Now that the tulip season is over we get a lot of questions about nice trips to the countryside of Amsterdam.
Besides flowers, the Netherlands has even more famous products. How about the Dutch cheese, fish and clogs. The countryside landscape is also very attractive. Green grass fields with cows and many windmills and water give the real Dutch feeling.
From the city center of Amsterdam you are within half an hour in the countryside and you imagine yourself in a different environment. Beautiful countryside landscapes can be admired both on the north side of the city and on the south side.
Below are our top 5 tours to the countryside of Amsterdam:
1. Villages Zaanse Schans, Volendam, Marken Tour
2. Alkmaar, Cheese and Windmills Tour
Tradition is the key element on this excursion as we visit Alkmaar, a 750 year old city which is famous for its weekly cheese market. You will have a short walking tour in this beautiful city and learn everything about a long-established Dutch tradition of the weighing of cheese and taste testing.
This is a unique experience while the four teams from the Cheese Carrier’s Guild compete for the fastest and most impeccable timing while handling tons of produce. Driving through polder landscape the tour will lead to the windmills of Schermerhorn
3. Hop-on Hop-off Bus Holland Countryside Amsterdam
Amsterdam is great, but there’s a whole country waiting to be explored beyond those canals. This Hop-on Hop-off tour is the perfect way to discover the ‘real’ Holland, and see more quaint villages and traditional cultures than you can shake a clog at.
Starting at the incredible THIS IS HOLLAND, your comfy coach will whisk you to the historic Broek in Waterland and Monnickendam villages, before stopping at Henri Willig for some cheese-making fun. From there, it’s on to Volendam, Edam, Zaanse Schans, Zaandam, and more!
Stops (one bus every 30 minutes, buses drive in one direction only)
- 0.) Departure Point: THIS IS HOLLAND (first departure 09:00, last departure 15:00)
- 1.) Broek in Waterland (last departure 18:15)
- 2.) Monnickendam (last departure 18:23)
- 3.) Henri Willig Cheese Farm (last departure 18:29)
- 4.) Volendam (last departure 18:41)
- 5.) Edam (last departure 18:48)
- 6.) Purmerend (last departure 19:00)
- 7.) Zaanse Schans (last departure 19:15)
- 8.) Zaandam (last departure 19:30, arrival at THIS IS HOLLAND at 19:50)
4. Zaanferry – boat connection from Amsterdam to Zaanse Schans
This brand new boat connection from Amsterdam Central to Zaanse Schans and back takes you through the Hembrug terrain, a site of industrial heritage and sprawling woodland. You won’t believe you’re still so close to Amsterdam!
The Hembrug terrain was a secret military spot with a weapon and munition factory and from 1890 it was home to a defense line comprising 46 forts, batteries, locks and dikes. It’s still listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List today.
And toward the end of your journey… the windmills of quaint heritage village Zaanse Schans come into view. Idyllic!
Book this tour online5. This is Holland
If you have little time to visit the countryside during your trip to Amsterdam, we recommend the new This is Holland. With this unique attraction in the center of Amsterdam you step into a sensational flight simulator about the most beautiful parts of the Netherlands. You fly over the blooming flower fields, see the windmills and the other icons of the Netherlands.
Buy your tickets online and skip the waiting line