The Volendam to Marken ferry from 10,50 euro: the same hour on an Amsterdam canal costs 13,18

The Volendam-Marken Express has been running for more than eighty years, linking the fishing town of Volendam to the peninsula of Marken along the old Zuiderzee coastline in an hour, with an audio guide aboard in English and Dutch. Tiqets lists it from 10,50 euro, rated 4,5 from 82 reviews, open today from 10:30 to 19:00, leaving from the Volendam harbour.

The comparison worth making first is that the same platform sells another hour on the water: the traditional Amsterdam canal cruise at 13,18 euro, rated 4,2 from 3.533 reviews. Same duration, 2,68 euro apart, and the ferry rates slightly higher. But the real difference is not in those numbers. The canal cruise loops and returns you to the quay you boarded at, while this boat leaves you in a different village. It is not an hour of sightseeing; it is a piece of transport, and you have to plan the half-day that follows it.Source 1 Source 2

The timetable is the only part of this trip that needs thinking about, and the official page prints both directions. From Volendam the boats leave at 10:30, 11:15, 12:00, 12:45, 13:30, 14:15, 15:00, 15:45, 16:30, 17:15 and 18:30, with 9:45 and 18:00 added only when it is busy. From Marken they leave at 11:15, 12:00, 12:45, 13:30, 14:15, 15:00, 15:45, 16:30, 17:15, 18:00 and 19:00, with 10:30 and 18:30 again only when busy. The gap is forty-five minutes, so staying longer on Marken means jumping forward in forty-five minute steps. Note that the 18:30 sailing is one of the when-busy ones: build a return around it out of season and there may be no boat.

Marken itself deserves two or three hours. It was only joined to the mainland by a causeway in 1957 and had been an isolated community until then, its houses raised on wooden piles and the village small enough to walk out. Bicycles come aboard for a small extra fee, so another way to do it is to ride out along the causeway and take the boat back, or the reverse. Tickets can be cancelled free with a full refund until twenty-four hours before the visit, and rescheduled on the same terms.Source 1

• Tiqets lists it from 10,50 euro, rated 4,5 from 82 reviews, with a one-hour crossing.
• Boarding is at the operator's jetty in the harbour, on a smartphone ticket shown to the guide.
• Boats run every forty-five minutes in both directions, with the last departure from Marken at 19:00.
• Four sailings are marked as running only when busy and cannot be treated as a fixed return.
• The fare excludes transport to the pier, food and drink and museum entry; the EBS bus leaves from behind Amsterdam Central Station.
• Bicycles are allowed on board for a small extra fee, and tickets cancel or reschedule free up to twenty-four hours before.

Hokimi field note: decide one-way or return before you decide what time to leave. Treated as transport, boat out and bus back turns the day into a loop rather than a there-and-back line, which fits one more stop into the same afternoon.

The ferry ticket link on this page is an affiliate link. You pay no more by using it, and Hokimi may earn a small commission.

Where

Haven 39, 1131 EP Volendam, meeting at the operator's jetty

When

10:30 to 19:00 today, a sailing every forty-five minutes each way

Price

From 10,50 euro, with four fares between 5,50 and 16,50 including tax

Booking

Smartphone ticket, free cancellation or rescheduling until twenty-four hours before

Note

Four sailings run only when busy・transport to the pier is not included・bicycles cost extra