Discover the Netherlands
The Waterland villages
Eight hours through the villages just north of Amsterdam — the ones the coaches drive past because they physically cannot get in.
What this day actually is
Waterland is the stretch of polder and water directly north of Amsterdam, about fifteen minutes from your hotel. It contains some of the oldest and least altered villages in the country, and almost nobody visits them, because the standard day trip from Amsterdam goes to Volendam and Marken and turns around.
This tour is for the second or third day of a trip, or for people who have been to the Netherlands before. You will see working harbours rather than souvenir streets, a 17th-century village of painted wooden houses that Amsterdam merchants built as summer retreats, and a polder drained in 1612 that is on the UNESCO World Heritage list for the engineering that made it.
It is a slow day on purpose. Five stops in eight hours, not nine.
The route, with times
This is the order we drive it. Everything after the first stop can be changed on the day — if a village holds you, we stay.
Pickup at your hotel
Anywhere in Amsterdam. We leave the city northbound through the IJ tunnel, which takes about ten minutes at this hour.
Broek in Waterland
Painted wooden houses along a canal, built by Amsterdam merchants in the 1600s. A short walk past the church and the old harbour. Forty minutes here, and almost always empty.
Zuiderwoude and the dyke road
Fifteen minutes of driving on the sea dyke with water on both sides. We stop where the view is best. This stretch is the reason to do this tour in a van rather than a coach.
Monnickendam
A working harbour with wooden sailing barges and a smokehouse that has been running for generations. Eel and mackerel straight from the smoker if you want it. An hour.
Marken
A former island, joined to the mainland by a causeway in 1957, with green timber houses on mounds against the flood. The lighthouse walk is twenty minutes each way if you want it. An hour and a half, lunch included.
Edam
Not the cheese shop version — the town itself: canals, drawbridges, and a market square that has barely changed. On Wednesdays in July and August the historic cheese market runs here. An hour.
The Beemster polder
Drained in 1612 and laid out on a grid that has not moved since. UNESCO World Heritage. We drive the grid and stop at a farm shop for cheese made a few hundred metres away.
Back at your hotel
Door to door. If your flight or dinner reservation needs an earlier finish, say so and we will compress the day.
What is included
- Private Mercedes V-Class and driver for 8 hours
- Hotel pickup and drop-off anywhere in Amsterdam
- Fuel, tolls, parking and all road costs
- Child and booster seats if you need them
- Bottled water and phone charging in the vehicle
- Route changes on the day at no extra cost
What is not included
- Lunch and drinks (budget €15–€25 per person)
- Museum or church entrance fees, if you choose to go in
- Gratuity, which is never expected
- A licensed guide — your driver will tell you about the region, but is not a museum guide
Why this order and not another
Broek in Waterland first because it is the smallest and the one place where arriving second matters. Marken in the middle, because the causeway backs up between one and three in the afternoon in summer and we want to be leaving as that starts. Edam late, because the coach tours do Edam in the morning and the square is yours by three o'clock.
The Beemster last because it is a driving stop rather than a walking one, and after six hours on your feet that is the right way to end.
Who this is not for
If it is your first day in the Netherlands and you want the windmills, the wooden shoes and the cheese in one go, this is the wrong tour. Take Zaanse Schans, Volendam and Marken instead and come back to Waterland another time. We would rather tell you that now than have you spend eight hours wishing you had seen a windmill.
Questions
Is this the same as the Volendam and Marken tour?
No. That tour visits the two best known villages on the IJsselmeer. This one goes further into Waterland and the Beemster, to villages a coach cannot enter, and includes Edam rather than spending the afternoon in Volendam. If you only have one day and want the famous names, take the Zaanse Schans, Volendam and Marken day instead.
How much walking is there?
Between one and three kilometres in total, spread over four or five stops, all of it flat and on paved surfaces. You can see every village from the van if walking is difficult, and we can drop you at the centre of each stop rather than at the edge.
Can you do this with young children?
Yes. We fit child seats and booster seats at no extra cost, we just need the ages when you book. The drives between villages are 10 to 25 minutes, which is about the limit for most small children.
What is there to eat?
Monnickendam has a smokehouse that sells eel and mackerel straight from the smoker, and Edam has several cafés on the market square. Lunch is not included, which keeps the price down and lets you choose. Budget about €15 to €25 per person.
Can we add Zaanse Schans to this day?
Yes, and many people do. It adds about an hour and a half. Tell us when you book and we will start at 08:30 instead of 09:00 so the day still ends at a reasonable hour.
What happens if it rains?
The tour runs. Waterland in the rain is genuinely good, and the smokehouse, cheese-makers and cafés are all indoors. If the forecast is severe we will call you the day before and offer to move the date at no cost.