On this Amsterdam shore excursion, leave the city behind for a half-day trip to discover the Dutch countryside. Enjoy a drive through a picture-perfect landscape crisscrossed with canals; see authentic wooden houses, windmills and fishing villages; and witness traditional crafts from days gone by. The picturesque village of Zaanse Schans is famous for its original buildings, vividly capturing Dutch life in the 17th and 18th centuries. See the famous fishing villages of Volendam and Marken and visit a traditional cheese farm. You'll return to central Amsterdam at approximately 2:30pm or 8pm.
Experience the highlights of the Dutch countryside on this half-day sightseeing shore excursion! Depart Amsterdam in the morning or afternoon and head toward the beautiful Dutch village of Zaanse Schans, where you'll see the historic shipyard and windmills. Visit a local shoemaker and watch the clog-making techniques first-hand!
Next, visit the world-famous fishing villages of Volendam and Marken, on the coast of the former Zuiderzee (now called Ijselmeer). In these authentic villages, the old wooden houses are built on stilts and locals still wear their colorful traditional dresses. To get from Volendam to Marken, take a 20-minute boat ride, with approximately 45 minutes at each stop (summer only).
During your tour, you'll also stop at one of the few farms where cheese is still made in the traditional Dutch way.
7-Hour tour departing at 12pm This option was created based on customer feedback to offer an alternative itinerary and longer tour duration. The afternoon tour at 12pm is 7hours in duration. It visits the windmill village of "Zaanse Schans" and the towns of Marken and Volendam. However, this tour gives you more time at all 3 locations.
Worry-free Shore Excursion: This excursion is located within a 20-minute walk to the cruise port, so you determine the time you return to your ship in Amsterdam. Please allow yourself ample time to enjoy the excursion and ensure your timely return to the port. This excursion is not covered by our worry-free policy.
Special Offer - Enjoy a free 1-hour Amsterdam canal cruise! This offer is available when you book and travel by 29 October 2017.
If you book the 12pm option by June 7th 2017 , you will also save 10% off our previously offered price! - Book Now!
Albeit it may have been nice to have a bit more time, overall all it was a good experience. It was a very calm day, so unfortunately the windmills were not operating. But if the wind is up on the day you go, you will have a wonderful opportunity to see windmills operating and doing various tasks. Personally my favorite windmill was the saw mill.
Review by: Teresa P, November 2017
I enjoyed seeing the three villages and definitely rate those high on my list. Great diversions from the city of Amsterdam for a day. I did not like the big crowd on the bus and will opt for a smaller group next time. Fewer people to wait for. Our guide was informative but we were always in such a rush that it was difficult to enjoy anything. I will say though that he was good humored and the bus was clean. We had scheduled tours along the way that were quick and well organized. _br/_ The weather was cool and overcast but I really didn't mind that part. Dress appropriately so you can enjoy walking around.
Review by: Ken N, November 2017
Really enjoyed this tour with the highlight being the working windmill in Zaanse Schans. Guides were excellent and lots of info available. The clog making was a little kitsch as it is all done by machines.
Review by: tanujain872, October 2017
The tour was very informative, and I have to say that the Dutch countryside is absolutely gorgeous. Our tour guides - Sandra and Marco - made this tour truly memorable for me. All the three places covered have their own charm and uniqueness.
Review by: Tracey P, October 2017
We loved the windmills. The fishing village of Volendam was gorgeous - lovely seafood, wonderful cheese at the cheese factory. We weren't interested in clogs, so the visit to the Marken clog factory was not for us, but it was a pretty little town.
Review by: Tracey P, October 2017
We loved the windmills visit. We also loved the visit to the fishing village of Volendam - gorgeous town, lovely seafood, wonderful cheese at the cheese factory we visited. Clogs aren't of interest to us, so the visit to the Marken clog factory was a little boring, but the small village was picturesque. The ferry ride from Volendam to Marken was quite nice.
Review by: Richard S, September 2017
I booked this tour online. I did not have a printed voucher, but I just showed the agent at the tour office my voucher on my phone and she quickly printed it for me the morning of the tour. We met our guide in front of the of the tour office at 8:30AM and followed her about 3 blocked to the double Decker tour bus. We got a seat on top and had a great few of the city and country side as we drove to our first stop at the Zaanse Schans Windmills. We had a nice walk with lots of great scenery to the windmill. We got a tour of the windmill and then had some free time. The bus when took us to the island of Bolendam were we had a demonstration of how wooden shoes are now made by machines. We had a little time for shopping and then followed our guide to the port and boarded a boat for a ride over to the fishing village of Marken. We were taken to a cheese shop and given a quick demonstration of cheese making. We then had some time to shop for local cheeses. Our guide then gave us an hour to shop and have some lunch. We really enjoyed the village of Marken. We found the bus and made it back to the center of Amsterdam about 2:00PM. Seeing the windmills, having a nice boat ride, and visiting the village of Marken were the highlights of this trip. This tour should not be missed by anyone visiting Amsterdam.
Review by: Satvindar S, September 2017
Really enjoyed the Zaanse Schans Windmills and the surrounding area. Wish we had more time here as to explore the other shops etc. The others places was nice and scenic but a bit of a walking required .
Review by: Karen M, September 2017
I wasn't impressed with this tour. Even though it was a wet day it seemed very rushed and we didn't really know what was going on all afternoon. The tour guide wasn't informative at all. We had to ask a couple times where we were going and what time we had to be at the bus. disappointing as we were looking forward to a day out in the countryside.
Review by: photmanparulian, September 2017
Amazing., fantastic tour, well managed by Limberg Tour Amsterdam extra 1 cruise canal at night is very nice travelling for us both as a couple join with other travellers from other countries.
Review by: pamdeang, August 2017
Great experience to visit the countryside, to view real windmills and be inside one, and take a boat ride between fishing villages of Volendam and Marken. Enjoyed the clog-making demo, and cheese manufacturing demo and samples, and demo of making cookies.
Review by: Don W, July 2017
Beautiful places to visit with a great tour company! Would highly recommend this tour and this company. Great service!_br/_ Very well run!
Review by: Rebecca S, April 2017
This tour was really nice, well organised well planned and excellent activities for the whole day. The staff running it were lovely and friendly and knowledgable in a lot of languages to cater for many tourists. The sites were also beautiful.
Review by: IronHorse, October 2016
Great experience to visit the countryside, to view real windmills and be inside one, to take a boat ride between fishing villages of Volendam and Marken and to realise how the Dutch mastered to expand their land from the sea, to sit in a clog-making demo and cheese manufacturing demo, and to try the fresh herring with diced onion and squeezed lemon. It's the tour, the experience that makes part of good memories.
Review by: Jorge B, October 2016
Excelent too short the first stop no time to enjoy
Review by: whiston.gail, September 2016
Would. It recommend this tour company. The tour it self was good but the company was not._br/_ We booked this tour because it was supposed to start at 8:45 and go for four hours which worked well for us being off a ship. It didn't start until 9:00 and it went for 5:30 hours which meant we nearly missed getting back on the ship. They assured us we would be back on time for the ship. We had to be on the ship at 3pm. We didn't get back to Amsterdam until 10 to three. We asked them to phone the ship for us but they wouldn't. The only reason we got on the ship was because there was a big tour group in front of us at customs to get on the boat.
Review by: Rick K, September 2016
Fun, interesting and beautiful! Wish it had been longer. Did not get to shop at the windmills and did not get to explore enough.
Review by: Merey C, September 2016
Wonderful experience and got to taste some fantastic produce!!!
Review by: Katherine S, September 2016
Hardly any time at the actual windmills, but lots of time being trotted past the preferred vendors of the tour company cheese factory tour was basically a walk through a cheese store
Review by: whiston.gail, September 2016
I was very disappointed in the administration of the trip._br/_ We were told it was going to leave at 8:45 but didn't leave until 9 am. When I booked this tour it was a 4 hours tour. The. When they handed out the leaflet on the bus it was a 5 and a half hours. We were off a cruise boat and had to be back on at 3pm. Well that didn't happen. We didn't get back to the city until 2:50. They would not help us get back to the ship. They would not ring the ship and tell them that the tour was late getting back. We didn't get back to the cruise terminal until 3:10. We were lucky to get on the ship. So I would not recommend this trip to anyone.
Review by: walker47, September 2016
This is a tour for tourists with a lot of places selling the same type of souvenirs. Luckily our tour was one of the first to reach Zaanse Schans so didn't have to deal with crowds. Overall the trip was enjoyable and worthwhile. Special mention to our host Ian who made the trip very entertaining.
Review by: Nandy, September 2016
This tour exceeded our expectations. It was well worth going. You so so many more sights then you could on your own. They took us to several different sights.
Review by: Laurel, September 2016
We stood around for 45 minutes on a very hot day and were then walked to the bus about 5 to 7 minutes away. The bus had two levels and made the group way too large. When we got there we had to wait for everyone to get off the bus and then we were informed our total visit time was 1 hour. We were walked in a group to the working windmill for our demonstration. If you were not in the front you saw nothing and could hardly hear the man speaking. We then went upstairs and by the time we came down and took a couple of photos our guide informed us we had about 20 minutes. The destination itself was beautiful and it would have been so nice to have enjoyed an ice cream or drink there. We then went to Volendam where we had a cheese demonstration which wasn't really one. Just a bunch of jokes about the cheese and then we were invited to try samples. Again the group was so large you had difficulty getting near the samples until most of the people had gone to the checkouts. The ferry ride to Markham was lovely and so was the walk from the dock down to the clog demonstration. The river cruise I had just left had offered an optional to the Windmill Village but I had booked with you. The people who went said they had about 2.5 hours there and saw a clog demonstration, cheese factory with samples, etc. We were very disappointed with this tour. A fair bit of it is riding in the bus and walking to the destinations. Very little time to enjoy them. It was too rushed and I wouldn't recommend it.
Review by: nephfox, August 2016
compliments ones visit to Amsterdam, the city. the guide was informative and helpful.
Review by: Philip T, July 2016
Fabulous day tour from Amsterdam. We thought we were only going to see old windmills, which in fact they were but still in use today. The one we visited was used for logging and sawing the logs for restorations etc. and was fascinating. The clog demonstration also great and fishing village great. Thoroughly recommend the tour.
Review by: Kathryn T, July 2016
This is a wonderful tour that includes many interesting places. We loved seeing a working windmill that could be explained to us by the Miller. Next we went to a cheese factory and heard all about making cheese and as a bonus got to taste many different kinds of cheeses. Next was lunch at a local restaurant. They were waiting and ready for us so it was very efficient. Then the boat ride which gave a little time to relax and talk with other visitors to Amsterdam. Last we went to the wooden shoe factory. It was fascinating. Where else could you try on actual wooden shoes. All in all it was a perfect day.
Review by: Ken C, July 2016
Personable guide. Clean, safe bus. Beautiful views and commentary on countryside and reclamation of land from sea. Best part, though: I never expected to see an authentic windmill actually working up close and inside. A must see. Absolutely fascinating. The host miller ground flax seed with massive mills stones driven by the wind. Everything made of wood and absolutely the way they did it in the old days. Many thanks to the folks who have kept this windmill running.
Review by: C L W, July 2016
Tour was excellent - the service and information from the guide and bus driver was exceptional. A fantastic day!
Review by: Kate H, July 2016
The tour guides were excellent. Bus was good. There was a full bus of tourists but it went well. Long day but worth it. You do not have to do a tour of an area ie the cheese factory but keep an eye on the time so you can meet the group afterwards. Windmill was included in the price so keep with the group or you pay 4 euros for entrance. Defiantly a good day trip to experience some of Holland outside the city center.
Review by: Sharon S, June 2016
We were told to arrive for our tour at 2:30. When we arrived they told us the tour departed at noon. The tour office was extremely busy but they did put us on another tour. We were very unhappy with what occurred. The tour itself was very good but this error was very distressing.
Review by: Neville M, June 2016
Interesting and pleasant experience. Guide Edgar particularly good.
Review by: Henry C, June 2016
We had a wonderful time on our tour and were thoroughly impressed with our guides. We rate it a 10.
Review by: David H, June 2016
This was an OK tour, disappointed in the windmills we went to, very run down and not that colorful as expected. Interesting to see inside and how they worked. That was pretty amazing.
Review by: mary m, May 2016
This is a beautiful tour that is a must if you really enjoy quaint villages , beautiful scenery and getting a true taste of the Netherlands you imagined. The tour guides were excellent! Very informative and very enthusiastic personalities. I would take it again whenever I return to Amsterdam. I took several tours through VIATOR and were all great!
Review by: Sheryl R, May 2016
The tour was amazing. It was a little fast paced with not much time to have a look around at the different sites, but still a great outing. Would recommend.
Review by: Mahesh E, May 2016
It was Well spent Few Hours and Money in Amsterdam . The tour guides too care to look after the bus load of people , keep us informed and entertained well . The Places of visit were magnificent !!
Review by: Rebecca J, February 2016
We really enjoyed this tour it was the right amount of time and our guide was excellent. If you are looking for a day out of the crowds and get some of the culture it skims the surface and we learnt a lot of little facts along the way. Highly recommend this tour.
Review by: Gail R, October 2015
Beautiful! A great way to see some neat scenery and history outside of Amsterdam.
Review by: Stacey L, October 2015
This tour was extremely well done. The tour guide was knowledgeable and you have more than enough time to see everything. I would recommend this tour to anyone who really wants to see Amsterdam.
Review by: Jeanette H, September 2015
the half day tour was perfect as was the weather and scenery!!t
Review by: Jeff W S, September 2015
Was a great overview of the countryside with the story and history behind the draining of the poulders, how clogs are made, how windmills work and the important role played in the history of the Netherlands. Bus tour combined with a boat cruise. Efficient use of time - for a half day cruise it was informative and the pacing of activities and knowledge of the tour guides and presenters at each of the locations was fantastic!! The tour group was not huge and the logistics of managing all the stops and keeping to the schedule of returning to the bus or waiting for stragglers was not an issue.
Review by: Nancy M, September 2015
Tour was ok at best. I felt like I was being herded into one tourist trap after the other. The few demonstrations were crowded, couldn't get close and couldn't hear very well. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this tour.
Review by: Hero.sl, September 2015
Worth the money and time. Audio recording in the coach is very informative. Guides speak English well, friendly and helpful.
Review by: DAVID H, August 2015
I love the trip , but time spent on the bus was to long .but I would do it again, and the staff were great.
Review by: Leanne C, August 2015
A great day out from Amsterdam. The guide and bus driver showed real interest in the group and had the timings down just right. No pressure to buy anything. The hour long boat ride half way through was a nice surprise. The only down side was the poor air conditioning on the bus on a rather hot day.
Review by: paigeyp, July 2015
I highly recommend this tour. The windmills are so beautiful. I did wish there was more time at this stop because you barely have time to use the facilities and see it all. My favorite stop was the fish town. So beautiful and had a delicious lunch. The ferry ride was great too. Unfortunately my visit was during a heat wave and the air conditioner was broken on the bus. That was the only down side.
Review by: Susan Joan D, June 2015
This tour was amazing!
Review by: Barbara L, June 2015
Tour was very informative and guides were very helpful. However, the tour did not state that it was a walking tour. The walk to the windmills was excessive and spoilt the start of the afternoon. Visitor is visually impaired and. We should have been told that it was a walking tour before booking the tour. The guides were concerned that we had paid for the tour because of this.
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