North private guided tours in Holland with a minivan...

During this Polder Tour you’ll learn a lot about the Dutch struggle against water. We’ll drive over small polder dikes, that border a polder or over roads made on the bottom of a dried out lake like the Purmer, Beemster (on the World Heritage list of Unesco) or the Schermer. We’ll visit a cheese farm where they will show you how they make the farmer’s cheese nowadays and give you the chance to try all their different cheeses (cow, goat and sheep). You’ll see with your own eyes what closing off in 1932 of the Zuiderzee (Southern Sea) meant for the fishing villages like Volendam and Marken. To get the real Dutch feeling we’ll go on to visit the open air museum of Zaanse Schans, where 5 windmills are still operating. Two can be visited: the paint mill and the oil mill. The Zaan region was the industrial region; transport was handy over the river Zaan. On Friday mornings (6 April -7 September) we can visit the Alkmaar Cheese Market instead of the Zaanse Schans.

In the afternoon we’ll drive through quaint little villages, that had their prosperous time in the 17th century. In the Rijp we can have lunch in Het Wapen van Munster where they serve the typical Dutch pancake. After the lunch we’ll stroll through this lovely village discovering beautiful old houses. Then on through the very typical polder landscape to the Museum mill of Schermerhorn. In the mill you’ll learn a lot while watching a 7 minute video presentation and the miller is always willing to explain the working of ‘his’ windmill. If you’re not afraid of heights you can climb to the top (inside) of the windmill where you can see how ingenious the windmill is built.

(300 kilometers are inclusive)