Kinderdijk Windmills

I don’t believe in must sees, nor do I believe in only following the recommendations of 1 single guidebook. Different people have different interests. Many people, for instance, will say the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is a must see, but if you have a great interest in modern art the Stedelijk Museum will have much more art to your liking.
The same goes for Kinderdijk. It doesn’t say anything that 1 guidebook doesn’t mention it. Plenty of other guidebooks do mention it, and It isn’t declared UNESCO world heritage for nothing. The sight of the line of windmills next to the water is spectacular. In my opinion, it’s a wonderful day out, especially if you take the ferry to get there.

I was just there a couple of days ago and I drove there and there was parking right next to the entrance of the visitors centre for just under 10 euros. If I had listened to the website I would have parked miles away and have waited for a shuttle bus. There is a ticket that gets you into 2 windmills to see inside plus a boat trip. It was late when I got there so I only went inside one of the mills but would like to have done the boat trip and other mill. It is a very dramatic setting with 19 mills along the canal. I think it is worth going but give yourself 2 or 3 hours there to make the most of it. Going by ferry sounds like a great idea.

You take train to Rotterdam and a tram to waterfront to board a riverboat to Kinderdijk. I did not see any ferry boats.
Nineteen windmills are in their original sites unlike Zaanse Schans.
Kinderdijk was a highlight of our last week long stay in The Netherlands on our last trip there.
Readers do not seem to realize that Rick Steves guide books are not comprehensive tour guides. We use his guides solely for the city or town walking tours. He picks and chooses certain places to include. If he skipped Kinderdijk that is a shame.
You can walk along the pathways past the windmills, rent bikes there or take a boat ride. We had a wonderful day there walking the whole site, entering those windmills that allowed us in them.

I think the ferry mentioned by Meg and the riverboat mentioned by Suki, are in fact the same thing. The company that operates these riverboats/ferries uses the term “Waterbus”
See here for schedules and fares; https://www.waterbus.nl/en/op-pad/unesco-werelderfgoed-kinderdijk

I believe there is a city bus, that probably does not use any ferries, that would be the cheapest and most frequent transport from Rotterdam to Kinderdijk. I don't know the bus number because we had a car that day.

Here is a very old post that will give you a start:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/netherlands/bus-90-to-kinderdijk-the-booked-workshop

Note that a Garmin or a phone cannot distinguish well between ferries that operate continuously and ferries that are scheduled. I mention that because we accidentally got in a long auto line for a ferry near there. Ever since, I have clicked "Avoid Ferries" on my GPS devices.

We were just in Kinderdijk a couple of weeks ago and we realized Rick didn't have it in his book, but decided to go anyway. We're glad we did, found it very interesting and worthwhile. Took the ferry, it was very smooth and I really enjoyed it! I'm sure there are some UNESCO sites that some might say aren't worth it, but I haven't seen one yet that wasn't worth a stop!

I've been to Kinderdijk (by car with visitors) a couple of times and found them underwhelming tbh. I thought Zans Schans better for visitors. And Zuiderzee museum in Enkhuizen was excellent (been twice). There are so many old windmills in NL everywhere (in the Groene Hart area), the majority in working order, that Kinderdijk didn't feel particularly special. Indeed, on a windy day after a lot of rainfall you will see old windmills at work pumping water. Fabulous to see.

Next time visitors ask to go to Kinderdijk I will arrange to go by boat as I think that will add a lot of value (water theme).

Been twice in the past three years, really a beautiful place. You can combine bikes with the river ferries from Rotterdam if you'd like, makes for a delightful afternoon.

when I went there I loved it. Even had a visit with a lawnmowing goat.