Countryside Bike Tour from Amsterdam: Cheese Farm & Windmill

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/23

Duration4h

GroupUp to 15

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Ride past the city into the real Netherlands—fields, canals, and a working windmill from 1792.

This 4-hour bike tour from Amsterdam takes you 40 km through the Waterland countryside on either a regular bike or e-bike, with a local English-speaking guide leading stops at Krijtmolen d'Admiraal windmill, the villages of Broek in Waterland and Monnickendam, and Irene Hoeve cheese and clog farm. You choose between a shorter route on a regular bike or a longer route on an e-bike that includes cheese tasting, a stroopwafel, and a clog-making demonstration. The tour departs from near Amsterdam Central Train Station and runs rain or shine.

Step-by-step itinerary

Countryside bike tour from Amsterdam

Meet guide and get e-bike
Cycle along IJ River
Ferry crossing to Amsterdam North
Visit Krijtmolen d’Admiraal windmill
Cycle through Waterland countryside
Ride through Broek in Waterland village
Visit Irene Hoeve cheese and clog farm
Cycle through Monnickendam harbor town
Ride through Zuiderwoude village
Return to Amsterdam and end tour

The Experience

How do you get out of Amsterdam and into the countryside without renting a car or booking a guide who rushes through five stops in an afternoon? You start at Mike's Bike Tours, a short walk from Central Station, where you meet your guide, get fitted for your bike, and roll out along the IJ River. The first stretch is easy—wide paths, boats on the water, locals commuting the same way you are. Then you board the local ferry with them, crossing the river to Amsterdam North, and the landscape shifts. Open sky, grassy fields, winding levee roads. The city noise is gone.

The route traces narrow canals through Waterland, the polders that Dutch engineers reclaimed from the sea generations ago. You'll stop at Krijtmolen d'Admiraal, a working windmill built in 1792, where your guide explains how windmills once drained water and shaped the country's landscape. Then the ride opens up—smooth cycle paths, cows and sheep in the meadows, horizon stretching flat and endless. You roll through Broek in Waterland, a village of 17th and 18th century wooden houses painted in soft pastels, then Monnickendam, a former trading port now quiet and cobbled. If you chose the longer route on an e-bike, you stop at Irene Hoeve, a family-run farm where you watch a clog maker carve wooden shoes by hand and taste different ages of Gouda—young and mild, aged and nutty. The farm has been there for generations, making both by hand. You'll also get a stroopwafel and a moment to sit with the view before heading back.

The return ride takes you through Zuiderwoude, another postcard village, and then back across the IJ River toward Amsterdam's skyline. Your guide drops you near the OBA building with local tips for the evening. The whole day is 4 hours. You can bring your own snacks or picnic at the cheese farm if you want lunch; the tour doesn't include it. Dress for the weather—the tour runs rain or shine, and a rain jacket is provided if you need one.

What’s included

Local English-speaking guide.
E-bike or regular bike with helmet (depending on which option you choose).
Rain jacket if needed.
Cheese tasting and stroopwafel on the Countryside Long option.
Clog-making demonstration on the Countryside Long option.

Good to know

Moderate physical levelPublic transport nearbyNot for pregnant travelersNot for heart conditionsNot for back problems

Operated by Mike's Tours Amsterdam

Is this one for you?Book the Countryside Short if you want a morning or afternoon ride through villages and countryside without the farm stop—it's a solid 4-hour loop on a regular bike. Choose the Countryside Long if you want the full Dutch experience: the e-bike takes the strain out of 40 km, and the cheese farm and clog-making demonstration are the moments people remember and talk about afterward.