From Amsterdam: Zaanse Schans, Volendam & Marken Tour

Excellent trip we enjoyed it.

Request the piano bus driver! He was entertaining, helpful and professional! The guide was take charge and informative!

This was a great excursion. Our guide Diana was a terrific host and bus driver Steve “The Rock” was great driver and entertainer. Would go with these two again. Downside of the trip was finding meeting point. Only direction was Central station which is a huge place. Luckily we located it the night before.

We had to reschedule the tour after we miised the tour due to the meeting point directions not being clear and did not indicate that you have to enter a tour office, pick up tickets and wrist band and then you are directed up stairs to the bus location. Operator and Viator could do better with directions to the meeting point and requirements. I reviewed multiple other reviews that indicated the same issue as ours. The most disappointing issue was that we needed to pay an extra 40 euro as a rebooking fee which is a total money grab. As for the tour the driver and staff where excellent the itenary could have been better to allow more time to explore each destination. Definately felt rushed. The locations are definately worth a visit.

This was the single best tour we've ever taken. Everything was beyond expectation, perfectly executed, exceptional team.

It was a wonderful experience. I really liked the punctuality and the detailed explanations provided by the knowledgeable guide.

Could not find the meeting place where the bus departs, and ending up missing the bus departure. Had to pay for an Uber to catch the bus to meet up with the tour bus. Again no mention on the ticket where to meet. Had to ask several people where to find the tour operator, very frustrating. Once on the tour it was very pleasant and worth while.

Much too large a group 84 people. Not enough seating on bus. Crammed in like sardines. Too large a group for cheese and wooden shoe factories. Hard to keep track of people. However, our guide Juan was great.

We did the Windmills & Countryside tour and it was worth doing. We had Ian and Ocean as our guides who we excellent. The tour starts at 0830 on the bus BUT you need to exchange your hotel/online booking confirmation in the Tickets and Tours shop, at the station, before then - where you are given a wrist band and paper tickets. This can get busy so give yourself time to get to the shop well ahead of the tour start as you need to get from the shop to the bus stop (5 mins). The tour guides are super knowledgeable. Windmills are great as is the clog making but, maybe could have spent more time at the windmills. A boat ride takes you across to the cheese making - we found this less worthwhile and if you do this you don't need the Edam add on. Also, if you are from the UK be careful as there is currently a personal import ban of dairy products from the EU (as of Sept 2026) so you can't but any cheese to take home. Otherwise a good and worthwhile trip

We had a wonderful time on this tour! We visited Zaanse Schans, Volendam, and Marken, and we felt the entire day was very well organized. I noticed some other reviews mentioned feeling like there wasn’t enough time at the different stops, but that was not our experience at all. We felt we had plenty of time to see and do everything we wanted without feeling rushed. The schedule was well planned, and we really appreciated the audio tour on the bus, which provided interesting information along the way. A special shout-out to the clog factory! We really enjoyed the demonstration and learning how the traditional wooden clogs are made. Of course, we couldn’t resist buying souvenir clogs for our granddaughters, which made the visit extra special. Overall, we thought the tour was organized, informative, and enjoyable, and we were able to experience everything we had hoped to. We would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting to see these highlights in one day!

This is exactly what a tourist trap is. If you wanna see windmills just do Zaanse Schans skip Volendam and Markham. The tour basically just brings you to a cheese store and Dutch wooden shoe store to give you 5 minutes of info on how cheese and wooden shoes are made.

What a memorable experience. Had a wonderful day, lots to see and had a great time.so much fun Thankyou Stephan aka the rock, Ocean and Jaun.

Fun day in countryside outside of Amsterdam. The tour leader Juan & assistants kept the tour rolling, plus helped those who needed help ! Had enough time in Volendam for a great lunch !

The tour is a great value. Lucas was awesome and they were super helpful with providing a wheelchair for one of our members who fell a few days earlier. The only thing that needs improvement is providing better instructions on the meeting location. It’s deep inside the train station on the floor with all the shops.

Very informative and the crew were very pleasant and entertaining. would definitely recommend this tour.

What a fabulous day. I cannot speak more highly of our wonderful team of three guides - Astrid, Rodrigo and our multi talented bus driver / musician / comedian Steph :) From the minute we entered our fully booked bus, it was entertainment the whole way. Astrid was incredibly informative and had endless patience. Rodrigo looked after our Spanish guests in a very professional manner. Steph - well Steph is a brilliant bus driver, but boy, can he spin a tune on the keyboard - yes, there is a keyboard on the bus!! Who would have thought. Our tour was interactive, informative and interesting. We would happily do it again and would not hesitate to recommend this tour to others.

Better than what we expected! The tour guides on the Piano Bus - Stef, Juan, and Ocean, made our experience so much fun! Very informative in multiple languages. The tour went by so fast. I am recommending this tour to everyone; we already did when we returned to our hotel. Thank you Piano Bus Guides!

Awesome experience and had fun traveling with so many fun folks. Lived seeing everything to tour had to offer

Well organised with an activity in each location and enough free time to look around at your own pace. Timings were clearly communicated and the bus arrived back on time. A great day out.

The put on your seatbelt announcement is sung.. As the engine hums at the same time the keyboard music starts our driver announces he is going to sing. I wince and open my beer I brought with me a bit too early on a 45 minute drive. 5 minutes in and my beer is warming along with my impression of the hosts. A short while later we see the windmills in the horizon and I’m charmed. No it’s not just the beautiful Dutch countryside, it’s our guides, Juan and Ocean and our singing bus driver Steph. Charming, funny and well informed. We were part of the ‘family’ as Juan called us but charming and engaging, not forced. I am someone who is a fan of tours, but not tour guides. I hate live entertainment, forced friendships and all too personal holiday guides and reps. This tour bus was not that at all. I now wonder if I’ll ever be able to enjoy a tour again without over sharing tour guides, without a constant narrative and running gags and god forbid, a singing, keyboard playing, over sharing bus driver. My only fault is now that I’ve tasted such riches, can I ever live with being poor. 5 stars and full compliments from a reluctant passenger and now a wilful participant.

I did this tour with a friend and it was a great way of getting some countryside views just outside Amsterdam. Luca, Mauricio and Manolo couldn't be a better crew! I truly recommend it!

Exceptional tour! Our guide was amazing! She was knowledgeable, friendly, and kept us running on schedule so that we were able to see the most we could possibly see at each stop! Beautiful scenic places, and the windmills were very beautiful. I highly recommend this adventure!

Our guide was knowledgeable about the history and made the tour fun. He played his piano between location and was filled with stories. This tour was a great way to see the Windmills up close.

We had a very good time with Emiliano, Juan and Mauricio. I booked the experience with two friends, the three of us from Spain, and we enjoyed the attention of the team, the experiences selected and the organisation. They gave very clear indications and took care of us. These moments were some of the best of our trip.

The bus driver and tour guides were amazing. There were two many people on our tour 81 I believe. Most of the actual activities were to small of a place to hold that many people, so if you didn't rush the line and break in front of people, you cannot see the presentation. Very disappointed in that. It was like herding cattle all day.

Great experience and saw a lot of history

Our driver, Stef was the most incredible part of the team. The tour was very informative and gave sufficient free time in each place. I highly recommend this tour.

Great tour and very organized. Carlos was a great guide and the other guys with him were good too. The time at each stop was well organized and the activities were good. My only suggestion is maybe setting up signs in the train station on where the ticket office is. It was hard to find. Highly recommend this tour.

Great day trip to see the highlights. Both our guides & driver were very nice. Since it is a quick tour you are moving along at a quick pace so not too much time to explore on your own. Excellent value for the price. Hardest part for us was trying to find the meeting spot in the train station.

Good experience overall, great guides, well planned. Steve, Miki & Rod was great. Highly recommend seeing a different side of the Netherlands .

There is a lot of walking on this tour. Unfortunately our bus broke down on the last stop and there was nowhere to sit while waiting for it to be prepared.

Simply awesome , the tour guides Joey @ Angelina were just exceptional

It was a great experience, however it felt extremely rushed. I assume it was because we needed to cover everything in the tour. The “don’t forget your husband or wife” jokes were a little tiring, and found the guide repeating everything in Spanish (in a Dutch speaking country) taxing, as most of the tour group weren’t even Spanish. There was a boat ride included, which most of the group didn’t even use. Oh and some kid was rewarded for bad behaviour, with a wooden clog that was made in the demo. It also felt the group had over 50 people and didn’t feel as though it was well organised. Overall it was spectacular to see the sights, and the highlight was the windmills and their operation. Didn’t feel I had enough time to explore the shops always mindful/anxious that if I didn’t hurry, I would miss the bus and have to take my own transport back to the city. Perfect trip if you don’t mind all that’s listed above. Makes me think twice about doing tours vs on your own time.

We were unaware that further payment was required for some of the activities which we didnt do but really enjoyed the trip. It did involve quite a lot of walking! The village we went to was really beautiful.

Very welcoming and interesting. It would have been nice to have a little more time in the clog shop and the cheese shop

I was very impressed by Giethoorn as a destination. The nature and houses were beautiful However I wasn’t impressed at all by our guide Pieter. He talked too much and repeated the same thing probably over 5 times. He was also quite bossy in the way he addressed us as if we’re children in school being told off by the teacher. I think he should be notified about those things for better future trips

Tour is good but too much time consuming. It can be shortened by one hour. The walk at the end of the tour is not worth the time. The time given for the lunch is also much more than that shall be given in the middle of the ongoing tour. The worst part is that even though there was a toilet in the bus it was locked and not allowed to be used. This puts the tourist in unnecessary search for washrooms and hardships. The company shall try to provide maximum amenities to tourist in making their trip a pleasurable one. The tour guide Mr. Pieter is the one who provided all the information and was over willing to give information as was asked. He was telling in 3 languages making him speak for long duration. So, the tours can be divided in English, German, Spanish based on language.

Loved the windmills, good history provided and enjoyed seeing a working windmill with awesome photo opportunities. The cheese factory demonstration was 3 minutes and poorly done, basically just told what cheeses are available for purchase. I did enjoy the samples and I did make a purchase so they made their sale with me. I didn't expect a waffle presentation but liked the demonstration and learning the history. Loved the energy of the clog maker. Unclear about the history, bus audio said wooden clogs were used because of the soil conditions and the presenter said wood used because it was cheap, maybe both reasons? Bus was clean and comfortable and on time, it was also easy to find the meeting point.

The guides are superb. Tons of energy, exciting, funny, and really nice. The tour itself was well-designed, interesting, and varied. I strongly recommend this.

The tour was great. Feel like we got more for our money. We were not rushed at any of the stops. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and the bus driver very competent.

The tour itself was great, and the staff were hard working, however I was left behind by the bus , along with a young couple…I got lost on my way back to the bus. There was no communication at all by the driver or guide. Keeping to schedules seemed to be a big priority. I understand this however on every other tour I have done over the past few years companies use WhatsApp to communicate changes or other information. We had to navigate our own way to the second stop . I had given up and was on my way to a train back to Amsterdam when I managed to get a public bus. The couple had to pay €82 to get there. Under no circumstances should people be left behind on a tour. This is a multi million dollar company. It has a duty of care to ensure passengers reach their destinations safely at the very least. When I caught up with the tour they didn’t know I was missing!!!! The number of the office I received on my booking wasn’t connected so I couldn’t get any help. Just not good enough. I am a frequent traveler but many other people would have found the situation very difficult.

The trip was so much fun! We loved every town we visited and the information our guide provided was so interesting and helpful. All the guides were so accommodating and kind. The bus driver was so helpful and pushed a gentleman in a wheelchair around throughout the entire tour. He was also funny and had the entire bus laughing. This is one of our favorite experiences here in Amsterdam. I highly recommend it!

We had a fantastic experience with this tour. We booked at the office in front of the Anne Frank house museum. We highly recommend this wonderful tour. The Zaanse Schanns windmills were nice. The boat trip was relaxing. We watched how wooden shoes were made which was very interesting. We also saw how the famous stroop waffles and cheese were made. Our driver, Nick was very friendly, courteous, and offered us drinks to buy. Our guide Rodrigo from Peru was very professional, friendly, funny, caring and patient. He speaks two languages (English and Spanish) and very knowledgeable about everything. We learned a lot on this trip and he was an exceptional guide. Highly recommend.

The bus was comfortable and everything was on time which was appreciated. However if you’re traveling with grandparents or small children the tour is very fast paced. At the first stop at Volendam, we had to rush to use the restrooms and back to the bus there was not free time to explore even though it was on the itinerary. Same thing at Marken after the wooden shoes presentation. There was also a lot of people during the presentations and we were standing or at the back unable to see what was being showed.

Not clear instructions to find where we needed to meet. A place to message and we did because we needed help and got no response. We were unable to make the tour and phone number would have been more helpful. Very disappointed

Great time touring cheese making, clog making and historic windmills. Tour guide was fantastic. Wonderful

Although tickets are sent upon payment these are not the actual event tickets. Was told throughout booking to meet at a specific point 30 minutes prior to start time. We did and we waited for 25 minutes but nobody arrived to greet us. Eventually we asked inside meeting location and we actually needed another ticket and additional instruction of where event departs from which unfortunately wasn't at the advised meeting place. Had a tour guide been there to meet or advise of additional ticket requirement we wouldn't have almost missed departure. Couldn't see anywhere on info that we had to go into meeting place and exchange ticket for actual tour tickets. Very confusing

Wonderful and interesting tour with Diana and Mauricio! Diana explained everything very well (in several languages!!) and was very cheerful. Beautiful countryside and villages.

We could have not seen the holland countryside the way we did with this tour. Its very insightful and heart warming. The charm of the netherland countryside seeps in beautifully and stays with you