My Sustainable Day Trip to Amsterdam
As an avid traveller, I live to explore. I breathe travel. I am passionately curious and love to journey to faraway paradises, embark on enriching experiences, and to lead an adventurous life. Whenever I find myself in a new destination, I strive to explore as much as I can. Long gone are the days when I stayed snoozing on a sun lounger. Now, travel is all about discovery. With a busy everyday life, I try to fit as much as possible into my itinerary so to make the most of my trip. I have found that driving is a practical way to explore, as it allows me to set my own pace. One of the greatest luxuries of travel is freedom. Freedom to being able to explore on my own terms, not being bound by local transport or organised tours. Freedom to go wherever I want, whenever I want, and the freedom to skip a fixed itinerary.
Day-tripping in the Netherlands
I can stop at the locations that tour buses often whizz by and so get off the beaten path and discover hidden gems. I can transport myself to sites that are not easily accessible by other means of transport, and so give me more scope to widen my itinerary. I can choose to get up at the crack of dawn and arrive early so to not have to compete with crowds of tourists to see popular attractions. The flexibility that having a car offers truly sparks that spirit of discovery within me.
Taken on my way to Marken, a tiny peninsula outside of Amsterdam, which was easily accessible by car.
There was hardly any traffic, which allowed me to pull over spontaneously at locations I found interesting.
Marken is a postcard-perfect Dutch village – quiet, quaint, and idyllic.
At the same time, I believe in protecting our most vulnerable destinations, and strive to be a conscientious traveller. Lately, I have become interested in how electric vehicles contribute to sustainable personal mobility, and so was delighted when given the opportunity to explore Amsterdam with Hyundai’s latest eco-models; the All-New Kona Hybrid and the New IONIQ Electric.
The New IONIQ Electric is powered by 100 % electricity, and the Kona Hybrid combines a petrol engine with its electric motor, creating a very fuel-efficient car. Both vehicles are easy to drive and I personally prefer the New IONIQ Electric, as I find that the electric is whisper quiet, whilst still having immediate torque, giving you maximum performance in a very serene setting.
There is an incredible amount of most beautiful places in The Netherlands.
Dutch countryside consists of green meadows filled with horses, sheep and the world-famous black-and-white cows.
After scouring social media for Instagrammable locations in Amsterdam and its surrounding neighbourhoods, I couldn’t wait to start exploring places on a whim. The Netherland’s capital city has all the necessary ingredients for the perfect weekend road trip. This includes ever-changing scenery, quaint villages, multicoloured tulip fields, majestic country estates, and picturesque windmills, enough to stuff my eyes with wonder.
Houses in Amsterdam used to be taxed based on the size of their facade, which encouraged people to build very long and narrow houses.
The narrow townhouses that line Amsterdam’s canals are probably the most iconic feature of the city.
The New IONIQ Electric I was driving was equipped with Hyundai’s latest technology, Bluelink, a connected car system that uses embedded telematics for a more convenient driving experience. One of the features of Bluelink that I found particularly helpful was the ability to search for a point of interest on the smartphone app and send it to the vehicle’s navigation system as a destination before starting my trip. This was very convenient as I was driving through Amsterdam for the first time, trying to find photogenic locations to shoot at. Another feature I appreciated was the ability to use voice commands to start the vehicle, get fuel information, and lock or unlock the vehicle via a smartphone app.
Driving etiquette in Amsterdam is a breeze. The roads are impeccable, navigation is smooth, and charging stations are easy to come by. A fully charged battery of the New IONIQ Electric has a driving range of 311 kilometers. To put it in perspective, I could easily drive from Amsterdam to Brussels (215 km) on a single charge. What’s even better, as EVs gain traction on the market and with the major developments in the electric car industry, the amount of charging stations are will continue to steadily increase. I can’t wait for another all-electric European road trip!
Driving through the scenic countryside of Amsterdam reminded me why sustainability is an important topic of discussion. With the car industry adapting to a more eco-friendly ethos, I can continue to explore the world whilst I travel responsibly and remain conscious about my impact on the environment.
Electric car drivers, have you had experience with longer road trips? Share your stories in the comments section.
11 Comments
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Summer
The countryside of the Netherlands looks very beautiful. I agree, it is nice to be able to set your own pace and leave early if you want to, rather than relying on a set bus schedule. I had no idea you could rent an electric car! That’s a great way to explore in a sustainable way. It’s nice to hear the IONIQ had plenty of horsepower. It also seems like you wouldn’t have to worry about the charge as the IONIQ has a very long range you can drive on a battery! Your drone photos are incredible, I have been wanting to try out drone photography. I will have to read your article about drone composition before I buy one!
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Paula
I am very much the same way. When I was younger, traveling was more about the beach and meeting cool people, or even parties. Now, it is about exploring this beautiful planet and making sure it wont be destroyed while doing so. I am not an electric car driver (yet), but here in California I don’t see a problem with road tripping with an electric cars. They are so common and popular, and charging stations are everywhere.
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Yukti Agrawal
Your day trip to Amsterdam looks very sustainable and very unique as it has so many nature stops in between. Marken is a really a postcard-perfect Dutch village. Traveling by electric car through all beautiful spots with meadows and farm animals is really a eco-friendly travel.
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Rachelle
I’ve only ever driven in Eastern Europe, so I’m glad to hear that the roads are amazing and easy to navigate. I’ve never driven an all-electric vehicle, but it’s comforting to know that charging stations are easy to come by. I love taking road trips – being able to go wherever I want on a whim and explore those places that the tour busses often drive right past, just like you mentioned!
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Philip
I’ve been interested in hybrid vehicles and found your post as I was doing some research. I am looking to buy a new car and had the opportunity to test drive a hybrid recently. I’m looking for a model a long range on the battery, as my main concern is running out of charge while driving. For day-to-day driving I’m not worried, but I like to go on weekend roadtrips and would love a car that does at least 500km. Is this unreasonable to ask for, you reckon?
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Adele Gee
Cool photos you got there – it shows off Netherlands countryside very well indeed. Is that the dike you are driving on ? Amazing indeed. Its admirable that you are using the electric car to get around on sightseeing. Would agree the car is the best way to hit off the beaten path and find travel gems along the way.
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Lisa
This looks like a great car to see the sights and surrounding countryside of Amsterdam. I like the Hyundai brand in general so it would be a good choice for me. I like the fact that it’s an electric car too, it sounds great!
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Nina Bosken
That looks like the perfect car for a roadtrip. It is true that often times you just whiz right through place you’d ideally like to stop at. Driving yourself helps with that.
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Jennifer Prince
I love that you are into sustainable travel, and it is so true. It’s WAY more fun to be able to stop when you want rather than have someone dictating that to you. I’ve been to Amsterdam twice but I’ve only ever been in the city and walked around. I need to explore more some day!
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Clarice
Totally agree with you. Yes, I also prefer driving to explore a new place. Once in a while, my husband and I take long drives instead of taking the plane.
Love this new electric car of Hyundai. I wonder if it’s going to available here in the Philippines since electric or hybrid cars are not popular here.
Joella
I am a lot lot you and love the freedom that having my own vehicle provides. I like waking early for a sunrise and seeing the popular places without the crowds. I like going off the beaten track and finding my own gems in more remote less visited places. So having a car instead of going on a tour is always preferable to me. I love how we see more and more eco friendly cars, cars that are electric and don’t use gas. We already leave a big carbon footprint by flying to destinations so its good to make up for it with electric vehicles like this one.