Small-Group Zaanse Schans Half-Day Tour from Amsterdam

This tour was actually 2 groups of 8 (2 vans) with one designated tour guide, Bart. Guide was basically a driver. He kept promising more information but was more focused on keeping the group of 16 moving along. Everything we saw (clog factory, cheese shop, and windmills) were all on same site, the historical village of Zaans Schans. Clog factory was 10 min stop, cheese farm was 5 min cheese making video and tasting, windmills were quite interesting. Not sure this tour was a good value.

When you only have a limited amount of time, this tour is a great way to experience Netherlands. Would be crowded in summer.

Very interesting tour. Guide was very friendly and knowledgeable. Good quality souvenirs, not junk. Did not know that windmills did so much more than pump water.

This was an extremely enjoyable tour with the Zans Tour Company. Local guides who grew up in the town. Tour included going inside a windmill used for making paint pigment, a demonstration on making wooden shoes, cheese and chocolate tasting!! It was 2.5 hours long and we could have spent more time there.

David was an excellent guide! Informative and funny! We really enjoyed the tour. Transportation was comfortable. Very well done! Thank you!

The tour was fun and informative. Well worth the 3.5 hours. definitely tourist oriented but then again we are tourists. Our tour guide was experienced and pleasant. The van’s interior could use some attention but otherwise no complaints.

Esther, our guide picked us up on time and at the advertised location. She was extremely pleasant and had very good knowledge of the attractions on the tour. The windmills were beautiful and while there were a lot of people at the Zaanse Schans, it didn’t feel crowed.

If you want to see the windmills go with Zaanse Tours. They departed at the appointed time and showed us what we wanted to see, Windmills. Guide was knowledgeable and answered all questions

This was a wonderful afternoon excursion. The Zaanse Schans is a beautiful and interesting place to visit with its old cute houses, working windmills, wooden shoe and cheese factory, etc. Kailen (sorry, probably misspelled the name) was a great tour guide!

Very relaxed small group tour. It’s short but informative and most of all , we get to climb the famous windmills . Very courteous tour guide

Great tour and only 30 minutes or so outside Amestterdam. Tour guide was awesome and very knowledgeable on the history and on the small village where tthese are located.

This tour was perfect - from the village and its educational activities (clog, gouda and choolate making!), our tour guide and the timing! The village is lovely - with its windmills (where we can go into one!), charming houses and boutiques (where you can try lots of gouda cheese!!) - it makes for a lovely walk! Our tour guide, 'Ray', was excellent - she was very knowledgeable, interesting and friendly. The tour went from 10 to 1:30 which gives sufficient time to visit most of the village at a nice pace... and it leaves you a great part of the day to continue visiting Amsterdam. It is a really nice place to visit! It is only 30 minutes from Amsterdam. You may even considering going back another time to stay in the area (there are beds and breakfasts and restaurants right in the village) - would make for a nice getaway! Great excursion - very glad I did it!

Took this tour on a whim I could see a little of the countryside outside of Amsterdam. The destination itself was interesting but our guide..not so much. We had to park on the other side of the river and cross the bridge and it was really cold and windy.. Could not understand that. When we were done with the tour we were to be picked up by a taxi our guide kept on saying he is 5 minutes away which turned to 20-30 minutes. Did I mention it was cold?: Told guide had new shoes and they were hurting my feet. His answer was "Look we cannot hire a car to drive you in the Saanse Schans sidewalks". Of course I knew that but he was just plain rude. My suggestion to anyone that would like to take this tour especially with this guide....DON'T!!

We had a person in our group who was unable to walk the whole tour so when it was time to depart our guide brought the van over the bridge so that she wouldn't have to walk any further. He did an excellent job narrating the sights we saw going to Zaanse Schans and explaining different parts of the tour. I would refer this tour to friends who might be traveling to Amsterdam.

Our tour guide was so excellent. She picked us up right on time. She even gave us a Filipino version of the windmill info sheet. She was very informative about the place.

The trip was awesome. We had enough time to see all the attractions. Our guide, Colin is awesome. the size of the group was just perfect. will definitely recommend this to my friends.

Esther was a fabulous tour guide - having grown up in a windmill, she was able to give us details and information we wouldn't have learned otherwise! She even showed pictures! I will say she moves fast through the tour so be prepared to move quickly! Zaanse Schans is a VERY cool town but also VERY busy (lots of tour groups and visitors)!!! It was awesome to see inside the windmill, see how clogs were made, cheese was made (and sampling 28 different kinds of cheese!) and having some time to explore on our own. Definitely worth the trip!

What makes these tours go from very good to excellent is always the quality of the guide. In this case our guide Callum was wonderful and made this trip on a very chilly day very very enjoyable

This was a great short trip into the history of the Netherlands. Tour leader was pleasant and willing to provide additional information as asked. Overall well worth it.

It was so nice to a city dedicated to Dutch culture and tradition. It is a short drive (20 minutes) from Amsterdam but you feel like you’ve entered a completely different part of The Netherlands. Our guide was a local from the area and was able to answer all our questions. Being that it was December, it was quite cold but still enjoyable. If you have time, make the trip to see Zaanse Schans!

We had very little time outside of our schedule and so glad we took the advice of our friends and booked this tour, in spite of the tight schedule. It was a most enjoyable half day tour. Our guide Paul was exceptional. He is a young college student, polite, courteous, friendly and just a wonderful person to spend time with. He grew up in that town and knows the area intimately. Just the right amount of time and information at each of the highlights. We learnt so much about the history of the area, how the 'mills affected the birth of the Dutch economy and eventual rise including the not so palatable dark side of history, cheese making demo, clog making demo.. inside tour of a working windmill and much more. Extremely well planned and executed plan. Highly recommended.

What a fantastic, immersive tour! We had so much fun, and highly recommend this tour! YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!

Very good tour. Very informative and not to long or to short. Learned about the history of the Netherlands, clogs, etc. Worth the time and money.