Enjoy an insider’s look at life in Edam by visiting a local family and touring a cheese-making facility to see how Edam’s famed cheese is produced. An enlightening walking tour will introduce you to the city, where you will see St. Nicholas Church and the Edam Museum, which occupies an 18th-century sea captain’s house. For a deeper understanding of life in Edam, you will stop by a centuries-old residence and enjoy coffee and cake with the owners. They will elaborate on the long history of their home, how Edam has changed just in their lifetimes and what the future may hold. Still, it is impossible to escape the draw of cheese in Edam. More than a quarter of the cheese produced in the Netherlands is the city’s namesake cheese, a soft variety made with less milk fat than most other cheeses. While touring a cheese-making facility in town, you will watch the process and then taste samples.

Capture the moment by taking the perfect selfie photo in Amsterdam! Instantly share your experience with family & friends on your favorite social media site as many of the stops will include wi-fi in real time. Professional photographers & selfie experts will teach you how to take the best selfie photo including composition, posing, lighting etc. Capture the spirit of this incredible destination.

Your tour will start with a scenic drive from the ship to Zaanse Schans Windmills. Your walking tour will have designated selfie stops at: • Zaanse Schans Windmills
• Dam Square & the Royal Palace
• The Canal Belt
• Bloemenmarkt

To make this experience even more fun, you will be provided with a selfie stick and utilize our Selfie Station in order to help catch the perfect picture. End your picture-perfect day with an included beer tasting at the Heineken Experience.

Bicycle through the Waterland, a classic Dutch landscape that is ideal for bicycling as it is flat and spectacularly scenic. A ferry will take you to the Waterland, where you will begin pedaling at a leisurely pace well suited to the area’s laid-back ambiance. You can expect to see farmers going about their daily lives, brightly painted wooden houses and an impossibly green countryside crisscrossed with canals and dotted with seemingly endless rivers and lakes. Almost half of the Waterland is water, held in check by a series of dikes, and the landscape couldn’t be more beautiful. Expect to pass cows grazing in fields, iconic windmills pumping water out of the lowlands and a number of seaside villages, one of which you will stop in for a drink. The Waterland is also a paradise for water birds, and you will likely see countless swans and geese and perhaps even a godwit, the national bird of the Netherlands.

This charming half day tour begins with a scenic drive through the Dutch countryside to the village of Zaandam. Arriving at the village, your guide will lead you through the faithfully re-created town of Zaanse Schans. This carefully designed open air museum was built to replicate the Zaan community of around 1700 and today is a very popular attraction. As you stroll through the cobbled streets watching craftsmen practicing the trades of yesterday, you'll get a glimpse of what Dutch life was once like.

A short scenic drive takes you to the tranquil 17th century town of Edam, best known for its distinctive Edam cheese. Enjoy a short walking tour past picturesque canals, traditional drawbridges and charming homes with overflowing flower gardens. Then, you’ll have some free time; perhaps you'll want to use the time to further explore this delightful town on your own, or purchase a special souvenir as a memento of your visit.

Glide through the Venice of the North in a fitting manner, via glass-roofed canal boat. It’s an incomparable way to experience this cosmopolitan city that stretches over some 70 islands and boasts 60 miles of canals and 1,000 bridges. An obscure port mostly visited by fisherman back in the 13th century, Amsterdam steadily grew in trade importance – blossoming into one of the world’s most important ports as the Dutch Golden Age gained steam. On this relaxed waterway tour, you’ll traverse some of the four concentric canal rings that define the old city center while learning much of the history behind this watery network from your guide. Along the way, expect to pass countless variations on the signature gabled canal house design the city is so famous for. Just as colorful are the procession of houseboats and tiny skiffs tied up in organized randomness along the stone canal banks. The designated route brings you by such major monuments as the National Maritime Museum, magnificent Town Hall (once considered Europe’s largest administrative building).

This tour combines the Dutch countryside with its windmills and the city of Amsterdam.

Leave Amsterdam behind and enjoy a drive through the beautiful countryside to the Dutch village of Broek in Waterland. This utterly charming village is well known for its classic wooden houses and farms. After a leisurely stroll through this fairy-like community, you'll re-join your coach and proceed to Beemster Polder, the oldest area of reclaimed land in the Netherlands. In 1999, this well-preserved and historic area was registered on UNESCO's World Heritage Site list. The highlight of your time here will surely be the visit to an original 17th century windmill where you will learn how the Dutch have managed to successfully live below sea level.

A scenic drive through the lush lowlands will bring you back to Amsterdam and the center of the city. Enjoy nearly 1.5-hours of free time to do some shopping and have a quick lunch on your own. Afterwards, you'll meet up with your coach again for the return drive to the port.

Settle in for a panoramic and highly informative drive through Amsterdam before cruising its canals in a glass-roofed boat. The city first developed during medieval times around a dam near the Amstel River, which supposedly gave rise to the name Amsterdam. During the introductory drive around this vibrant capital of the Netherlands, you will see iconic windmills, the acclaimed Tropenmuseum, the historical Jewish Quarter and Java Island, a once-abandoned port that was transformed into a modern urban neighborhood. Despite all these landmarks, Amsterdam—the so-called Venice of the North— may be even more recognized for its network of iconic canals. You will cruise through its famed Canal Ring, a UNESCO World Heritage site that dates to the 17th century. The experience will offer a different perspective of Amsterdam, especially the countless bridges and gabled mansions that lie within this area of canals designed in concentric circles. Afterwards, you will drive to Schiphol Airport for your flight.

HIGHLIGHTS:
• See Amsterdam’s most recognizable landmarks on a panoramic drive through town.
• Cruise the iconic canals of Amsterdam, parts of which are a UNESCO World Heritage site.
• Hear enlightening commentary about the history of Amsterdam.

Enjoy an enlightening walk through Haarlem and then explore further on your own for a thorough understanding of its charms. You can expect to meander along picture-perfect canals and pass traditional houses with crow-stepped gables before arriving in the heart of the city. In Market Square, you will find the 13th-century town hall and St. Bavo’s, a 14th-century landmark. During free time inside the church, you will see one the world’s most historically important organs, a massive gilded instrument with more than 5,000 pipes. Mozart, Händel and Mendelssohn have all played the organ, which when completed was the world’s largest. Art buffs might browse the works in the nearby Frans Hals Museum, whose collection includes a variety of Dutch masterpieces. In time, you will depart for Schiphol Airport, having discovered much about Haarlem’s past, including how this classic provincial capital inspired the name of New York’s Harlem neighborhood when Manhattan was known as New Amsterdam.

HIGHLIGHTS:
• Enjoy a leisurely walk along the canals and enchanting streets of quintessentially Dutch Haarlem.
• See one of the world’s largest and most famous organs in St. Bavo’s Church.
• Spend free time in the heart of Haarlem, exploring the attractions you find most interesting.

Explore two quintessentially Dutch towns on the northern outskirts of Amsterdam—windmill-dotted Zaanse Schans and famed cheese-producing Edam. One of the world’s few villages with functioning traditional windmills, Zaanse Schans boasted as many as 600 of these iconic structures in its heyday. You will delve into the traditions of this historical area and early Dutch life at an open-air museum designed to replicate a typical community in the 1700s. To add to the authenticity, you will watch craftsmen practicing trades such as wooden-shoe carving and cheesemaking. Still, Edam is probably the most famous Dutch town known for cheese, especially its namesake soft cheese. It is typically covered in colored wax, which was originally done to preserve it for long sea voyages. While browsing Edam’s delightful 17th-century downtown, you will likely pass the landmark St. Nicholas Church and Edam Museum, which occupies an 18th-century sea captain’s house. You may also have time to shop before heading to Schiphol Airport.

HIGHLIGHTS:
• Discover what Dutch life was like in the 1700s at an open-air museum in Zaanse Schans.
• Watch craftsmen ply their trades and admire still-functioning traditional windmills.
• See the charms of Edam that go well beyond its famed namesake cheese.

Begin with a transfer to the Jewish Historical Museum which was founded more than 70 years ago, but only found its definite home in the Ashkenazi Synagogue Complex in 1987. The museum gives a perfect impression of Jewish life in Amsterdam and the Netherlands.

Enjoy a guided walk through the historic Jewish area of Amsterdam and see the Hollandsche Schouwburg theater which is now a monument in memory of the 104,000 Jews who did not return to Amsterdam after World War II. During the war, only Jewish artists were allowed to perform in the Schouwburg.

From the Schouwburg, continue to the Portuguese Synagogue, which was built in 1675 by Elias Bouman for the three congregations of Portuguese Jews who had fled to the Low Lands from persecution in their homeland.

Enjoy a scenic drive through the distinctive Dutch countryside from Amsterdam to the village of Marken. Follow your guide on a walk through this quaint fishing hamlet on the shores of the former Zuider Zee, an area that dates back to the 13th century when monks constructed dikes for protection from the sea. The characteristic green and white clapboard houses of Marken have remained unchanged for centuries and, many of the l residents still wear colorful ancestral costumes, adding to the special atmosphere of this beautiful place.

Visit the quaint village of Volendam, where your guide introduces you to some of the town's special treasures, some dating back to the 14th century. As you walk through town, you'll find narrow canals, quaint drawbridges; and a charming little harbor.

During your tour, you will also visit a cheese producing dairy farm.

Amsterdam is famous for its Canal Ring area which dates to the 17th century and is a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site. Spread out over 70 islands, this cosmopolitan city boasts 60 miles of canals and about a thousand bridges. Amsterdam is most famous for its narrow, gabled houses lining the canals. Today, you will discover this lovely city on foot and by water.

A short drive takes you to the historic city center where you’ll start your walking tour. Follow your guide past many of the city historic and iconic landmarks such as the floating Flower Market, Mint Tower and Dam Square. Let your guide tell you the history of this remarkable city, while enjoying beautiful sights. Admire the Baroque-style Royal Palace at Dam Square. See De Nieuwe Kerk (New Church), site of numerous coronations and resting place of many important Dutchmen.

After discovering many of the city’s best on foot, you’ll board a glass-topped canal boat to continue your journey through Amsterdam's canals, ending back at the cruise terminal. As you cruise the canals, bridges of many different types, from rare old wooden bridges to larger ornamental ones, loom overhead. Numerous houseboats and tiny skiffs are tied up beside stone canal walls, an indelible part of the city's fabric.