Private Tour: 8h Amsterdam and Holland Countryside Tour

Our Tour was organized and conducted expertly by our knowledgeable and kind hearted guide, Stefka. As she knew that we had already spent a few days in Amsterdam and hence had seen most of its popular highlights, she took us on an 'off the beaten path' walking tour of parts of the city and sights that we hadn't seen and didn't even know existed. It was eye opening and fascinating. Later we were whisked off in her car to the picture perfect Village of De Rijp for a delicious, hearty lunch, made from local produce at Café-Restaurant Het Wapen van Munster. Though we didn't havevery close to the restaurant- which involved the manual opening of a small dam, the hand pulling of a wooden bridge open and shut and a bridal party in a small boat! Beemster was next on the agenda and what a beautiful place it is, with classic country homes, tall trees, sophisticated irrigation systems and windmills, whose main function is to pump water out of farmland. With Stefka we visited a windmill and learnt about it's workings by seeing a short film and visiting all of it from the inside. We even bravely scaled the steep steps to the top of the windmill and saw it's fans rotate. The windmill had a little museum on the ground level showing how the farmer and his family would live in the cramped space that they had to contend with. It was amazing to see. Soon we were off to the family owned Irene Hoeve Cheese Farm with it's own Clog Making Workshop. My young daughters were fascinated to know how their cheese was created and also had the opportunity to sample many varieties. The expert Clog Maker made our jaws drop by fashioning a clog in a matter of minutes from a block of wood! The Farm has a very nice Store which sells top notch ginger biscuits, stroopwafels, every conceivable kind of clog, porcelain, souvenirs and of course their delicious cheeses. There's also a cafe if you're feeling peckish. After the Tour, we were dropped back to our Hotel, tired but well fed and very happy that Stefka had given us an unforgettable day! Felicia Variava Albert, Manging Director, Blaze Tours and Travels Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, India

This was a great tour. Caspar, our tour guide, truly made it a great experience. He was both knowledgeable, personable, and engaging. We did a delightful walking tour of the city and then traveled out into the country for a windmill visit, a seaside lunch, and a trip to a cheese maker's shop. I would highly recommend this tour and would specifically ask for Caspar!