Zaanse Schans Windmills, Marken and Volendam Half-Day Trip from Amsterdam
Overview
- 5.5- or 7-hour day trip to Zaanse Schans, Volendam and Marken from Amsterdam
- Scenic drive through the Dutch countryside
- See Zaanse Schans' windmills and a traditional clog-maker
- Visit the fishing villages of Marken and Volendam
- 20-minute boat trip (summer only)
- Visit a Dutch cheese farm
- Morning and seasonal afternoon tours
Why Travelers Choose This Tour
Your first stop is at Zaanse Schans, a pretty town on the Zaan River and a popular destination due to its well-preserved windmills, some dating back to the 17th century. See evocations of traditional Dutch life at the historical shipyard, as well as iconic Holland windmills — entry into one is included with your tour.
Next, continue to Volendam and Marken and admire a quaint scene of fishing boats and the occasional local wearing traditional Dutch dress. In addition to roughly 45-minute stops in each town, you'll visit a nearby cheese farm for a demonstration and a sampling of its dairy production. A visit to a local shoemaker to admire the art of carving and painting the wooden clogs the Netherlands is known for is also a memorable part of the trip.
In the summer, you'll have the option to board a boat for a 20-minute trip between the two towns.
Once you’ve snapped plenty of photos, your 5.5-hour or 7-hour tour concludes with the return to central Amsterdam by coach.
Please note that this tour requires a moderate amount of walking.
Reviews
Viator Traveler's Reviews
Tour was not bad, my wife and I had a fantastic time as it was educational and fun. I am not complaining just simply informing people who are considering this tour. It feels very rushed at each stop. You spend maybe an hour max at the windmills. This may seem like a long time but it’s barely enough time to see one windmill. It is the same for the other two stops but since I predominantly took the tour to see the windmills, I did not mind so much. Additionally, the entire tour was translated into Spanish and I mean e-n-t-i-r-e. Just stating facts. Finally, it is a very large tour group. They fill up a double decker bus so at times it is difficult to move about when visiting the stops, also coupled with Europeans/Foreginers sense of space, it can be a little frustrating with all the pushing and shoving to view the attractions so put on your patience cap. As far as the guides go, they were great and did a good job conveying information. Half of the time spent on the bus you are listening to an audio guide through headphones. Once again, nothing wrong with that but I want people who are considering this tour to know these details. Also there is not really any information on how to get to the tour pickup location, which is in the back of the Asterdam Centraal station. All in all a great cultural experience, which could be better with some refinement and attention to details.
We only spent 1 hour for windmills in Zaanse Schans. The rest of the tours we were brought to cheese, cookies and wooden shoes factory. We did not have any free time to walk around in Volendam and Marken. We did not have the chance / time to choose the restaurant that we want for lunch because the tour guide directed us to a particular restaurant for lunch. This is just waste of time