"Walking on Marken" a Marken Travel Page by Pijlmans

Marken is a former island, that is now connected to the mainland by a dam.

It is a small fishermen's town with characteristic wooden houses.

Other people already wrote interesting pages about Marken. Here I would like to draw your attention to the possibility to do a nice walk around the island.

The hike takes 2 or 3 hours, depending if you walk up and down the dam towards Volendam or not.

The hike takes you around Marken, so it does not really matter where you start, just walk along the dyke.

A suggested starting point is the port. Go right after cafe "De Taanderij" onto the cycle-track ("fietspad").

Just before a bunch of willow trees, you can leave the cycle-track and go left onto the dam. This will add an hour to the hike, if you walk until the end of the dam and back. It's certainly worth the effort, with the water on both sides of the dam and the wide views. At the end of the dam, you get a view of the port and church of Volendam.

After the dam, continue your walk to the left, always stay on the dyke.

You will pass the lighthouse (nicknamed "The Horse") and the settlement Rozewerf where icebreakers protect the houses from the ice in the winter.

Follow the dyke, cross the main asphalt road to Marken and continue your walk along the dyke until you are back in the port of Marken.

See the off-the-beaten-path tip below for a map of the island...Just follow the shore!

Bus 111 (Arriva company) takes you from Amsterdam Central station to Marken in 45 minutes!

It is also possible to take a boat from Marken to Volendam.

You cannot enter Marken by car unless you are a resident. There is a big parking before the village, 3.50 euro per day.