kwren

Does anyone have an Amsterdam canal tour they recommend for a group of 4? Preference of daytime or evening tour?

I saw a tour listed to Edam, Marken and Vollendam. Wexll have a car. Would iit be worth going to these towns from near Keukenhof on our way to Amstetdam Schipol to drop off the car, or would there be other quaint towns around Leiden or Haarlem to visit instead?

Thanks!

kwren

And now I'm to trying to delete this after reposting to the Europe forum and not succeeding. Sorry it ended up in the wrong place! Any tips?

kwren

Does anyone have an Amsterdam canal tour they recommend for a group of 4? Preference of daytime or evening tour? I saw a tour listed to Edam, Marken and Vollendam. We'll have a car. Would iit be worth going to these towns from near Keukenhof on our way to Amsterdam Schipol to drop off the car, or would there be other quaint towns around Leiden or Haarlem to visit instead? Thanks!

hetismij2

Edam Marken and Volendam are not on your way to Schiphol from Leiden. You could try Woerden and follow the Vecht river up via Breukelen to Weesp and the motorway to Schiphol, or even just pottering around the "Groene Hart", the green heart maybe, some pretty villages there. You could also visit Aalsmeer, not for the flower auction which is early am but for the historic gardens - https://www.historischetuinaalsmeer....r-information/
You can listen to my DH give you the guided tour .

From Haarlem you could do the three towns but know they are very touristy, and are on the wrong side of Amsterdam for the airport. You could visit Zandvoort and Bloemendaal if the weather is nice, or visit Cruquis https://www.haarlemmermeermuseum.nl/...t-steam-engine, and again Aalsmeer and the groene hart.

I expect Menachen will have some excellent suggestions when he sees this.

Elizabeth_S

We had so much fun in our own electric boat with a suggested route.

https://amsterdamcanalboatrental.com/canal-boat/

schmerl

No advice, but it's good to see you back here!

hetismij2

You have a response in Europe

jerseysusan

We went on a great canal tour with

Those Dam Boat Guys

We went at night in one of their small boats. It was a great time.

Surfergirl

Depending on the weather, I'd recommend the evening (sunset) open boat tour of Amsterdam with unlimited drinks! We did this in 2016 during a heat wave, and it was great! Small group, maybe 20. Booked the tour in one of the many kiosks found around town the day of. Meet up sort of across from the train station next to the Lovers boat tour meeting place (I don't think this was a Lovers cruise). The guide was terrific and we went all over the canal rings.

We're going back to Amsterdam at the beginning of June with another couple, and will be doing it again, weather permitting.

joannyc

Hit the triangle and ask the mods to delete the thread.

menachem

Lots of tour companies with smaller, launch-type, boats that can go into the small side canals as well.

For instance: https://www.stromma.com/nl-nl/amster...en-boat-tours/
evening is nicer imo, stromma does apéro type drinks and snacks

As hetismij already wrote: if you're in the Leiden/Haarlem area, Edam, Marken and Volendam are on the wrong side of IJ. But I can really recommend the area between Leiden and Haarlem, one of the most genteel of the Netherlands (the legend is that the most standard Dutch, not tainted by regional or city accents, is spoken in that area). For instance, the area around Bloemendaal, Santpoort, is beautiful, and so is the "geestgronden" area of Noordwijk, Lisse, Vogelenzang, Aerdenhout and Heemstede. If you have a car, those are lovely drives. This is a great place for lunch outside, if the weather is nice: https://deruigenhoek.nl/

Wassenaar is also nice: close to the beach and an area with modest aristocratic estates

annw

Ditto -- those Dam Boat Guys. (also gals)

Dayle

When I visited, I got to see Kukenhoff (SP), stayed 1 night in Lisse for that. So gorgeous. Tulip heaven. I did a canal boat tour, but it was a larger boat on the spur of the moment and not the Dam Boat Guys as recommended. It was mainly for the scenery, architecture and it was very enjoyable. I really liked Amsterdam, but found I liked the smaller cities/towns more. I stayed in Delft and Haarlem and loved both! I thought the Netherlands were beautiful. Loved the countryside and architecture. Can't speak about driving as I used public trans in the Netherlands and didn't pick up a car until Cologne.

Big tip: take a down coat. The wind off the sea is like ice! Hat and gloves too.

cathies

The mods will probably move it when they realize it’s not meant to be in the lounge.

joannyc

At this point , they should merge this thread with the one on Europe forum.

cathies

👍

kwren

Hi schmerl! Good to see you too!

Thanks to all who recommended Those Dam Boat Guys. I will check them out.

We decided to stay in Lisse because friends are arriving a few days after us just to go to Keukenhof. DH didn't want yet another hotel added to this trip so it was easier to be in one place than moving after 3 days to be with our friends.

I guess the mods haven't noticed this post in the wrong place yet, but I did get some good info here just the same!

kwren

Thanks for all the great tips on which towns to visit. Let the research begin! We will be staying in Lisse so will be in a good position for our explorations!

I will check out the Stromma canal tours as well! Thanks!

Dayle

kwren,

Assuming you will be in Amsterdam, there was one thing I did that was definitely off the beaten path. The Purse Museum! It was great. Actually very interesting and fun at the same time. When I was there, 2 couples were also visiting and the guys were loving it. Men's bags from ancient China! Who knew. I love visiting quirky special museums like this. It's on the main canal near a historical mansion preserved in it's original condition with all furnishings, etc. Also very interesting. Highly recommend these two spots if you can make time. Have fun!

suze

kwren ~ So happy to see your name pop up again!! Good luck with the Amsterdam trip planning. I've been once but don't know about the things you asked about

Don't worry about this thread being in the Lounge. Mods will move it, or merge it, or something eventually.