Small Group Giethoorn & Zaanse Schans w/ Pickup & Small Boat
Description
Enjoy easy hotel pickup on this small-group day tour from Amsterdam, visiting the idyllic canal village of Giethoorn, known as the “Dutch Venice,” with a photo stop at the iconic Lego Hotel in Zaandam, and the historic village of Zaanse Schans. Explore Zaanse Schans with a traditional clog and cheese factory demonstration, try on wooden clogs, taste Dutch cheese, see iconic windmills and visit a diamond factory. Admire the green wooden houses along the River Zaan and capture Instagram-worthy photos while learning about 18th- and 19th-century Dutch village life. Cruise Giethoorn’s canals on a small electric boat guided by a friendly expert—you can even navigate the boat yourself for an authentic local experience, avoiding crowds and enjoying open views. Wander past charming thatched-roof houses, wooden bridges, and scenic canals. This full day small-group tour combines scenic beauty, culture, history, and hands-on experiences for a seamless, unforgettable day in the Netherlands.
Tour Options
Itinerary
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.
(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.
(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.
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.
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).
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- 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), at own cost, arrangement and subject to availability
- Not recommended for travellers with reduced mobility.
Reviews(266)
I had an amazing time on this tour and enjoyed every moment of it. The guide was excellent, very friendly, knowledgeable, and made the whole experience enjoyable and memorable. Everything was well organized, and I learned a lot while having fun. I highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting the area. Thank you for a wonderful experience!
Dear Guest, Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We are delighted to hear that you had an amazing time and enjoyed every moment of the tour. Creating fun, memorable, and informative experiences is exactly what we strive for, and your kind words mean a lot to our team. Thank you for recommending us to other travelers. We hope to welcome you again on one of our other small-group adventures from Amsterdam, such as Bruges, Cologne, Maastricht, or Giethoorn. Safe travels, and we look forward to seeing you again soon! Warm regards, Cherry Tours
VIP service start to finish with Cherry tours. She is a wealth of knowledge & full of energy! Passion is her middle name lm sure as she loves Amsterdam & all of its history. Showing us the out of the way places to enjoy so much of the culture & countryside. Cherry made everything special on our tour, she was even the surprise caption on our canal tour in Giethoorn & deserve a badge of honour for maneuvering around all those canals. Highly recommend this tour. Excellent value!
Dear Verona, Wow, reading your review truly touched my heart. Thank you so much for your kind words and for taking the time to share your experience. It was an absolute pleasure spending the day with you and Rex. Showing you some of my favorite places in the Netherlands. Your comment that "passion is my middle name" made me smile—I genuinely love what I do, and reviews like yours make all the hard work worthwhile. I'm especially happy that you enjoyed our little surprise in Giethoorn! Being your captain on the canals was great fun, and I'm honored to have earned a "badge of honour" from you! Thank you for your recommendation and support. Guests like you are the reason I run these tours with so much passion. I hope our paths cross again one day, whether in tulip season or on another Dutch adventure. Warmest regards, Cherry
The Cherry Travel tour of Zaanse Schans and Giethoorn was simply wonderful, especially with the lovely weather. We sincerely thank the tour organizers who took great care of us from start to finish, and especially our guide, Mr. Hüseyin, who did everything he could to ensure we had a wonderful time. Thanks to Mr. Hüseyin's impeccable timing, we were able to savor every moment of this long tour. Our family was very pleased and we definitely recommend it. (For Turkish friends traveling for the first time, you can ask Mr. Hüseyin from the company for guidance.)
Merhaba Alpaslan, Harika yorumunuz ve içten sözleriniz için çok teşekkür ederiz. Ailenizle birlikte Zaanse Schans ve Giethoorn turunuzdan bu kadar keyif almış olmanıza çok sevindik. Turun planlaması ve zamanlamasının beklentilerinizi karşılaması bizim için çok değerli. Hüseyin Bey’e yönelik güzel sözlerinizi de kendisine mutlaka ileteceğiz—sizin güzel vakit geçirmeniz için gösterdiği özenin karşılık bulması bizi ayrıca mutlu etti. Misafirlerimize her zaman daha kişisel ve konforlu bir deneyim sunmayı hedefliyoruz; özel aile turu ve Türkçe rehber hizmetimizin bu anlamda katkı sağlamış olması bizim için çok kıymetli. Sizi tekrar ağırlamaktan büyük memnuniyet duyarız—ister Hollanda’da farklı rotalarda, ister Belçika gibi yakın destinasyonlarda. Sevgilerimizle, Cherry Tours
Our Turkish-speaking guide, Mr. Huseyin, was very helpful to us. Thank you 👍
Merhaba, Nazik yorumunuz için çok teşekkür ederiz 👍 Hüseyin Bey'in size bu kadar iyi baktığına ve memnun kaldığınıza çok sevindik. Hollanda'daki diğer turlarımızda veya özel bir gezide sizi tekrar ağırlamayı dört gözle bekliyoruz. İyi yolculuklar dileriz! Saygılarımızla, Cherry Tours
It was a fantastic experience, we saw beautiful places and we had great fun with Cherry! Definitely recommended! 😊
Dear Louiza, Thank you for your lovely review! We’re so happy to offer your lovely family a personalised tour, felt like travelling with friends—that’s exactly the experience we aim to create. It’s wonderful that you enjoyed the beautiful places and had such a fun time. Your recommendation truly means a lot to us 😊 We hope to see you again on another adventure soon! Kind regards, Cherry Tours
We loved the tour. The beautiful places and our guide was excellent.
Hola Maggie, ¡Muchísimas gracias por tu amable reseña! Nos alegra mucho saber que disfrutaste del tour y que los lugares te parecieron hermosos. También nos complace saber que nuestro guía cumplió con tus expectativas. Esperamos verte de nuevo en otro tour muy pronto. Saludos cordiales, Cherry Tours
This was a wonderful and very informative day! Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and explained everything about the region throughout the drive and the tour. I would highly recommend it!
Hello Mike, Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We’re delighted to hear you had such an informative and enjoyable day exploring the region. It’s great to know our guide’s knowledge and explanations throughout the drive and tour helped bring the destinations to life for you. We always aim to share not just the sights, but also the stories and history behind them. Thank you for your recommendation — we truly appreciate it and hope to welcome you again for another memorable experience in the Netherlands, Belgium or Germany! 🌷
Great Day Trip to Zaanse Schans & Giethoorn! We booked the Cherry Tours day trip through Viator and had a fantastic experience. The tour was well organized and covered some truly beautiful places. Visiting the windmills at Zaanse Schans was like stepping back in time, and the colorful houses and unique Lego-style architecture in Zaandam were really fun to see. The cheese-making and clog-making demonstrations were also great and very interesting to watch. The highlight of the trip was definitely the peaceful boat ride in Giethoorn. Cruising through the canals surrounded by charming houses and nature was absolutely relaxing and memorable. Overall, it was a smooth and enjoyable tour and a great way to see some iconic Dutch locations in one day. The only small thing was that the diamond factory mentioned in the itinerary wasn’t covered during our tour. Travel was quiet long but otherwise enjoyed the tour. All places were too crowded unfortunately.
Dear Malini, Thank you for your review. We always strive to go the extra mile and were happy to offer your group a complimentary pickup and drop-off for added comfort. If you feel we delivered a 5-star experience, we would truly appreciate your support—it means a lot to us. Easter is peak season, so crowds are beyond our control as many visitors choose this time to travel, but we always do our best to keep small groups, personal attention, pick up service, making the day smooth and enjoyable. We’d love to welcome you again in other time on one of our other tours to different parts of the Netherlands and Europe 🌷happy travels!
Good experience highly recommended and the guide very attentive and friendly
¡Muchísimas gracias por tus comentarios! Nos alegra mucho que hayas tenido una experiencia fantástica y que el guía haya sido excelente. ¡Esperamos verte pronto de nuevo para realizar otros tours por los Países Bajos y Europa! 😊
Everything was great, our guide very friendly and explained very well, took pictures of us and made the tour very pleasant, highly recommended
¡Muchísimas gracias por tu valoración! Nos alegra saber que todo estuvo a la altura de tus expectativas. Tomar fotos y explicar con detalle es parte de nuestro compromiso para que la experiencia sea inolvidable. ¡Agradecemos tu recomendación y esperamos verte pronto en otra aventura! 📸😊
