Zaanse Schans Windmills, Clogs and Dutch Cheese Small-Group Tour from Amsterdam
Recommended by 94% of travelers
Amsterdam, Netherlands
- 3 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Explore Zaanse Schans and the Dutch countryside this tour 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 about the role of windmills in the 17th-century Dutch Golden Age.
- Perfect for first-time visitors to the Netherlands
- All admission fees are included in the cost of the tour
- Learn about the historical Zaans region from your guide
- Round-trip shared transfers from Amsterdam are included
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
- LOT61 Amsterdam Centraal StationOosterdoksstraat 4, 1011 DK Amsterdam, Netherlands
Meet your driver next to Amsterdam Centraal Station outside coffee store LOT61. Coffee store LOT61 is part of hotel DoubleTree by Hilton Amsterdam Centraal Station. Your tour guide will hold an orange umbrella.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
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.
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.
1
Zaanse Schans
2 hours 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Zaan Tours (Pass By)
2
Kooijman Souvenirs & Clogs Wooden Shoe Workshop
25 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
Molen De Kat
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
4
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
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.7
based on 2,646 reviews
Kevin_N, Jun 2026
We thoroughly enjoyed the Zaanse Schans Windmills, Clogs and Dutch Cheese Small-Group Tour from Amsterdam. Our guide, Caroline, was kind, informative, patient, and did an excellent job keeping everyone comfortable on an unusually hot and sunny day. The tour was very well paced, never feeling rushed, and the small group size and comfortable coach made for a relaxed and enjoyable experience.
The highlights were plentiful. Watching traditional Dutch clogs being made was fascinating, and learning about the history and production of Edam cheese gave us a real appreciation for one of the Netherlands’ most famous exports. The cheese tasting was an added bonus! The tour of a working windmill was equally impressive. Seeing the machinery in action and learning how it grinds chalk provided a unique glimpse into Dutch engineering and history.
Zaanse Schans itself is beautiful, with its iconic windmills, canals, and traditional buildings creating a picture-perfect setting. Combined with Caroline’s excellent commentary and organization, it made for a wonderful morning escape from the city.
Highly recommended for anyone looking to experience a bit of traditional Dutch culture while visiting Amsterdam.
michelleflander, Jun 2026
This was a really fun excursion we got to see all we wanted too in an organized way! Would recommend it for all ages there was some walking but just a stroll around the area. The steps to get to the top of the windmill were really steep but great view!
Joy_A, Jun 2026
A great experience with a great tour guide. TOS, I hope I spelled her name correctly, was the best tour guide you could have for this experience. She lives in the neighborhood, is friends with the people living in the village and has knowledge no one else could know unless you were truly part of the community. Highly recommend.
Owen_T, Jun 2026
It is a great experience learning about the windmills, clog making and cheese making. Sharon was an excellent guide and was so passionate.
Theresa_L, Jun 2026
This is a wonderful tour, we all enjoyed it.
A note about the tour company itself. I scheduled our excursion for the wrong day at 1200. When we showed up that tour was full but was told they could put us on at 2:00 pm. A miss count and the 2:00 tour was 1 seat short. They sent us on the bus and the guide ( now without a seat) ran, literally, to the train, took the train and met us at the tour start point. They were over the top accommodating.
Gary_d, Jun 2026
Very pleasant excursion and our guide David was superb. Good to see the outskirts of Amsterdam Tasted and bought some really pleasant tasting cheese.
RG_T, Jun 2026
Well worth it little bit the tour cost. We loaded into a van for a short drive back in time. We arrived at a small, lived in, working village, made up of rescued and preserved houses/buildings/windmills. We toured through the village (not inside the houses, they are private & lived in). Next up was a tour into (and on top of) a working windmill, it grinds the base and pigments for restoring some of the old masters paintings. The view from the top is impressive, the steep stairs were less so. On to a cheese making demonstration and tasting, 35+ flavors to choose/buy. Last up was a wooden shoe factory, with a small museum of the different types they've made (wedding shoes, dress shoes, ice skates, you get the idea). They had a demonstration of both the old, and new ways they were/are made.
There are shops throughout the area selling a bit of everything- jewelry, ice cream, chocolate, cheese, and wooden shoes.
Our guide, Kenny, was great - friendly, knowledgeable, and funny. His stories were very informative, brought the old ways to life.
Allison_S, Jun 2026
Absolutely perfect day. A good length of time with a short shuttle bus drive to see the beautiful windmills and village. I would live here in a heartbeat!
It was like an image from a jigsaw puzzle.. A step back in time with a tour guide who lives in the village. So knowledgeable and such a burst of happiness. Topped off with cheese tasting, clog shoe demonstration, not to mention the magnificent windmills which my husband and I learnt so much about.
Finally chocolate to finish the day !! Highly recommended!
jody_M, Jun 2026
Wonderful tour! Learned so many things! Our guide (Raya) was awesome!!! Nice short tour! Highly recommend!
Sandy_P, Jun 2026
Quintessential Holland at its best. Caroline was a great guide with local knowledge and humor. Highly recommend.
brianwhite, Jun 2026
Fantastic tour!! Wonderful guide who really knew his history!! Comfortable vcoach, we even climbed a windmill!!
Steven_G, Jun 2026
The windmills are truly magnificent. We very much enjoyed this tour and the tour guide was great as well.
Justin_R, Jun 2026
Bianca was our tour guide and she did a great job. We got out of the city and got to see some of the Dutch countryside. The Zaandijk village is super cool. You get to tour a working windmill, learn how Dutch cheese is made, and see a demonstration of wooden shoe making. It is a great way to get some culture and get out of the city.
Aloysius_T, Jun 2026
It was fantastic. All the history behind the the windmills and the beautiful landscape and cottages The wooden shoes! The cheese!
Such an amazing place
Barbara_H, Jun 2026
Very enjoyable interesting tour. Our guide, Sharon was excellent, very friendly, knowledgeable and a pleasure to be with.
Christa_E, Jun 2026
Claudia was fantastic! Great personality, friendly and had lots of info to share. She kept an eye on us as there were lots of pick pockets!
Michele_C, Jun 2026
Great 3.5 hr tour -I highly recommend this door as an introduction to the city. The timeframe is perfect. Some competitor companies have longer tours, and I found the 3 1/2 to be the perfect amount of time.
Laura_M, Jun 2026
Claudia, our tour guide was entertaining, knowledgeable, and fun to be with. Our tour was fantastic and we’ve even got to meet her mom! The tour was a treat, don’t miss it!
Laura_C, Jun 2026
Excellent tour! Highly recommend. Our guide was very knowledgeable. Really enjoyed the history of the town and walking through the village.
Mike_H, Jun 2026
What a wonderful way to stay in Amsterdam! Claudia was wonderful as our guide! We saw some beautiful things in a relaxed atmosphere.
Ashley_I, Jun 2026
Mikie was an excellent guide, so warm and friendly. She gave an informative tour, but we had plenty of time to do our own thing. We had a really lovely day, and would recommend to anyone interested!
Maureen_M, Jun 2026
Great educational experience, informed tour guide, given time to self explore, as we climbed the interior of the windmill the wind stopped and so did the gear, great story to tell our friends
Greg_L, Jun 2026
We had a great time watching the clog making exhibit and seeing inside a working windmill was excellent.
Franzine_S, Jun 2026
Wonderful tour. Lovely, picturesque village with canals and Windmills. Caroline our tour director was FANTASTIC. Knowledgeable and very friendly. Tour was peppered with anecdotes and historical information. Small group is the best since there is more interaction with director and other guests.
M_S, Jun 2026
Great trip to small village with windmills. Guide santagio ( hopefully I correctly remember) was excellent with knowledge base of history and local area.
Kathleen_M, Jun 2026
Good experience with a little bit of everything!
I recommend an early time slot, as the later it gets, the more crowded it gets.
ZariArriana_M, Jun 2026
This is great for anyone who wants a quick tour with a smaller group/more intimate setting. While not a long tour, it was enough to get basic history of the place and have time to shop.
Ethna_M, Jun 2026
Excellent service. Pickup was on time, bus was clean, driver was safe & courteous. Bianca, our guide, was friendly and very knowledgeable. We really enjoyed the visit to Zaans Schan and would highly recommend Zaans Tours.
Elaine_B, Jun 2026
The tour was great, just wish we had more time to explore. Claudia was a fun and informative tour guide.
Mark_P, Jun 2026
Excellent insite into how everything was before modernisation sharon was excellent and very knowledgeable friendly and allways smiling
From $49.73
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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Zaanse Schans Windmills, Clogs and Dutch Cheese Small-Group Tour from Amsterdam
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