IJsselmeer road trip by car
The great loop around the IJsselmeer along the old Zuiderzee coast, from Volendam and Enkhuizen across the Afsluitdijk to Hindeloopen, Urk and Spakenburg. For convertible, touring car, motorbike and camper.
This route is long, so Google Maps splits it into parts (up to nine points per link). Part 1 runs from your location to Lemmer; the further parts under the exports pick up exactly where the previous one stopped. The GPX download holds the whole route in one file.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Marken by Hnapel (CC BY-SA 4.0), Hindeloopen by Michielverbeek (CC BY-SA 4.0), Urk by Pa3ems (CC BY-SA 3.0).
The classic loop around the old Zuiderzee
The IJsselmeer road trip is one of the best-known drives in the Netherlands, and for good reason: you circle the country's largest lake in one great loop, over exactly the dikes and coastal roads where the water is almost always in view. On one side the old Zuiderzee harbours of North Holland, on the other the Frisian coast and the young land of Flevoland, with the Afsluitdijk as the spectacular hinge between them. About 390 kilometres in all, so a full day of steady driving or, far nicer, a weekend with a night halfway.
You start and finish in Amsterdam and string together the towns that once all lay on the Zuiderzee: touristy Volendam, the old East India Company town of Hoorn, beautifully preserved Enkhuizen with its Zuiderzee Museum, and across the water colourful Hindeloopen, the singular fishing town of Urk and old Spakenburg. The water ties them all together. This is not a route to rush; it is one to step out of again and again, walk a harbour pier and look out over the wide water.
The route on the map
A schematic overview by Touren.app, not a navigation map. The exact route opens under “Drive this route” or in Google Maps. Map orientation: north is up.
Soon: your time and starting point
The towns around the IJsselmeer
1. Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the start and end of the loop. From the city you are out in the old Waterland in no time, heading for the dike along the Markermeer. Handy: you need not start from the centre, any spot on the north side of the city puts you straight onto the dike.
Practical: start on the north edge (Noord, Durgerdam) to avoid the busy centre; plenty of parking in the villages along the way.
2. Volendam
Volendam is the tourist face of the old Zuiderzee: the dike with the eel stalls, the traditional dress and the little harbour full of botter boats. Nearby lies quieter Marken, a peninsula of green wooden houses on poles, reached along a long dike. Together they are the classic postcard of the past.
Practical: park on the edge of Volendam; the trip out to Marken along the dike is worth the small detour.
3. Hoorn
Hoorn was one of the mighty East India Company towns and it shows: the stately merchant houses on the Roode Steen, the Westfries Museum and the harbour with the bronze statue of the ship boys of Bontekoe. The old centre is compact and at its best around the water of the Binnenhaven.
Practical: park around the centre; the harbour and the Roode Steen are within walking distance.
4. Enkhuizen
Enkhuizen is perhaps the best-preserved Zuiderzee town, with the Drommedaris as its gate to the water and the Zuiderzee Museum bringing life before the Afsluitdijk back to life. Historic sailing ships leave from the harbour; the whole town still breathes the time when this was an open sea.
Practical: park by the Zuiderzee Museum or on the edge; allow a few hours if you visit the museum.
5. Medemblik
Medemblik is the oldest town of West Friesland, with Radboud castle right by the water and a cheerful marina. It is the last old town before the road turns towards Den Oever and the Afsluitdijk: here you leave the North Holland coast and cross to Friesland.
Practical: park by the harbour; a good lunch stop before the Afsluitdijk crossing.
6. Makkum
After the thirty-kilometre Afsluitdijk (with the monument and viewpoint halfway) you land in Friesland at Makkum, an old town known for its pottery and its marina. From here the route follows the Frisian IJsselmeer coast south, past the cliffs of Gaasterland a little further on.
Practical: park by the harbour; a short stop after the Afsluitdijk to stretch your legs by the water.
7. Hindeloopen
Hindeloopen (Hylpen) is the most singular town on this coast, with its own dialect, its own traditional dress and the colourful Hindeloopen painting style. The little harbour with its wooden bridge and small lighthouse is one of the loveliest spots on the whole IJsselmeer, with narrow lanes running down to the water.
Practical: park on the edge; the centre and harbour are low-traffic and compact.
8. Stavoren
Stavoren (Starum) is the oldest of the Frisian eleven cities and once a mighty Hanseatic port. By the water the Lady of Stavoren sits gazing out from the pier, the statue from the well-known legend. Today it is a quiet IJsselmeer harbour with sailing boats and a wide view across the water to the far shore.
Practical: harbour terraces; a fine place for a break with a view over the IJsselmeer.
9. Lemmer
Lemmer sits on the southwest tip of Friesland, where the water of the lakes flows into the IJsselmeer through the locks. Nearby stands the Ir. D.F. Wouda steam pumping station, the largest working steam pumping station in the world and World Heritage. Here the route turns the corner, towards the young land of Flevoland.
Practical: park in the centre or by the Woudagemaal; the station can be visited by arrangement.
10. Urk
Urk was a real island in the Zuiderzee until the land was reclaimed, and you still feel it: a singular fishing town with its own dialect, a forest of masts in the harbour and the white lighthouse on the highest point. The old core with its winding streets looks out over the water that once surrounded it.
Practical: park by the harbour; walk to the lighthouse and the memorial to the fishermen lost at sea.
11. Lelystad
Lelystad lies in the middle of Flevoland, the polder that only rose from the water in the twentieth century. On the coast is Batavialand with the rebuilt Batavia, the East India ship on the wharf. That contrast is the charm here: the newest land in the Netherlands, right beside a replica of a seventeenth-century sailing giant.
Practical: park at Batavialand on the coast; a good place to see the young land and the shipyard.
12. Spakenburg
Spakenburg, with Bunschoten, is the last old fishing village before Amsterdam, with a museum harbour full of botter boats and women who still wear the traditional dress on feast days. It is a fitting close to the loop: one more taste of the old Zuiderzee before you drive back over the dike to the city.
Practical: park by the old harbour; the botter yard and the museum harbour sit side by side.
Practical: for convertible, motorbike and camper
One day or two: 390 kilometres can be driven in one long day, but the IJsselmeer loop is at its best as a weekend. Drive day 1 to Makkum or Lemmer, stay over on the Frisian side, and drive day 2 back via Urk and Flevoland. In the planner you enter your own time and we split the loop for you.
From which town: the route starts in Amsterdam, but you need not begin there. If you live or stay in Hoorn, Lelystad or Lemmer, enter that town and Touren.app rebuilds the same loop from your starting point, clockwise or anti-clockwise.
For which vehicle: it is a wide, relaxed scenic drive where the view over the water does the work. It works well with a camper too; just mind the narrow, low-traffic cores of Marken, Hindeloopen and Urk and park on the edge there.
The Afsluitdijk: the only motorway on the route is the Afsluitdijk (A7), and it belongs here: thirty kilometres dead straight between the Wadden Sea and the IJsselmeer, with the monument and a viewpoint halfway. If you would rather have no motorway at all, drive only the North Holland or only the Frisian side as a half loop.
Best season: April to October, with the long light evenings over the water in June as the highlight. On fine summer days Volendam and Marken are busiest; start early or drive outside high season and the dikes and harbours are almost your own.
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Mail this route to yourselfFrequently asked questions
How long is the IJsselmeer road trip by car?
About 390 kilometres, with some 6 hours of pure driving, measured via Google Maps in two legs (149 km along the North Holland side and 241 km along the Frisian coast and Flevoland). With stops it is a full day or a fine weekend.
Can you drive the IJsselmeer loop in one day?
Yes, pure driving time is about 6 hours, so one long day is possible. If you want to walk around the towns and visit the Zuiderzee Museum or the Woudagemaal, a weekend with a night halfway is far nicer.
Which towns are on the route?
Among others Amsterdam, Volendam (with Marken), Hoorn, Enkhuizen, Medemblik, the Afsluitdijk, Makkum, Hindeloopen, Stavoren, Lemmer, Urk, Lelystad and Spakenburg. Together they tell the story of the old Zuiderzee.
Does the route avoid the motorway?
As much as possible. The route follows the old dikes and coastal roads; the only real motorway is the Afsluitdijk (A7), the classic crossing that belongs to this drive. For no motorway at all, drive only the North Holland or only the Frisian side.
Are the exports really free?
Yes, free with a Touren.app credit on them. You never pay us for exports; those who want to drive ad-free and offline choose Plus.
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