The enchanting medieval Giethoorn is truly a unique tourist destination in the Netherlands. It is known for its waterways, thatched cottages, old wooden arch bridges, and a mysticism that can only be felt in a place where people move about on boats instead of cars. To better enjoy your visit here, the following Giethoorn tours will help you get to the village from Amsterdam and to other parts of the country.
1. Day trip to Giethoorn from Amsterdam
This exciting tour package takes you away from Amsterdam’s urban bustle on a day trip to the quaint canal-laced village of Giethoorn. You will learn the history of this car-free settlement as you drive through the scenic Dutch countryside.
The trip starts at Hotel NH Collection Amsterdam Barbizon Palace and goes directly to Giethoorn. While here, you will go on a 1-hour sightseeing cruise to explore the lovely canals, gardens, and wetlands. Lunch break is optional.
2. Giethoorn Small-Group Tour from Amsterdam with Boat Ride
Tulip Day Tours is quite famous in the Netherlands. This tour begins at Amsterdam Central Station (hotel pick-up optional) and will pass through the country’s newest province, Flevoland, on your way to your final destination.
In Giethoorn, you will transfer to a whisper boat, as your guide takes you around Giethoorn from the water. You will pass by old farmhouses built on small islands, which can only be reached by boat bridge. There are more than 170 wooden bridges in the village and most of them are privately owned.
You will then take a hike and ride a bicycle to better appreciate Giethoorn, and move about as locals do. You can wander around on your own, visit the cheese shop, the gemstone museum, and take a sip of your preferred beverage at the lovely cafés.
This tour lasts for 6 hours and 40 minutes.
3. Small-Group Giethoorn Day Trip
This private package lets you travel in style from Amsterdam to picturesque Giethoorn in a small group no larger than four. Your ride will pick you up from your hotel in Amsterdam and take you to the village. In Giethoorn, you will enjoy a 1-hour boat trip. However, this entire package is quite flexible, allowing you to go on a private boat ride if you wish and explore the village canals at your own leisure.
Your tour guide can take you to the most beautiful parts of Giethoorn and share interesting stories about them. The guide can speak Chinese, English, and Dutch.
4. Holland Dream Tour
This lovely tour will take you to three enchanting Dutch destinations – Giethoorn, Volendam and Zaanse Schans.
Volendam is located northeast of Amsterdam on Markermeer Lake. Here you will see colourful traditional wooden houses, seafood vendors by the harbour, and old fishing boats.
In Giethoorn, you will enjoy a boat tour of the village and food tasting. This five-hour tour begins and ends in Hotel ibis Amsterdam Centre. Your guides speak Arabic, English, and Dutch.
5. Holland Spectacle Tour
This is a full-day trip that takes you from Amsterdam to Giethoorn and the beautiful Keukenhof Garden in Lisse.
A car, minivan or coach will pick you up Hotel ibis Amsterdam Centre and take you to your first stop – Keukenhof. This is one of the most popular gardens in the world and definitely the biggest in Europe. Keukenhof is known for its 7 million flowers that bloom every year in spring.
From there, you will travel to Giethoorn, particularly to visit Museum Giethoorn ‘t Olde Maat Uus. This museum is uniquely housed in a farm and features how the Dutch used to live in the canals hundreds of years ago. This is the most popular museum in the village.
Then, enjoy a canal cruise to see what this quaint village is truly about. (Tickets are available in Giethoorn.)
This tour runs for 5 hours. You will then be driven back to Amsterdam.
6. Giethoorn and Zaanse Schans Small-Group Day Tour
This day tour starts at Hotel NH Collection Amsterdam Barbizon Palace and takes you first to beautiful Zaanse Schans, just around 15 kilometers to the north of the capital. Zaanse Schans is a neighborhood that was especially designed like a traditional 17th-century Dutch village. It is complete with windmills, a saw mill, oil mill, shipyard, grocery store, pewter factory, and some really distinctive green wooden houses.
Next stop is Giethoorn, but along the way you will visit Kooijman Souvenirs & Clogs Wooden Shoe Workshop, Catharina Hoeve Cheese Farm, and Zaans Gedaan CacaoLab.
At Giethoorn, this package allows you to enjoy a 1-hour English-guided boat trip in the village waterways, with tea/coffee served on board. The entire tour takes 10 hours, including the return trip to Amsterdam. Your tour guide can speak Chinese, English, and Dutch.
When visiting Giethoorn for the first time, it is helpful to book a tour and let professional tour guides do the hard work for you. They are dedicated to making your visit as comfortable, educational, and memorable as possible. Also, this way, every minute of your time will be accounted for and put to good use.
After a day or a weekend trip in Geithoorn, you might want to take a detour in one of the beautiful cities in the Netherlands. If you decide to do so, you can look into our different tour guides here at Ask the Guide Guy. Check out our weekly blog posts to know what it means to have the best local experience!
