Home > Amsterdam > Amsterdam Day-Trip Combo: Keukenhof Gardens and Zaanse Schans Windmill Village
USD $91.00
Amsterdam Day-Trip Combo: Keukenhof Gardens and Zaanse Schans Windmill Village
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Experience the beauty of Keukenhof Gardens in bloom on a guided morning tour from Amsterdam in the company of an expert guide and travel by small comfortable coach out to the Netherlands’ most famous bulb region, passing through remarkable flower-filled meadows. In the afternoon continue to windmill village Zaanse Schans and see all the other dutch icons such as windmills, cheese and clogs.
Begin your day with a pickup from central station or one of the select hotels. Get comfortable in your seat aboard a single-Decker coach, then as you leave Amsterdam, gaze out at the vivid flower fields of the Dutch countryside. Awash with colorful crocuses, tulips and daffodils, these blooming fields are remarkably beautiful. As you admire them, listen to your guide reveal more about the history of this region. Depending on time, you might also stop to take photographs of this stunning landscape.
When you arrive at Keukenhof Gardens, step off the bus and embark on a guided tour of the grounds. Covering an area of more than 79 acres (32 hectares), these magnificent gardens are home to innumerable blooming bulbs, all meticulously landscaped into aesthetically pleasing patterns. The gardens are filled with delicate blossoms of all sorts of colors and textures, which emanate a gently perfumed fragrance.
While you explore the mind-blowing blaze of flower beds, fields and lawns, which are peppered with ponds and water features, listen to your guide explain the hard work that goes in to creating this elegant floral display. After soaking up the garden vistas, head back to the bus for the journey back to Amsterdam.
Then continue to Zaanse Schans: A comfortable, air-conditioned single deck bus will take you to the windmill village Zaanse Schans in just 20 minutes. The windmill village Zaanse Schans is an open air museum that houses a collection of working windmills, wooden houses, barns and shops dating back to the 18th and 19th Century. All these buildings were brought here from 1961 on, bringing back to life this most prosperous period of the Zaan region.
In its golden age, the Zaan Region developed into an industrial area on a scale never seen before, with 600 active windmills, wooden factories powered by wind. In these small factories, many tasks were being executed with the aid of wind energy, including wood sawed by machine, grinding spices, oil for food and paint, flour, cocoa powder and many other things.
The prosperity in the 18th and 19th century can be seen in the Zaanse Schans windmill village in several ways. Alongside windmills, barns and other buildings, you will see beautiful houses that were originally built as home to rich windmill owners and merchants. These houses have attractive facades and have been painted in traditional colors such as green, beige and light blue.
Upon arrival in the village, your guide will take you on an orientation tour of the village. You will visit the clog museum, annex wooden shoemaker shop, and get to taste Dutch farmer cheese in the cheese farm. Then it is time to further explore the village on your own. Before you set off to discover the Zaanse Schans, your guide will give you further information on the unique character of Zaanse Schans, teach you local history and culture, and give you insider’s tips about what to do and where to go.
Keukenhof is gorgeous and the time allowed to see all of it. Zaanse Schans is super cute and gives you a great overview of Dutch culture with the cheese, shoe making, and windmills. Its great that it is still a town where people live and work.
Review by: Warren B, July 2017
A unusually cold spring day to go to the gardens and be outside. That said the gardens were everything said about them and more.The gardens were just great. Would go again. The tour was very good but the gardens was what the tour was about. Don't miss a chance to see the gardens.
Review by: Marlene, June 2017
Fantastic visit to the gardens. No one should miss it. Zaanse Schans Windmill Village was too commercial. Never saw what windmills are used for. Can buy the cheese and clogs anywhere in Amsterdam. Didn't know they were going to drop us off at A'dam Tower and leave us there to figure out how to get back on our own.
Review by: Paul C, May 2017
Keukenhof was definitely worth it and is highly recommended. Zaanse Schans added to the end of the day was not worth it: almost everything was closed or closing when we arrived at 4:15 pm, and it turns out entry was free. See this on your own and arrive in the middle of the day to be able to tour the windmills: otherwise it is simply a photo shoot for the price of a tour.
Review by: Margretha N, May 2017
The gardens where beautiful with every kind of tulip you could imagine. The gardens are extensive and require lots of walking. Our guide had lots of information but was so soft speaking we could not hear him outdoors. My friend and I both use canes and asked our guide to slow down a little so we could keep up but that didn't happen. Also the description of the tour said both pick up and return to the hotel was part of the trip, but we were delivered to the head quarters and told to take the free ferry to the central station to get back to our hotel. We were not happy. This is a full day trip and pretty exhausting. The flowers and the windmills were worth the trip but it would have oh so much better with a guide you could hear and keep up with as well as returned to the hotel where pick up had happened.
Review by: willie c, May 2017
We have several booking and they will just reject you on the last minute without considering you are booking online that should confirm your booking online too! This is exactly my point - do not sell if you cannot confirm. ONLINE BOOKING AND ONLINE SELLING IS TOTALLY AVAILABLE TO BE BOOK AND BUY, OTHERWISE DONT SELL! The hassle and the damages are very tragic and disappointing to ruin our trip!There is no such online booking that cannot be confirmed - thats why its called online selling
Review by: Dana B, May 2017
We got a little anxious trying to find the bus stop for our trip. We tried to call the phone and it was not in service. Finally where we thought it was, a guide came and said she was riding with us to A'DAM. I wish the bus stop address and description had included a map!_br/_ The tour guide on the bus to the Garden and Windmill village gave information in English and Spanish then she took us through a short part of Keukenhof before we had plenty of time on our own. I feel so lucky that we travelled when these gardens were open._br/_ We then returned to A'DAM before heading to Windmill Village. Would have liked a little more time in the clog shop, but we had traffic and got to the village later than usual. The village is interesting, but would have also like to have some information about the working of the windmill. The windmills were not open to go inside, so our guide had recommended that we go in the one at Keukenhof, but there was no information to read about them. There was more traffic on the way home, so our bus driver had chosen a different route that took us through some lovely countryside. All in all, it was a pleasurable trip, and the gardens should not be missed if you are there when they are open for the only 8 wks per yr!
Review by: Jenn S, May 2017
Almost missed the bus because tour guide never came inside, but lied and said she did. Had to pay €50 for a cab to the bus stop. Kuekenhof was awesome. The Windmill trip was lame. They don and #39;t demonstrate how to make cheese or clogs, they tell you or you watch a video. Could have done without it.
Review by: Izarina Z, May 2017
Perfect day trip combo if you have limited time in Amsterdam. The timing could have been better if the tour is punctual. We were supposed to depart from the last pick-up point A'dam Lookout at 9 am but we waited for almost an hour. Completed touring the Keukenhof Gardens at 2.30 pm and returned to A'dam Lookout, which we think was a waste of time, and then continue to Zaanse Schans. Again, the timing could have been better for the group taking both excursions not to be combined with those only taking single trip. Due to this we didn't have much time in Zaanse Schans and didn't get the chance to enter the windmill as it closed at 4.30 pm. However, the tour guide was very warm and informative
Review by: Barbara R, May 2017
I will start with Keukenhof it was great and not to be missed! I carefully selected this tour for the convenience of being able to walk from my hotel to pick up point....BEWARE it was not disclosed until the end that we were being dropped off on the other end of town requiring navigating public transport after a long, cold day ... I would have researched that and brought a map. Tour guide was late so we rode around on the bus an extra hour..the extra time was added to the end but caused us to miss some things that closed early clog making demo, cheese demo, inside windmill also Zaanse Village had beware of pick pocket signs everywhere and extra fees for to go inside a windmill, museums and bathrooms.. could have missed that entire experience, seems to me this was simply a tourist trap. Viator needs to fully disclose details such as drop off being different from pick up point.
Review by: Karen R, May 2017
This tour was awesome! Tulips were spectacular at Keukenhof and the windmill village was fantastic. Met all our expectations. Don and #39;t buy your wooden shoe souvenirs anywhere else except at windmill village! They demonstrate how they are made and their variety to choose from is awesome!
Review by: Christien S, April 2017
Keukenhof gardens are beautiful. We had 4 hours to explore the gardens, which wasn't enough time. I highly recommend this tour. Th tour to Zante Schans was rushed. We only had 1 1/2 hrs there.
Review by: bknight967, April 2017
Really is a must do tour in the Netherlands. The issue was that we were picked up in one part of Amsterdam, transported about 20 minutes away where a member of my group of 5, me, had to get off the bus, go into a crowded area and get a ticket for the tour. The voucher from Viator was not the ticket. The trip was overbooked and people were left as they called another bus. At the end of the trip we returned to the ticket office area which was not the location from which we were picked up. This was never stated in the information. We had to catch the ferry to the Central Station and then catch a tram to get back to where we were staying. Might have been OK but the weather was cold and windy by late afternoon. The tour company should better prepare guests for this. We were not told until the end of the trip. The guide had to give all the directions in 4 different languages. That was actually annoying after a while.
Review by: Jo L, April 2017
Lovely day out, gardens beautiful and Zaanse Schans very interesting and pretty. Well worth visiting. Only slight criticism is that it was a very long day and maybe a shorter stay at the village would have sufficed.
Review by: amypai, April 2017
Fantastic tour with timely pickup and clear instructions._br/_ Beautiful day at the Keukenhof gardens with beautiful tulips, roses, and orchards etc._br/_ Zaanse Schans windmills, cheese making, clog making factories are all highly recommended._br/_ Plenty of time at each location, not rushed at all._br/_ Our guide Rick was also very polite and helpful._br/_ Added bonus of free access to the observatory once we return to Amsterdam._br/_ Highly recommend this tour!
Review by: sban, April 2017
Honestly, this was a horrible tour. To begin with the coach was old and dirty. The tour guide gave the tour in three languages. Since my husband speaks both german and english it was easy to see that much of the information was not given the same from one language to the next. Although this is billed as a tour through Keukenhof with free time after, there was no tour. The guide had little if any information to give at Keukenhof so we were left with the duration of the time to wander on our own - a fine idea, but not what I signed up for. Finally, the Zaanse Schans Village was also a let down. By the time we got there we were hurried into the shoe making exhibit and cheese making exhibit. All of the information came from those craftsmen. Our tour guide offered little information. Almost all the shops closed leaving us little to do until time to meet at the coach again. Although I signed up for and paid for a guided tour, this is really transportation to the gardens and the windmill village - nothing more! Don't waste your money. Just get your own transportation to the sites and enjoy on your own!
Review by: Alicia A, April 2017
It was so overcrowded the day we went there April 9, 2017 that I couldn't find a quiet spot to smell the flowers. There were so many buses it took us a long time to get out of the parking lot. It was still good but not what I expected. BTW, I was there in 2012 so I was somewhat disappointed this time. I guess Keukenhof's popularity has grown exponentially over the years so the mammoth crowd is to expected.
Review by: bob novales, April 2017
Apar from the confusion in the beginning on whoch bus to ride, the tour was ok.
Review by: Melanie M, April 2017
This is a good enough tour- it helped us get transportation to the Gardens and the Windmill village but the tour guide was scatterbrained and and the tour company was as well. They had multiple pick up stops which was nice but they were late- and then when we got to the check in point they weren't even open yet. That seems odd because I'm sure this tour runs everyday and we were already late! They took us to the Gardens first which was great- but you don't really need 3.5 hours there- maybe 2.5-3 at most. Plus then you have to drive back to the city to drop people off and pick other people off and you lose time at the windmill village. By the time we got to the windmill village half of it was shutting down and we only had an hour there- they need to structure it differently. Both locations are great though- the tour company just needs to get the logistics figured out better.
Review by: Kathryn M, April 2017
This was a great tour to Kukenof and the windmill village. Mostly well organised and our tour guide Rick was really knowledgable.
Review by: ryandmcfeely, April 2017
Fantastic tour. All in all the trip is beautiful.
Review by: Joy O, March 2017
Overall, this tour was great! But we got to Zaanse Schans so late in the day that the stores were getting ready to close by the time we got free time there.
Review by: Anonymous, August 2016
The gardens and the windmill village tour was very interesting. Enough time to go around and board the bus. The guide was knowledgeable, polite and kept us well informed. Must try to avoid standing in long Qs to buy tickets and get in the garden. Everything was very coordinated and planned and we had an enjoyable day.
Review by: Elsje d, July 2016
Absolutely beautiful, totally amazing
Review by: Connie525, May 2016
We were so lucky to be able to tour the Keukenhof Gardens on our recent Amsterdam trip. If you are ever in Amsterdam from March to early May this is a must do experience. I have NEVER seen so many beautiful flowers and such a variety of Tulips. Don't miss the amazing topiaries in the various buildings as well. Worth the time, energy and money!
Review by: William M, May 2016
The gardens were exquisite! The day sunny and perfect for picture-taking! Our tour director was Maxima not sure of the spelling. He was one of the best we have ever had on any tour with any company! Enjoyed the village. Bought cheese! Lovely!
Review by: Walter S, May 2016
The Gardens and Windmill Village were too far apart. I would not recommend a combination tour.
Review by: NT, May 2016
Time allowed to visit the Keukenhof was not long enough.
Review by: Richard S, April 2016
The time at Keukenhof was awesome. The gardens are beautiful and we had the right amount of time to visit everything. I think I took 300 photos! As far as Zaanse, it was a little disappointing. We had to travel all the way back to Amsterdam and let some people off the bus and then go back out to Zaanse. Zaanse itself was pretty but nothing that I would do again.
Review by: Naren C, April 2016
Lovely tour of the Garden and Village. Guide was experienced and friendly.
Review by: Skai8084, April 2016
Awesome day! The tour guide was great and the gardens were spectacular. We thoroughly enjoyed the windmill village, too.
Review by: Donald S, April 2016
It was really a bus ride...guide did not guide. Very disappointed.
Review by: Kathryn A, April 2016
Very good tour. Guide was very informative and helpful. Tour was very good value for money
Review by: libs627, April 2016
Our guide, Juliette, and our driver, Aad, ensured an informative and safe day of exploring these famous sites. We especially appreciated how they both handled a somewhat awkward start to the day by clearing up a minor misunderstanding which they handled wonderfully. Thank you! The rest of the day, although cold, was truly enjoyable and we all appreciated Juliette's commentary on the country and the sites we visited. Great information and wonderful sightseeing. Must see when in Amsterdam!
Review by: Jennifer Z, April 2016
This was a truly lovely day and highlight of our visit to Amsterdam. It is less of a tour, and more of coordinated transportation. We were picked up and taken out to the gardens where we were led inside and then had 4 hours to meet back with our guide. We returned down to the city centre to drop off/pick up others and then headed out to the Windmill Village where we had about 2 hours to explore, which was plenty. It was well coordinated and the amount of time felt very appropriate at both destinations.
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