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Offered languages
- German
- English
- Dutch
Most visitors reach the Zaanse Schans by tour bus. You'll arrive the way everything once arrived here: over the water.
The Verbetering is an original 1916 Dutch cargo barge and certified museum ship, one of the last historic ships still allowed to moor in Amsterdam. This day retraces her own freight route, sailed by the family that owns her: out across the IJ from minutes beyond Central Station, through the locks and onto the river Zaan, until the windmills rise ahead of the bow.
Ashore you have two full hours, the complete Zaanse Schans ticket included: two working windmills, the Zaans Museum and Verkade Experience, the World of Windmills, the Weavers' House, the Zaan Time Museum and a clog-making workshop. Nothing to book, nothing to queue for.
Home goes the long way, across the polder and down a centuries-old tow canal, never more than 12 guests aboard and always a dry seat. Years from now you'll still tell people about the day you sailed a real cargo ship to the windmills!
What's Included
Meeting and pickup
Go to the Pontsteiger, the tall building on the water. At the ferry dock, do not board the ferry. Turn right and walk along the jetty. You will see our historic ship, the "Verbetering". Look for the captain in his black captain's cap. Please arrive 15 minutes early.
Itinerary
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Houthavens (Pass by)
You board the "Verbetering" at Houthavens, Amsterdam's old timber-import docks on the IJ waterfront, a working harbour of houseboats and historic ships just west of Centraal Station. It isn't a name most visitors know, which is rather the point. At the end of the day, this is also where you step back ashore.
Admission ticket free -
NDSM Wharf (Pass by)
Minutes after leaving the dock, we sail the open IJ past the NDSM wharf once one of the largest shipyards in the world, now Amsterdam's best-known cultural hotspot. From the water you see the harbour the way it was meant to be seen, while the skipper tells the story of the working port our 1916 cargo ship was built for.
Admission ticket free -
Zaandam (Pass by)
Through the locks and onto the river Zaan, the oldest industrial region in Western Europe. Historic factories stand shoulder to shoulder with modern food industry along the banks, including the old Verkade biscuit and chocolate factory, as the windmills of the Zaanse Schans come into view ahead.
Admission ticket free -
1Zaans Museum
Within your two hours at the Zaanse Schans, your included ticket opens the Zaans Museum, where the history and art of the Zaan region is told room by room, and the Verkade Experience, where you step inside a genuine 'Willy Wonka' biscuit and chocolate factory from the early twentieth century, machines and all.
45 minutes • Admission ticket included -
2Zaanse Schans
We moor at the Zaanse Schans and you step ashore for two full hours among the windmills, with the complete Zaanse Schans ticket already included in your booking. Visit two working windmills of your choice and meet the millers, explore the World of Windmills museum, the Zaans Museum with the Verkade Experience (an authentic early-1900s biscuit and chocolate factory), the Zaan Time Museum and the 18th-century Weavers' House, with a digital audio tour in English and Dutch. A clog-making workshop is included as well, it comes with the ship, not the ticket. Nothing to book or queue for separately.
2 hours • Admission ticket included -
3Molenmuseum
Also on your included ticket: the World of Windmills museum, a multimedia journey through the industrial mill history that made the Zaan region the world's first industrial zone, a good first stop before you climb into a working mill yourself.
30 minutes • Admission ticket included -
Purmerend (Pass by)
On the way home we cross the open North Holland polder to the old market town of Purmerend, farmland, church towers and waterways that look much as they did when this ship carried freight here a century ago.
Admission ticket free -
Noordhollandsch Kanaal (Pass by)
The final leg follows the centuries-old tow canal between Purmerend and Amsterdam, the same waterway horses once towed barges along, before we, pass through the lock behind Amsterdam Central Station and moor back at Houthavens.
Admission ticket free -
Centraal Station (Pass by)
On the final stretch home, we pass through the lock right behind Amsterdam Centraal, one of the city's most recognisable landmarks, before mooring back at the Houthavens.
Admission ticket free
Additional info
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Tags
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Cancellation Policy
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
- This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
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