Top Netherlands Bus Tours

We had a wonderful time on the Giuliana with Captain Sebi. It’s a magical experience to glide through the finest canals of Amsterdam and along the Amstel river in a 100 year old wooden boat. Sebi is a great host and guide, and the snacks, drinks, and treats were all delicious.

Fantastic day tour! Our driver and guide, Andy, made the experience unforgettable. He was personable and impressively knowledgeable - sharing rich insights about Rotterdam, Delft, and The Hague as well as the Netherlands overall. The tour was well organized from start to finish, and thanks to Andy’s expertise and warm approach, it became a truly memorable highlight of our trip to Netherlands. Highly recommended!

I took this tour solo and there were 19 people on board the van. It was comfortable though the pass through lane between rows of seating was quite narrow. There are single seats (5 or 6 maybe?) on one side of the van, air con vents above and (importantly!) USB ports above also to charge devices. We had time to stop at the “fruit stand” which is really a large, locally owned fruit, cheese, and gourmet foods market (it’s called Vink Fruitboerderij) which is really fantastic! I bought a couple of bins of strawberries, some candied fruit, a couple hunks of cheese and their dipping sauces, fresh fruit juices, etc. They take cards and restrooms are available, too. It’s quite impressive (apparently they have “pick your own fruit” train dates in summer and fall, too). Jay did a nice job of providing some interesting facts and could “read the room” and adjust his narration accordingly. I think the driver is Davide? Both did a great job. Anyway, once we got to Gierthoorn the boat tour was excellent (be sure to bring some euros to tip the boat captain if you enjoyed it!). The boat captain is local and grew up in Gierthoorn. I love that the boat gives you the option to raise your own plate glass window (next to your seat) which is much better for picture taking along the scenic canal route! I would suggest sitting on the right side of the boat if you can. We were lucky to have cool, cloudy weather…the sun came out a bit more towards the end of our visit also. The cruise disembarked at the Grand Canal, giving a couple of hours to wander about the narrow footpaths, filled with other tourists and locals. Two hours seems like just the right amount of time to see the area and grab lunch or a snack. There is an ATM pretty close to where the boat let’s you out, if needed. I suggest avoiding the Euronet one (due to high fees) if you can walk a little further. Most restaurants take cards but I needed an ATM for tipping on the tour. I chose to get a late lunch alongside the Grand Canal at Grand Cafe Henri Willig (mustard soup, Bitterballen, and a brownie). There were two ladies who weren’t on the bus at departure time. We waited over 15 minutes and Jay was trying to reach them. After about 20 minutes we reluctantly pulled away but both Jay and I saw them flagging down the van so we stopped so they could both board the return journey to Amsterdam (otherwise it would have been a very expensive trip for those ladies to have gotten back!). Most drivers & guides wouldn’t have waited that long for them so I think it says a lot about this duo. Don’t hesitate to book this day trip!

If you want a one-day trip to the three major city centers in the Netherlands outside of Amsterdam, this is your trip. If you like Amsterdam, you’ll love Delft; f history, then The Hague, and for architecture, Rotterdam is you place. Leidse was was great tour guide for dirt-time visitors. He provided a great balance of information and humor at a perfect pace.

The tour was excellent. The guide friendly and knowledgeable and willing to answer questions both specific about the castle but life in the Netherlands as well. It was a small group so you didn’t need to strain to hear the guide and you didn’t feel rushed to see everything. It was worth the money to see the beautiful castle and learn the history.

Our tour with Anna N was excellent. She was very knowledgeable and shared her awareness on how to interpret the artwork of various era’s in the Rijksmuseum and then gain some insight as to the brilliance of Van Gogh’s ability to paint distance perspective on canvas, along with the interesting journey his life took. Our time at the Rijksmuseum was about 3 hours and then about 2.5 hours at the Van Gogh museum with about a 30 minute break in between to grab a quick lunch. It was a long day and if we were to see these two museums again, we would do each on separate days. But definitely ask to be on Anna N’s tour!

This was a great way to see the tulips. The windmill cruise was interesting and our captain was funny; but the tulips were the real star of our day. You could probably just do the bust to/from Kuekenhof without the windmill cruise and be fine, but I enjoyed the overall experience.

The experience at the farm/museum was informative and the garden was magnificent! My only concern was that the meeting point was unclear and though we found it a few minutes earlier than the assigned time, the group had already started walking towards the bus which was further away. Other people were late to the bus because they also had trouble finding the meeting point.