Keukenhof & Zaanse Schans Windmills Tour with Private Guide

A working windmill has a platform at the top with views across the whole village.

This is a private guided tour from Amsterdam to Zaanse Schans, a village of traditional windmills and wooden houses, followed by Keukenhof Gardens during its two-month tulip season. Your guide speaks English or Dutch, picks you up from your hotel, and the day includes a clog demonstration, a cheese tasting at a working farm, lunch at a local restaurant, and admission to the gardens. Children from age 3 are welcome.

Step-by-step itinerary

Visit Zaanse Schans and Keukenhof Gardens

• Meet guide in Amsterdam
• Drive to Zaanse Schans village
• See clog making demonstration
• Visit cheese farm and taste cheese
• Tour working industrial windmill
• Enjoy typical Dutch lunch
• Explore Keukenhof Flower Gardens
• Return to Amsterdam

The Experience

You start from your hotel in Amsterdam and drive to Zaanse Schans with your private guide. The village is small and built around working windmills, traditional crafts and the green wooden houses that define the Dutch countryside. Your guide takes you through a clog-making demonstration, then to a cheese farm where you learn how Gouda is made and taste the different varieties. The centerpiece is a working industrial windmill. You go inside and climb to the platform at the top, where you can see across the whole village.

After Zaanse Schans, you eat a typical Dutch lunch at a local restaurant before heading to Keukenhof Gardens. The gardens are only open for two months each year to display the peak of the Dutch flower season. You'll find 800 varieties of tulips in blossom, along with other spring flowers, and you have time to walk through at your own pace. Your guide and driver then bring you back to Amsterdam at the end of the day.

What’s included

• Your tour includes hotel pickup and drop-off in Amsterdam.
• a private guide in English or Dutch.
• transport by private vehicle.
• entry to Keukenhof Gardens.
• a clog-making demonstration.
• a visit inside a working industrial windmill.
• a cheese tasting at a working farm.
• and a typical Dutch lunch at a local restaurant.

Good to know

Moderate physical levelWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Zaan Tours

Is this one for you?Book this tour if your guide speaks English and you want commentary throughout the day. The private format means the guide can adjust the pace and focus to your interests, and the full itinerary (windmills, cheese, lunch, and gardens) fits into one morning and afternoon without you arranging any of the logistics.

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Top questions

What is Zaanse Schans and what will I see there?

Zaanse Schans is a village of traditional windmills, wooden houses and working craft demonstrations near Amsterdam. You'll visit a clog-making workshop, a cheese farm where you taste Gouda, and climb inside a working industrial windmill to see the machinery and the views from the platform.

When is Keukenhof Gardens open and what will I find there?

Keukenhof is open for only two months each year during the peak tulip season. You'll walk through gardens with 800 varieties of tulips in blossom, along with other spring flowers, and have plenty of time to explore at your own pace.

Is lunch included in this tour?

Yes, a typical Dutch lunch at a local restaurant is included after your visit to Zaanse Schans and before you head to Keukenhof Gardens.

Will my hotel be included in the pickup and drop-off?

Yes, your guide picks you up from your hotel in Amsterdam at the start of the tour and brings you back there at the end of the day.

Can I bring young children on this tour?

Children are welcome from age 3. Infants and small children can travel in a pram or stroller, and the tour is wheelchair accessible throughout.

What language does the guide speak?

Your guide speaks either English or Dutch, depending on which option you choose at checkout.