Amsterdam

Zaanse Schans Windmills, Clogs and Dutch Cheese Small-Group Tour from Amsterdam

Name: Zaanse Schans Windmills, Clogs and Dutch Cheese Small-Group Tour from Amsterdam
Brand: Zaan Tours
SKU: 7258P4
Price: 44.22 USD
Rating: 4.5 (1198 reviews)

Amsterdam, Netherlands

3 hours
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Discover the delights and history of Zaanse Schans and the Dutch countryside on a 3-hour, small-group trip from Amsterdam. With an informative guide, admire the lush, canal-crossed Dutch landscape. Take a tour of pretty Zaanse Schans, famous for its wooden windmills and green-painted houses, and visit a cheese farm and clog-making workshop to learn about these traditional crafts. Lastly, visit a working windmill to learn how these waterside factories helped drive the 17th-century Dutch Golden Age. Numbers are limited on this tour for a small-group experience.

3-hour trip from Amsterdam to Zaanse Schans and the surrounding countryside
Delight in the pretty countryside, pastures and canals of the Zaans region
Explore the picturesque museum village of Zaanse Schans to see its green-painted weatherboard houses
Visit a clog-making workshop and cheese farm to learn about these olden crafts
Head inside a working windmill to see its spinning sails, stones and cogs
Learn about the historical Zaans region, an industrial powerhouse during the 17th and 18th centuries
Small-group tour ensures a more personalized experience

What's Included

Local guide
Round-trip shared transfer
Entrance fees

Food and drinks
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Prins Hendrikkade 74, 1012 AE Amsterdam, Netherlands
Meet your driver in opposite of Amsterdam Central Station at a small square in front of the Saint Nicholas Church and hotel NH Barbizon Palace. Just before the departure time, look out for an orange umbrella saying "Zaan Tours".

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Your tour starts in Amsterdam, where you'll meet your guide at a meeting point near Amsterdam Central Station. Then head out to the Dutch countryside with a small group of fellow travelers until you reach the photogenic village of Zaanse Schans, listening to your guide tell you all about the region and its history along the way.

Once in Zaanse Schans, visit the Kooijman Souvenirs & Clogs Wooden Shoe Workshop to see quintessential Dutch footwear being made before continuing to Molen De Kat, a paint mill that relies on wind power to create paint. Your next stop is the Catharina Hoeve Cheese Farm to watch a cheese-making presentation, followed by a cheese tasting at the onsite cheese shop.

After experiencing the village, head back to your Amsterdam departure point.

Zaanse Schans

2 hours 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Zaan Tours (Pass By)

Kooijman Souvenirs & Clogs Wooden Shoe Workshop

25 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Molen De Kat

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Catharina Hoeve Cheese Farm

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
As seats on this tour are restricted, all travelers should have a ticket
Not wheelchair accessible
This tour contains a moderate amount of walking

Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 16 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.5

1,198 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 1,198 reviews

A fun and interesting afternoon outing.

Susanne_B, Apr 2024

Our guide was so knowledgeable. It was fun to see him interact at the site. We were picked up on time and he was able to drop us off within walking distance to our hotel.

A fun tour to see windmills, clogs and cheese-making

Colleen_M, Apr 2024

Great tour with Callum. He was the most engaging and interesting guide to show us around the village. The small group tour with eight people was perfect for this venue

Good experience

rosemhowell7, Apr 2024

Our guide was very good! The place was interesting, and we learned a lot. We enjoyed the experience!

Fantastic

Greg_V, Apr 2024

Great tour with a very knowledgeable guide! The windmills, cheese, and the wooden shoe demonstration were all fantastic! Highly recommend!

Amazing Tour - A MUST do!

Tracy_H, Apr 2024

This was an amazing tour. At first I thought town was a reconstruction but once I met our guide, Karen, and I earned the history I was totally charmed by both Karen’s nd the town. Karen was born and raised in Zaanse Schans and we got to get ann insiders view. Watching the clog maker make a clog in 3-5 minutes and touring the windmill was an added bonus. But Karen was the star of this show!

Must Must

Ummara_K, Apr 2024

Must- Must very friendly guide. cant complain. very happy :) thankyou so much Weather could have been better but otherwise it was lovely <3 Felt looked after.

Great tour!

Marciny_T, Apr 2024

Ray was great - super knowledgeable, flexible and accommodating! We had a 3 yr old and she was so helpful with everything. Perfect glimpse into the danish countryside!

Great tour of the windmills, clogs and cheese just outside amsterdam

Debbie_H, Apr 2024

The weather was iffy - rain (plus hail) and then some sunshine. Freezing cold BUT totally enjoyed the tour of the area. The stories concerning the homes and the families were great. Just enough of everything - windmills, cheese and clogs. The cheese - so many great options! Of course my favorite was the Farmers cheese and you can’t take that to the US because it’s not pasteurized. So many flavors - who would think coconut flavored cheese would be good??!! It actually is and they have a dip that’s good on it too. It’s amazing how quickly they can make a clog -5 minutes to do what took 5 hours “ back in the day”. Our guide was great as well as the driver. Funny, conversational and pleasant to listen to thru out the tour. Highly recommend this tour. They were so kind as to stop us off at our boat at the end of the tour.

Windmills Amsterdam

Dena_L, Apr 2024

Well organised, a lot of knowledge from Kenny the driver and tour guide, would highly recommend. Small group was great only 15 of us.

A Wonderful Experience

cathye_M, Apr 2024

Our tour guide was knowledgeable and well organized during our tour- very cheerful and answered all questions. The history and relocation of these windmills adds to the wonder of this special area. Would recommend this tour to all ages!

Zaanse small group tour

Fred_Z, Apr 2024

Very nice and informative guide. Learned a lot of details about life in small towns long ago. Shoe making was interesting.

Lots of history but pretty town

Chloe_C, Apr 2024

The town while touristy is cute and it is very cool to see the windmills! The cheese and clog shops do have demonstrations, but it’s definitely geared towards tourists. Our guide was very knowledgeable, but almost too much so. We spent so long in the actual town looking at the houses with too many folksy stories about the history and barely had any time at the windmills. We also didn’t get the chance to walk around on our own and were even running late at the end because of the endless stories. It seems like there are lots of different guides based on the reviews and the time spent at each location/activity varies so maybe contact the operator to see who the guide is. I would have wanted more time at the windmills and some time to explore alone instead of over an hour just on the houses in the town and the history.

Wonderful

Mar_A, Apr 2024

The trip was made wonderful by the young lady guide who led the tour. She was actually born in the village so her insights to the life there and the sights were magical.

A trip back in time

Wanda_T, Apr 2024

We only had one day in Amsterdam and I’m so glad we spent part of it on this tour. It was so informative yet so much fun seeing how the Dutch lived hundreds of years ago. So many fun filled facts our guide shared about clogs and windmills and Dutch culture. We got to sample so many different cheeses and taste great hot chocolate and chocolate candy. I highly recommend this tour.

Scenic but disorganized and too commercial.

garye, Apr 2024

The excursion to Zaanse Schans offers a glimpse into picturesque Dutch countryside charm with its traditional windmills and wooden houses. However, the journey there was less than ideal, marred by crowded transportation. Disappointingly, the ride lacked any engaging narration or fun facts about our destination, missing an opportunity to enrich the experience.Once there, it became apparent that Zaanse Schans has much to offer, yet this tour touched on only a few attractions, leaving a lot unexplored. Organizational issues further detracted from the experience; our group was hard to locate at one point due to a lack of clear coordination.The demonstrations, meant to be educational highlights, felt rushed and overly commercial, seemingly designed more to funnel visitors into gift shops than to impart knowledge. We witnessed a clog-making session that relied heavily on machinery, devoid of the artisan charm one might expect. A cheese presentation by an English speaker ended up being perplexing rather than informative. Moreover, the tour included a visit to a non-operational windmill, with an operational one only available at an additional cost.In summary, while Zaanse Schans itself is undeniably beautiful, the structured tour experience left much to be desired in terms of organization, educational content, and value.

Short of expectations

Martin_C, Apr 2024

The tour fell short of expectations. The van was uncomfortable, the village felt artificial. The wind mill was out of order. Lots of tourists for the small shops, the tour guide lacked expertise and could provide meaningful insights. Overall it was an unsatisfactory excursion.

SCAM

Devina_D, Mar 2024

Tour company was not at location. Scam. BEWARE. Checked with different tour company who was actually at the pickup location and they said they’ve never heard of them. Does not respond to messages or calls.

Response from Host, Apr 2024

Thank you for taking the time to write a review. If we weren't at the meeting point, 13 other guests would also have missed this tour and they didn't. We have GPS reports showing our van being at the meeting point until 6 minutes after departure time waiting for you. We have missed your call indeed 15 minutes after departure time but did answer the call from Viator immediately after it regarding your booking. We are using the same meeting point for over 8 years so I assume you were not at the right location, especially as "no one ever heard of us".

Zaanse Schans Windmills, Clogs and Dutch Cheese Tour

MartinDanielsen, Mar 2024

I had so much fun and o learned a lot of being on that tour. so much fun to try different Dutch Cheeses and a great tour guide

Wonderful tour of windmills, cheeses, and clogs

Carolyn_N, Mar 2024

Esther and her guide in training were both so lovely & gracious. It was so appropriate to have someone with her background leading the way and I learned so much about the windmills and the local areas history. I loved the cheese shop and would've purchased clogs if I hadn't been so worried about my luggage weight limits. We toured the inside of a windmill, had hot chocolate and stroopwaffels, sampled lots of delicious cheeses, and saw clogs being made. The tour was only 3 hours but could have easily spent the whole day bc we didn't have time to visit the antique store or visit the other stores and restaurant. Highly recommend the tour and consider making a day of it. I also liked that they picked us up near Centraal Station and drove us out to the countryside. My only word of caution is I loved the cheeses so much, I bought several flavors (herb & garlic, rosemary, cow's gold, pesto, red chile) along with gifts & souvenirs which I had to carry around with me all day before going back to the hotel. My arms were super tired (lol) but I'm still happy with the purchases I made as they make nice gifts. My point being, if you're going to buy a lot of cheese, plan to make sure you're not lugging it around town before making it back to your hotel.

Tour is mostly an excuse...

Luca_R, Mar 2024

Tour is mostly an excuse to make you visit shops and buy stuff. The village is fake (house were brought there), basically nobody lives there, and there are only tourists.

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Thank you for your time to write a review. We are sorry to hear this tour did not meet your expectations. Visiting shops on this tour is possible but certainly not the most important thing on this tour.

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