Alkmaar is served by Intercity trains from Amsterdam, 4 trains per hour, journey time 35-40 minutes. These Intercity trains start in Nijmegen or Maastricht, stop at Utrecht and end in Den Helder. At Amsterdam-Sloterdijk station, on the western edge of Amsterdam, they connect with trains to Schiphol Airport, Leiden, The Hague, Rotterdam, Dordrecht and Breda.Alkmaar is also on a train route from The Hague via Haarlem and Alkmaar, to Hoorn, every 30 minutes. At weekends, you must change trains in Haarlem.
By bus
There is an hourly long-distance bus service 350 to/from Harlingen in Friesland, connecting at Harlingen station with the local train to/from Leeuwarden. You can buy a ticket Alkmaar-Leeuwarden, valid for bus and train. The bus route crosses the Afsluitdijk, the long enclosure dike of the former Zuyder Zee. This is one of the few long-distance bus routes in the Netherlands, avoiding a much longer train journey via Amsterdam and Zwolle.
Local bus services connect Alkmaar to surrounding villages and towns, up to about 30 km away. They all stop at Alkmaar bus station, beside the railway station. Some routes also stop at the northern edge of the old city centre on Kanaalkade, or at the southern edge at the Metiusgracht stop, across the bridge from the windmill 'Molen van Piet'.
By ship
You can get to visit Alkmaar from the UK by using a ferry to Holland. There are a number of ferry companies based in the North East of England whos ports in Holland are only a short drive away from Alkmaar, which also offer a range of mini cruises.
Cycle
The signposted long-distance cycle route LF7 (http://www.fietsplatform....) includes a section from Amsterdam to Alkmaar. This section begins by crossing on the ferry Buiksloterwegveer, behind Amsterdam Centraal Station. About half the route is through rural areas, including the shore of the Alkmaarder Meer, 'Lake Alkmaar'- although in fact it is beside Uitgeest. It is the only large lake left in the region - all the others were drained over the last 450 years. In Alkmaar, the LF7 passes through the old city, near the station. The route is 57 km long, takes about 4 hours, and you need to pay careful attention to the signs, or you will take a wrong turn. There is also a direct cycle route, along the N203 road via Zaandam. It has a cycle lane, but you would cycle for 2-3 hours alongside a busy road.
You can also rent a bike as you arrive in Alkmaar at Fietspoint Stoop beside the train station, immediately to the right as you exit. For more on bike rental and other cycle routes see below, Cycle routes and rental.