Private Tour: Zaanse Schans from Amsterdam

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Starting from your hotel Amsterdam (or your preferred pickup location in the city) at a time which suits you best, an exciting trip to Zaanse Schans awaits you. Learn about the Dutch countryside from your enthusiastic local guide who will bring you comfortably from Amsterdam to Zaanse Schans.

Upon arrival in Zaanse Schans, your guide will tell you all about the sights at this beautiful place. See the typical Dutch countryside houses at Zaanse Schans and explore the town with your private guide. Also included in your private tour through the Dutch countryside is a visit to an operating industrial wind mill (entrance fees included in tour price) and traditional crafts like a wooden-shoe workshop as well as a cheese farm.

After you experienced the countryside surroundings of Amsterdam in Zaanse Schans, your guide will take you back to your hotel or starting point in the city.

USD $55.00

Review by:   kkracher35,    August 2018
The windmill tour was very interesting. Enjoyed the cheese store and 5 min demo. I think our expectations were very high that this would be a very educational tour and there would be alot more there. It really is not a 3 hour tour...we were done in about 2 hours and then just kind of walked around killing time. We were not there to stop to eat or drink coffee so maybe that would take up some time. I thought this tour was overpriced compared to the many Viator tours we have had. It was almost triple what we paid in Krakow for a four hour tour where we really saw a great deal. I would just go to Zaanse Schans on your own. Pay for UBER and walk around on your own.

Review by:   pierryj,    July 2018
We were met at the ship’s dock and then proceded to a remarkable village created out of the past called Zaanse Schans. There we were treated to watching how clogs were made and a cheese demonstration. Callum filled in the history and culture of his country. We then toured the city of Amsterdam. Collum was very personable, knowledgeable and extremely patient with his elderly clients.

Review by:   Robin S,    December 2017
We were a little skeptical when we got to the location because it just seemed like a tourist trap - and it is - but Bart did a great job providing us with information and answering absolutely every question we had. As a local, he seems well-known there and we even spontaneously got to sneak inside a separate room of the pigment windmill and get a little explanation from the owner. You could tell that wasn't planned. The windmills were definitely the best part.

Review by:   Donna S,    November 2017
It was a wonderful, informative day. Our tour guide was friendly and knowledgeable. Loved the windmills, the village and the clog making.

Review by:   David S,    October 2017
The tour was very good. Particularly the working windmill tour, clog and cheese making demos._br/_ Our guide was excellent - including her personal childhood memories and family experiences._br/_ If not for the rain, it would have been crowded. It was a bit commercialized but I would recommend the tour.

Review by:   Christina C,    October 2017
I paid 239 for two people to go on this tour. I think my tour guide was nice, but not enthusiastic. They did not speak to us on the way to or from Amsterdaam, and overall, did not seem inviting. I recommend going to Zaanse Schans on your own from Amsterdaam. All the stuff listed in the tour is free there already! It was a pretty basic tour in comparison to others that I have done in Spain, etc. For this price, bathroom fees, and water should be included. I should not have to pay for that! Also, he seemed to want to rush us: You do not need to walk down to look at those windmills, you can just look at these. We were not willing offered time for lunch or to browse. However, we did ask to be giving time after he started to driveway, and he obliged. However, this is a lot of money just for a couple hours!!!!! Just go to Zaanse Schans yourself! Your money will go along way.

Review by:   PAULA A K,    September 2017
Very interesting tour. Great tour guide. Beautiful scenery. So nice to get out of the city and see the countryside.

Review by:   Bsemenik,    September 2017
Driver picked us up on time in comfortable minivan. Drove us to Zaanse Schans where we met our local guide, Ingrid. She was actually a resident of the village and was very knowledgeable. I love a guide who really knows the facts and can share them with humor and an upbeat attitude. She was such a joy. Request her if possible

Review by:   DDuck,    September 2017
Amazing always up time very professional him and lady explained our tour Zaanse congratulations 100 best quality and professional

Review by:   Pauline B,    September 2017
A definite must do tour when in Amsterdam. The day we spent on this private tour was just perfect. My family and I were picked up promptly at our apartment and spent an amazing time with Ingrid showing us around the windmill village. Not only was Ingrid friendly and knowledgeable, she was so personable and such a treat to be with. This tour was the highlight of our trip to Amsterdam and we highly recommend anybody visiting takes the tour.... don't forget to request Ingrid, you won't regret it!

Review by:   Jeffrey C,    August 2017
We really enjoyed the tour. It has the excellent flexibility to see and do what you want. Our guide was the owner and although somewhat taciturn, gave us a good experience and didn't pressure us to see more, seem disappointed that we weren't going fast enough or when wanted to go to the bathroom, etc. We had a fairly narrow window of time 4 hours on a cruise ship that this tour fit perfectly into and didn't lock us into a specific time frame. The amount of walking wasn't excessive even for members of our party who had mobility limitations who had a cane or were older. The village was quite cute and a fun experience to see cheese making, windmills, chocolate making, and do a bit of souvenir shopping. Our drop-off point was requested not to be the same as our pickup which was very handy and the guide was very accommodating. Would definitely do this again especially if you have some specific window of time that you want to fit activities into like we did.

Review by:   Richard M,    August 2017
A very nice private trip with a local guide who was friendly and very knowledgeable.

Review by:   Alf A,    August 2017
The tour was great. Prompt pick up time, very friendly and personal guides. Would use this service again.

Review by:   Lou S,    August 2017
Firstly...a private tour is highly recommended...small group, greater interaction with the tour guide who was wonderful and gracious_br/_ We got an insider's look at things that the larger tours might miss...details about Dutch culture and history they copy a lot_br/_ It was over way too soon, could have spent the whole day there.........

Review by:   Susan B,    August 2017
This was the best tour we did in Amsterdam and would totally recommend as a must do. Our guide Bart arrived 15mins early and was awesome, as we left Amsterdam he pointed out major attractions, answered all our questions and explained about himself and our program for the tour, he said it was our tour and we could do or change anything as we went. We definitely had interesting insights into old world Amsterdam from the windmills to clog making, chocolates, cheese making, a bakery, spice's and general history, Bart was fabulous, nothing was rushed, he allowed us to wander at our pace and I feel it was the very best value for money tour.

Review by:   Ed K,    July 2017
I have been to Amsterdam before and had been on an windmill tour, but my family hadn't. We booked this one and it turned out to be a favorite for everyone. This tour shows the uses of windmills for things other than pubming water. While that is very important to the Netherlands, I didn't realize that they used these machines for everything - sawing wood, grinding seeds to oil, making pigment for painting and on and on.

Review by:   Karen C,    July 2017
I would NOT recommend this tour. A car ride or taxi out to see the windmills for 5 or 10 minutes would have been better. We were picked up in a dirty painters van and the tour consisted of trying to get us to buy things from each of the local stores in the village.

Review by:   Earl Leonard D,    July 2017
The booking for our family group of eleven included pick-up at the Cruise Terminal Amsterdam, with all our baggage, the private tour of Zaanse Schans and transportation to the Max Brown Hotel Museum Square. A traffic accident delayed our pick-up for 45 minutes. Although the drivers were pleasant, Ray being much more helpful than the other, the vans used were quite dirty and certainly not up to our expectations. Once at Zaanse Schans we thoroughly enjoyed our guide, Ingred sp?, who was most pleasant and quite knowledgeable. It was unfortunate that she was pressed for time because of our delayed arrival and her having scheduled a personal appointment. We would definitely recommend the tour with the caution that the transportation may not be as good as one should expect.

Review by:   Aaron A,    July 2017
Please book this one over the large group trip if going to Zaanse Schans! My family of 4 went there, we were picked up on time at 9am by in a nice van. We were greeted by a lady named Ingrid once we got to Zaanse Schans. I'd recommend asking for her by name, she lives in the small town and is an expert at what you are seeing. Everyone in the town knows her. She actually took us into her home for a quick look, not sure she does this for everyone, but she needed to let her dog out, because we are dog people, her little dog followed us around for the rest of the tour, my kids loved that. She is very nice and knowledgeable. To be honest this is a town that has been relocated from it's original locations, but all of the windmills are still operational and working. I liked this tour because it was 3 hours total, that is plenty of Windmills IMO. Plus with your group and just her you can see everything and get even more of an experience.

Review by:   Richard B,    June 2017
Our guide 'Tose' was knowledgeable, friendly and easy to communicate with.

Review by:   Barbara H,    May 2017
This would be the highlight of the tours we did in Amsterdam. _br/_ We were collected from our hotel at the designated time by a very knowledgeable young man. He was born and still lives in the area close to Zaanse Schans and knows the area very well and had recently started this business. If everyone else gets the same fantastic experience as we did he should do very well._br/_ Initially I thought he was a bit quiet on the way there but once we arrived he had a non stop commentary and seemed to know everyone that worked there. The flexibility was great with us being able to spend extra time on areas that interested us. _br/_ During our visit we crossed paths with several larger tour groups and it was easy to see that they had no flexibility at all. 3 mins here 4 mins there and move on. _br/_ At the entrance there is a small octagonal stone building that used to be a summer house / tearoom for an important merchant - easy to overlook but inside there were many small souvenirs but the best part was a woman working with pewter. Her craftsmanship was excellent and we bought Christmas tree decorations for our grandchildren and they are so detailed with a front and a back of the object. The angels, snow crystals and Santa's along with her range of small pieces were well worth the visit. The larger tours did not go there as they simply would not fit in - it is well worth a visit. An excellent experience due to our tour guides knowledge of how Zaanse Schans started, the background of how it is kept in good condition and how they save buildings under threat and re-establish them plus that we had the time to wander at will - a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.

Review by:   Maria M,    May 2017
Very well organized. The tour guide was great. He was anxious to share a part of Holland that was personal to him.

Review by:   dustkim,    April 2017
Excellent tour!!! Well worth it! Our guide Ingrid was AWESOME!!!!