The Netherlands

A jewel of a country with well-connected cities

Exploring the Netherlands by train is a snap. In a country barely half the size of Maine and with 16 million inhabitants, few are the towns and places of interest that can’t be reached directly by train (or require only a minimal amount of additional traveling by bus or bicycle). Dutch trains are frequent, and invariably both punctual and clean, so traveling from one end of the realm to another, and to points in between, is no great trial.

This means you can stay focused on getting the most out of your time in Amsterdam, The Hague, Haarlem, and other historic Dutch towns and cities, because you won’t need to spend too much time on a train. Each of these cities is no more than a short ride away from the other. Even places in relatively remote Zeeland, Friesland, and Limburg provinces are within easy reach, enabling you to get close to a slower-paced way of life in this country that has been wrested acre by acre from the sea.