Teylers and the Frans Hals Museum are shut and only St Bavo is open. On Sundays St Bavo is shut. Both museums close on 1 January and 25 December (New Year in Amsterdam and Christmas and the Light Festival have the other holiday hours) and the Frans Hals Museum on 27 April (King’s Day); St Bavo is also closed all day on Saturday 10 October 2026.
- Booking: Teylers recommends booking a date and time at tickets.teylersmuseum.nl to guarantee entry, and also sells at its desk. The Frans Hals Museum says you can visit without a reservation, and St Bavo sells tickets at the door.
- Bags: Teylers and the Frans Hals Museum admit only a bag smaller than A4 to the galleries and keep the rest in a cloakroom. The Frans Hals Museum’s cloakroom and lockers are free, and it bans water bottles.
- Flower parade: the Bloemencorso Bollenstreek finishes in Haarlem on Saturday 17 April 2027; tulip season has the dates. In the same season bus 850 runs from Haarlem to Keukenhof in 40 minutes (2026 line); Keukenhof from Amsterdam has the €33.50 combiticket.
Haarlem is one of the day trips from Amsterdam, which compares it with Delft and The Hague, Rotterdam and the Zaanse Schans on fare and time. From a cruise ship in IJmuiden, cruise terminal to the city centre puts Haarlem at roughly 45 to 60 minutes. It fits a fourth day of the three-day Amsterdam itinerary, and what to book before you go to Amsterdam has the Anne Frank House and museum slots to plan around.
Common questions
How do I get from Amsterdam to Haarlem?
Take an NS train from Amsterdam Centraal to Haarlem. Visit Haarlem puts the journey at under 20 minutes, and an adult second-class e-ticket is €5.50 each way (€11.00 return) in 2026. Nothing needs booking.
What day should I go to Haarlem?
Tuesday to Saturday. Teylers Museum and the Frans Hals Museum are closed on Mondays, and St Bavo is closed on Sundays. Haarlem's big market is on the Grote Markt on Saturdays.
Can I combine Haarlem with the beach at Zandvoort?
Yes. Zandvoort aan Zee is 10 minutes by train from Haarlem and €3.00, and its station is 200 metres from the beach. Centraal to Haarlem, Haarlem to Zandvoort and Zandvoort back to Centraal come to €15.80 in single tickets.
Do I need a tour for Haarlem?
No. The Haarlem listings on GetYourGuide with hundreds of reviews are boat trips on the Spaarne, from £17.04 (1 October 2026). Haarlem is a train ride, not a tour.