Amsterdam: Keukenhof, Zaanse Schans Windmills, Cheese Guided Tour
Description
See all the Dutch icons such as the Tulips in Keukenhof gardens & the windmills, cheese and clogs at Zaanse Schans. Leave Amsterdam aboard a comfortable coach and head into the heart of the Dutch countryside. On the way, enjoy views of colorful flower fields in bloom. At Keukenhof Gardens, begin with a 45-minute guided tour through its show gardens. Your expert guide will explain the history, cultivation, and cultural importance of the tulip, the Netherlands’ most iconic flower. Then, enjoy free time to explore at your own pace and capture stunning photos of the gardens. Next, continue to Zaanse Schans, a picture-perfect village famous for its historic windmills and traditional houses. Your guide will lead an orientation tour before giving you time to explore independently. Watch a live clog-making demonstration, visit an authentic cheese farm for a tasting, and stroll through this charming open-air museum of Dutch heritage.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Start your tour from meetingpoint in Amsterdam: Tour Company, Stationsplein 4, 1012 AB Amsterdam . Our meeting point is only a 1-minute walk from the Amsterdam Central Station. When you arrive at Amsterdam Central, exit through the Stations-side (city side) main entrance onto Stationsplein. You’ll see our location at Stationsplein 4, in the white Stromma building, just a short walk across the square towards the city center. We recommend using Google Maps for the most accurate directions
We then continue to the highlight of the tour: Keukenhof, the world’s most famous flower park. Located in the heart of the Dutch tulip region, Keukenhof features 32 hectares of beautifully landscaped gardens and over 15 kilometers of walking paths filled with millions of blooming tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, and other spring flowers. Stroll through themed gardens, admire colourful flower displays, and experience one of the Netherlands’ most spectacular seasonal attractions. Bringing your own food: It is allowed to bring your own food and drinks into the park. There are designated picnic areas with benches where you can enjoy your own lunch. You can also buy lunch at various locations throughout the park. The Keukenhof Gardens also offer good vegan options.
Step back in time at Zaanse Schans, a charming Dutch heritage village known for its historic windmills, traditional wooden houses, and artisan workshops. Discover how clogs and cheese are made, stroll along scenic canals, and experience the authentic atmosphere of the Netherlands’ rich cultural history. Bringing your own food: It is allowed to bring your own food and drinks into the village. At the Zaanse Schans, you can grab lunch from food trucks or enjoy a typical Dutch lunch at a pancake restaurant.
You will visit the clog museum and wooden shoemaker’s workshop, where you’ll watch traditional craftsmen at work making clogs and other wooden artifacts. You will also enjoy a live demonstration showing how wooden clogs are traditionally made.
Visit Catharina Hoeve, an authentic Dutch cheese farm, where you’ll learn how traditional Dutch cheese is made using time honoured farming methods. Discover the cheese-making process, hear the stories behind local traditions, and enjoy tasting delicious, real Dutch farmer’s cheese fresh from the farm. Of course, there is also an opportunity to taste cheese for those who are gluten-free or have other allergies. Please always inform the relevant staff member at Henri Willig in advance.
After a short ride from Amsterdam to the bulbflower area around Lisse, we start your tour by making a scenic ride in this area. Depending upon the season you see a landscape with colourful bulbflower carpets in almost any colour you can imagine. We try to find a spot where we can stop to make some pictures.
If selected, the tour includes an open departure ticket for the popular Amsterdam Canal Cruise. The ticket is provided during tour check-in. The canal cruise is operated by Stromma, with departure locations at Damrak and Central Station. The canal cruise starts in the heart of Amsterdam near Central Station. Routes vary depending on canal traffic, but you will see the UNESCO-listed 17th-century canals, including the Herengracht, Keizersgracht, and Prinsengracht, along with the city’s iconic architecture. The cruise includes an audio guide in 19 languages and commentary from the captain.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
- Tulips and other bulb flowers are natural products and even though the Keukenhof has advanced growing methods, the course of nature depends mainly on the weather. Therefore it cannot be guaranteed how many flowers and flower fields can be visited and seen during your tour.
- The Keukenhof Gardens is a cash-free site, so cash payments will not be accepted
- Children up to and including 3 years old are free of charge (not occupying a seat)
- Not suitable for people with mobility impairments
- Tour Company will oblige by the strict rules and measurements of the Dutch government and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment.
Reviews(1,316)
Excellent tour. Meeting/pickup was a bit difficult and included a lot of walking from meeting point to bus but tour itself was great.
Very pleasant experience at Keukenhof. Tulips were absolutely stunning and we experienced a relaxing few hours meandering through the beautiful flower displays. Guide on the bus was highly informative. The Zaans Schans Windmills were okay but definitely not the highlight of the day.
Dear Guest, Thank you for your kind review. We’re delighted to hear you enjoyed the beautiful tulips at Keukenhof and had a relaxing experience. We’re also glad our guide’s information added value to your day. We appreciate your feedback about Zaans Schans and are happy you enjoyed the highlights of the tour. Kind regards, TourCompany
The trip itself was ok, I have been on it before. I was disappointed that we did not stop at freestanding cheese factory like we did in our last trip. Zannse Schans was way too crowded to see anything in the museum or the cheese making. I was not happy with the guide. We had to walk a pretty long way to get to the bus. My Mom who is 89, walks with a cane has breathing issues and cannot see well, had a horrible time keeping up with the guide on the way to the bus. As well as other places we stopped. He didn’t bother to wait for her or my brother. Maybe you should consider that. Older seniors are unable to walk and keep up with someone who is 40 years younger.
The gardens at keukenhoff are amazing. This trip was better than I expected. We were fortunate enough to still get to see gardens. I think it was going to be closing for season middle of May. Absolutely breathtaking! Enjoyed Zaase Schwann walking around wind mills and cheese samples, demonstration of wooden shoes was great, family operation for many generations. Highly recommend this tour!
The overall tour was really good. Our bus driver and guide were exceptional and engaging. My parents and I enjoyed ourselves exploring the tulip garden and windmills. The bus ride was also very comfortable and engaging as we passed by certain landmarks. We were not able to go on to the cruise that we booked because the captain called in sick and we could not go for a later as my parents were tired from a whole day of events - they’re 60+. However, it was quite a challenge to request for a refund from the tour operators and I’ve yet to receive a response from them accommodating my request.
What a wonderful and memorable tour. Flowers at Keukenhof were the highlight of our 3 week sightseeing trip. Amazing. plus all the stops made the tour very special. I highly reccomend the tour.
Both stops on this tour were unique, interesting, informative and memorable! We had a fantastic day! The only issue was the address given to meet before the tour was for the train station. We found where we needed to be by asking businesses close by, who could direct us generally but there was no sign indicating the tour company's name at all. This created unnecessary stress for us and others, also looking for the meeting point.
This was recommended by a friend and I'm so glad I went on this tour! It was all amazing. The flower gardens at Keukenhof , the Zaanse Schans Windmills & cheese guide. It gives you a flavor of Holland in one day.
The tulip park was magical, but our guide was moderately helpful and intriguing. The second stop at the windmills is a park/tourist trap where we spent most of our time waiting around for the guide to try and gather the group so we would see 'free presentations' about cheese and clogs to try and inspire us to buy things. I wish we had just gone to see the tulips and called it a day.
Most Indians who visit the Keukenhof tulip gardens are doing so to experience the multi-colored scenic landscape of Yash Chopra's "Silsila." An internet search says that the best time to visit the gardens is mid-April to early May, when the tulips are expected to be in peak bloom. We visited the park on May 3, only to find that it also rains in the Netherlands during this time and that most of the "Dekha Ek Khwab" song was shot outside the park in tulip fields, which are harvested of all tulips by the end of April. We were fortunate to escape the rain during our visit (it had rained for the entire day earlier), but we could only explore the flowers within the park ("Yeh Kahan aa Gaye Hum" was filmed within the park) as the boat ride outside the park to see the bare fields was meaningless. So in summary, while we enjoyed our ride to the park and to the quaint windmill town of Zaanse Schans, we were a bit disappointed that we could not see the main reason for our visit to the Netherlands (this is not the fault of the tour at all).
