Wetlands Safari Amsterdam

My husband and I just completed an ecological tour in the wetlands of Netherlands which was great fun and informative. It involves paddling a canoe through wetlands (small canals) just north of Amsterdam in an area called Watergang. Our tour guide has been conducting these tours since the 1990s and is well versed on flora and fauna of the Netherlands along with Dutch history and how these subjects are entertwined. We began our tour at a common meeting place at Amsterdam Centraal Station. Our group traveled by bus to a closed hotel (the hotel was being brought to code and preparing for reopening so there were contractors performing tasks) in Watergang. While getting to know our fellow travelers over coffee and tea, our guide gave background of the Netherlands. Canoes were stored at the hotel and we were assigned a canoe and partner(s) and brief instructions of how navigate the narrow waterways. Our guide provided a sealed bucket for each canoe for our cell phones, backpacks, etc. We paddled through villages viewing waterfowl and their habitats and then through wetlands with migrating birds, cows and an occasional goat. Along the way we huddled our canoes together and listened to our guide provide information on the ecology of the area and the importance of the migrating birds. Lunch was a sumptuous picnic on a wetland island which was relaxing and welcomed under a beautiful sky of sun and clouds. Our post lunch activity included paddling onto a small lake to learn the history and purpose of polder windmills. We regrouped at the closed hotel with beer and coffee for the ending of a great experience that did not involve a museum. A bus stop was across the road from said hotel and we returned to Centraal Station where we began our day. Total time was about 3.5 hours. I highly recommend this day tour. wetlandssafari.nl