Windmills while in Amsterdam

We did this in February and the your we took was definitely not worth it. I did buy it through visitor so my mistake on not vetting the actual operator. We had very little time at each place and felt like herded sheep. The places themselves were interesting, but I would either find a better tour operator or just drive yourselves.

Is your cruise near Rotterdam? I ask because that's close to the very beautiful Kinderdijk area with 19 still functioning, original windmills.
Have a magical time. Safe travels!

Thanks mikliz97. Sorry to hear you had a bad experience. I have driven around Europe over the years but this trip will not include me driving. That's why I'm hoping to get a quality tour recommendation from this board.

No Pat, the cruise disembarks in Amsterdam. But that does bring up the possibility of a windmill tour to Rotterdam from Amsterdam. Not sure we want to take up an entire day to do that. Something to consider, thanks.

Well I can only tell you who to avoid;). I have read other reports of good tours so just filter through what you find and read reviews. We did not drive on that trip either. I know I didn’t do my homework on tours, but we planned this just a couple weeks after my mom passed so circumstances were not ideal and I was not on my game.

mikliz97, eliminating the bad ones does help. Let me know.

From Amsterdam Zaanse Schans is easy to reach by train and takes some 17 min. The additional walk to the mills from the train station about needs the same time. The mills of Kinderdijk Pat talks about takes more time, a train to Rotterdam (fasted train about 45 min.) and from there the waterbus to the site. https://www.waterbus.nl/en/Kinderdijk-travel

Zaanse Schans is actually an open air museum with a collection of windmills from the area. The mills have different functions, representing an early form of industrialisation. You can see there a variety of oil, spice and saw mills, what makes the place to my idea attractive. There is a windmill museum too. https://www.dezaanseschans.nl/en/

The mills of Kinderdijk are water pumps to drain the water from the surrounding land and still in their original location and for many the real deal. But as far as I know the mills work occasionally only, it’s also a UNESCO World Heritage site. https://kinderdijk.com/

You can visit both places without following a tour and so can spend as much time as you want. To my opinion you can't go wrong either one of the two sites, it's more a matter of preference and the time you have

Oops, it was Get Your Guide that I booked through, not Viator. Anyway, I read back and this issue what I posted about the tour we did.

"We just returned from a week in Amsterdam and did a day trip to these cities with Get Your Guide. Normally I would not have booked something like this, but on Trip Advisor, a local suggested this would be a good way to go. Well, let's just say it was a bust. The guide himself was good, but the trip overall was just not well thought out. When we booked, we booked the tour without realizing there was an upgrade option. When we checked in, they asked if we wanted to upgrade which included the windmill tour and the boat ride. For 15 euro more per person, we opted in.
The total tour time was way too short overall. We were a bit unsure on the windmills as it came across as contrived, which it felt like that once we were there too. We did get a tour of one of the windmills and that was very interesting, but after that we had about 15-20 minutes total to see the other things there. The people who did not upgrade did not get to go into the windmills at all, and were left just wandering.
Then in Volendam, the cheese making demonstration was good, but again the time in town was so limited. We had a very quick lunch and then had maybe 15 minutes again to wander, that was it. Then we took the boat over to Marken. The boat was part of the upgrade, and honestly it was just a boat ride, nothing special. We should have just opted for the bus.
Once in Marken, we headed straight to the wooden shoe factory to watch a demonstration. The poor guy, his machine broke part way through and it could not be fixed. I do not fault him at all and he felt terrible, so gave everyone a clog that was not finished. That was a very nice gesture that he did not have to do. However, the tour just ended then, so instead of letting us have any time in the little town to see anything else, we got right back on the bus and back to Amsterdam.
I would not mind these towns/sights, but on our own pace. The tour was just not good and not a good use of time. Lesson learned, stick to my travel style of DIY. I really hate giving bad reviews, but I would hate for anyone else to fall for this one like we did.

Thanks you for the great feedback. Previous trips to Europe we always rented a car and did our own thing. It's been a few years though & thought maybe at our age now, planned tours might be better. After your input I'm now looking into a one day car rental. 3 1/2 days isn't very long & we do want to see Amsterdam. So one day of traveling by car may be best way to experience places outside Amsterdam. This is my first experience with this website & now wish I would have found it years ago.

If you do decide to drive be aware that the maximum speed (there are local reductions and the overhead gantries can reduce the speed limit electronically - a lot) on Dutch motorways is 100 kph between 6am and 7pm. After 7pm and before 6am it is a maximum of 130 kph, and those gantries do change it. Be aware that you do not lift off at the lower limit, you must be doing the lower limit when you pass the sign. The Dutch invented speed cameras and they are everywhere, whether or not you see them. That's how you get traffic tickets, not by being stopped. They come in the mail, and your rental company additionally charges around 50€ for providing your details to the police.

Because I live in England where the limit is 70 mph (about 113 kph) and I frequently drive in France (130 kph) and Germany (130 kph and some areas no speed limit) I get exceedingly frustrated driving in the Netherlands. There is no differential speed between cars and heavy trucks which I think is unsafe.

Do you want to see a bunch of windmills in one place, or are you happy just seeing one windmill inside and out? If you prefer the latter, the De Valk windmill in Leiden might be a good choice. The inside is a museum, so you learn how the windmill works while climbing to the top. You can step out on the platform and literally hear the whoosh of the sails spinning by. FYI, the stairs are narrow and steep. I didn't have any problems getting up and down, but my husband did help the grandmother of a family down a few sets of stairs. The good thing about seeing this windmill is you can also visit the lovely town of Leiden. You can really make a full day out of a visit here.

Nigel, thanks for the heads up. I'm not in a hurry to get places anymore so any speed limit is fine by me.

Laurie C, Thank you for the information. We want to see a working windmill but also interested in some of the small towns. That's what made me look at the tours. Driving ourselves would allow us some flexibility, which I like.

You may find this link describing traffic signs and regulations useful: https://www.government.nl/documents/reports/2024/02/09/road-traffic-signs-and-regulations-in-the-netherlands.

Thanks, Barney_NL

ketelhut, I am researching the same thing...which windmills to visit. You don't need a car, or a tour. Zaanse Schans, Edam, Volendam, and Marken are easily accessible by train and/or bus. short trips. Going to Kinderdijk is a bit farther, but doable. I would watch youtube videos on each site and see what appeals to you. You will be happier not taking a tour, and being able to spend your time as you wish.

For true windmill aficionados, https://www.molens.nl/vind-molens provides a searchable database of and a map with windmills and their visiting hours. Just click on the mill on the map for more information. Unfortunately, the website is only in Dutch, but the map with windmills should help you plan.

https://9292.nl/en allows you to plan your trips using public transport.

DYI will allow you to pick the day, based on weather conditions and whatever else comes up once you're in Amsterdam.

Thanks you for all your input. Barney_NL, The links you included will be very helpful. Yes, it looks like doing this on our own is quite doable & will give us the freedom to see things at our pace.

Planning your trip and reading up are already part of the travel fun!! Glad to have been of assistance!