Amsterdam Private Tour: Canals, Keukenhof and Giethoorn
Amsterdam is a walking city with a ring of day trips that are painful by train and easy by road: the tulip fields, the windmills at Zaanse Schans and the canal village of Giethoorn.
Charter or private tour
Charter: car and driver, your stops. Private tour: adds a guide, which matters at the Rijksmuseum and Anne Frank House.
Drive times
- Schiphol Airport to the centre: about 20 minutes.
- Amsterdam to Keukenhof: about 40 minutes (open March to May).
- Amsterdam to Zaanse Schans windmills: about 20 minutes.
- Amsterdam to Giethoorn: about 1 hour 30 minutes.
How to split the days
City, 2 days: canal ring on foot, Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh, Jordaan, a canal boat at dusk.
Flowers and windmills, 1 day: Keukenhof in season, then Zaanse Schans.
Giethoorn, 1 day: the car-free canals, best on a weekday.
Season
Mid-April for tulips, May and September for weather, December for lights. Summer weekends are busy in the centre.
Practical notes
The centre is hostile to cars — parking is expensive and streets are narrow. We use the car for day trips and keep city days on foot and tram.
FAQ
When is Keukenhof open? Roughly late March to mid-May; dates shift with the season.
Can we do Keukenhof and Zaanse Schans in one day? Yes, they are on the same side of the city.
Is Giethoorn worth the drive? On a quiet weekday yes; on a summer weekend it is crowded.
Do we need a guide? For the museums, yes; for the countryside, the driver is enough.
Can you pick up at Schiphol? Yes, airport pickup is standard.