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Giethoorn and Zaanse Schans Small Group Day Tour with Small Boat
4.6
193 Ratings
Amsterdam
Experience the best of the Netherlands with a tour of Giethoorn, the ‘Dutch Venice’, and Zaanse Schans, home to traditional windmills. Cruise the canals of Giethoorn, explore charming farmhouses and bridges, and visit a clog factory, cheese factory, and diamond factory in Zaanse Schans.
Duration:
9 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Zaanse Schans - Visit Zaanse Schans traditional wooden windmills and distinctive green wooden houses which were relocated there to recreate the atmosphere of an 18th/19th-century village. Duration is about 1.5 hours including visits with demonstrations at cheese factory and wooden shoes factory. Photo stop at the bank of Zaan River for the best panoramic view of all the windmills.
- Kooijman Souvenirs & Clogs Wooden Shoe Workshop - (This part is included in Zaanse Schans) Visit wooden shoes factory to learn about history of traditional Dutch clogs. Attend a workshop with demonstration of how clogs are made. Try fitting wooden shoes to have a feeling of wearing wooden shoes. Some free time for souvenirs shopping.
- Catharina Hoeve Cheese Farm - (This part is included in Zaanse Schans) Attend a professional demonstration of quality cheese-making by the staff in traditional Dutch costumes. Followed by free tasting of a wide cheese selection, and other typical Dutch treats. Free time for Dutch delights shopping.
- IJsselmeer (Lake IJssel) - On the way to Giethoorn, enjoy interesting facts and stories from our friendly guides pointing out of significant sights including the largest artificial lake in the Netherlands - IJsselmeer. IJsselmeer is a closed off inland bay, bordered by the Afsluitdijk (Enclosing Dike) which is the largest dike in the Netherlands with 32KM long, constructed during 1927-1932, being part of the Delta Works, Seven Modern Wonders.
We will also pass by Ketelbrug, it is a bridge also a dike to get a good feeling of a dike. Unlike the largest one Enclosing dike, it is only 800-metre-long (2,600 ft) bridge opened on 15 June 1970.
- Giethoorn - Discover a Dutch village only accessible by boat on a day trip to Giethoorn from Amsterdam. Experience the “Venice of the Netherlands” where there are no main roads and all transport is on the water of the many canals. Take 1-hour small electric boat (9 people maximum) led by our friendly guide cruising around the village. Be your own captain, you can even drive the boat to experience a real local lifestyle. See the unique traditional thatch-roof cottages connected to arch-shape wooden bridges (there are over 150 arch-shape wooden bridges in the Giethoorn).
What's Included
- Boat trip on a small electric boat in Giethoorn, guided and drive your own boat experience
- Professional guide
- Guided tour in cheese factory, Zaanse Schans
- Tour coach or van
- Guided tour in diamond factory, Zaanse Schans
- Guided tour in wooden shoes factory, Zaanse Schans
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Lunch
Additional Information
Small group tour with a small electric trip in Giethoorn. Explore the two top sightseeing attractions near Amsterdam in one day. Visit idyllic canal village ‘’Dutch Venice’’ Giethoorn, cruise around Giethoorn on a small electric boat guided by our friendly guide. You may navigate the boat for a real local lifestyle experience, at no extra cost, no hassle, no squeezing in a big touristy boat, enjoy the perfect view with the open boat.
Touring in a unique lifestyle in a Dutch village without main roads, discovering each and every unique charming thatched-roof houses, canals and wooden bridges.
Guided tour in Zaanse Schans for traditional clog factory and try out wooden shoes with demonstration, cheese factory with demonstration and free tasting, windmills, diamond factory.
Admire distinctive architecture green wooden houses along River Zaan, at the most instagrammable photo spots. Appreciate the lifestyle of a typical 18th/19th-century Dutch village. A complete day out!
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- If you come with luggage, strollers, or bulk items, please inform the tour operator Cherry Tours in advance.
- Children younger than 12 years need car seats, infants need baby chair provided by travellers.
- Cancellations within 24 hours due to failure to inform tour operator for special arrangement will not get refund.
- Infant with less than 6 years old, we do not recommend this tour.
- Cancellation due to any of the above unfulfilled conditions, will not be refunded.
- The trip offers small open boat, if customers wish to take a big boat (covered, with 40 passengers on board, shared with other groups), an extra cost of €5 per person to be paid in cash.
- Not recommended for travellers with reduced mobility.
Location
Hotel NH Collection Amsterdam Barbizon Palace
Prins Hendrikkade
We meet in front of NH Barbizon Hotel 5 mins in advance. Pls provide mobile contact in case we do not see you there, we call you.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.6
(193 Ratings)
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Traveler23105502
Jul 18, 2024
Clean professional tour - We had a blast. Very knowledgeable guide. Would recommend to anyone looking for a relaxing day. Loved the canal cruze and windmills.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jaleung326
Jul 17, 2024
Would definitely recommend - Cherry is very knowledgeable and has been very thoughtful and flexible throughout the trip, would definitely recommend if you have family members coming over for visit.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Noufa387
Jul 11, 2024
Best tour everrrrr - This is by far the best trip & with the best company I have ever been with.. it was clean, on time, very informative & fun.. I truly recommend it👍🏻
Review provided by Tripadvisor
571suchithras
Jul 11, 2024
Experience with Cherry Tours - Cherry was a great host with excellent knowledge of the place. She personally ensured everyone was having a good time as we were 3 different groups who went together. She also took some great pictures of us while on the trip. The chauffeur drove us around from Amsterdam city to Geithoorn village and then to Zaans and back to the city all while planning for adverse weather conditions in advance, which made our experience very relaxing. I highly recommend this tour for a small group who doesn’t want to take stress of planning a good visit to these villages. It’s really worth the money.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
3dogsinthecountry
Jul 10, 2024
Tourist attraction but still interesting - Very touristy but still fun and informative to visit this Dutch “village.” Our guide Morgan made sure we got to and from our destination and on our canal ride safely. There was another guide cherry but she was not good. She gave random information that wasn’t at all interesting and didn’t know answers to our questions. It was strange.
Both stops were great. The first one Giethoorn was charming and less touristy. It was interesting to see the beautiful architecture.
At the village, the cheese demonstration was great but there is really no cheese tasting. We got to try a 1 sq centimeter of cheese with a toothpick and that was it. It is very misleading. The wooden shoe demonstration was also informative. We felt forced to go to the diamond information session but thankfully it was short and informative. Who is the world is going to buy a diamond in a tourist trap for thousands of dollars?
We enjoyed an apple pastry and coffee at one of the shops so that was a highlight.
I recommend this tour but have the proper expectations. It’s a tourist trap but also interesting and nice to see a bit outside of Amsterdam.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michelle_s
Jul 8, 2024
One of the most beautiful places - Cherry was an excellent tour guide. She provided interesting information during the drive and also at our destinations. Her desire to make it a good tour for everyone was present throughout the day. I highly recommend this tour.
Giethoorn is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. The charming houses with thatched roofs are surrounded by lush green plants and trees, with so many beautiful flowers all around. The boat tour felt as it we were gliding through the canals. Gierhoorn has a serenity that you won't find many places.
Zaanse Schans was a fun experience. It was fascinating watching the process of taking blocks of wood and turning them into wooden shoes. The varieties on display and for sale are beautiful. The cheese making demonstration was interesting as well. The whole experience including seeing the windmills in operation was a lot of fun.
Review provided by Viator
George_k
Jul 5, 2024
Beautiful scenic tour - Cherry was a great tour guide. She was extremely knowledgeable. The tour bus was beautiful and the stops were amazing. I would absolutely recommend.
Review provided by Viator
424sumaj
Jul 5, 2024
Must visit with Cherry tours and travels - Both Geithoorn and Zaanse Schans were beautiful. Great to spend a day away from tourists in Amsterdam. Cherry was so knowledgeable and kind. She shared multiple stories and history about these villages. The bus was very comfortable. Overall, highly recommend this 9-10 hr tour from central station at Amsterdam.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Journey25479626674
Jul 4, 2024
engaging - Super interesting and very engaging guide. Verônica, the tour guide knows a lot about the region, she is very interested and makes you travel actively rather than just passing through the sights seeing. Really recommend! :)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kgway5
Jul 10, 2024
OG guide and Giethoorn was great, ZS and the guide there… not so much - We loved Morgan and his guiding in the van and at Giethoorn. Giethoorn was wonderful and we loved it. When we went to Zaans Schans , we suddenly joined another group so our size doubled with no explanation and the woman who was the guide(?) for that was all over the place, didn’t explain anything, and didn’t give any sort of guiding. It was very odd. We really enjoyed Morgan and he was a great driver!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
