Considering doing a day trip to Giethoorn from Amsterdam – the fairytale village in The Netherlands? It’s worth the journey to see this picturesque town which is as pretty as a postcard! As you may already know, Giethoorn is a village where no cars run and is completely run on the waterway. This makes for a simply adorable place to visit for a day trip!
We did a day trip to Giethoorn from Amsterdam in May, on a public holiday. I can recommend that you DON’T do that! Unfortunately for us, everyone else had the same idea and the amount of tourists in this tiny town was far too much for it to be enjoyable at times!
However, Giethoorn is truly a gorgeous little place and is PERFECT to take a day trip to! It holds such a quaint character, with gorgeous weeping willows hanging over the water, thatched houses and manicured gardens, row boats and pretty bridges. Keep reading below as I’ll be telling you how to get to Giethoorn without a tour. And I’ll also share my top tips to experience the best of Giethoorn!
Where Is Giethoorn
Giethoorn is found in the province of Overijssel in The Netherlands. This village has been around since the 1200s and was a farming village. It has grown over the years and in the last 10 years has become a bit of a tourist magnet. Dutch people know of it, yet it is mostly visited by foreigners to The Netherlands.
I must make it clear to my readers – Giethoorn is bigger than the ‘no roads’ cute village that it is known for. 500metres away from the canals you can find roads and grocery shops like every other town. When we arrived into Giethoorn on our day trip, we parked in a purpose-built car park by the canals.
How To Get To Giethoorn for a Day Trip
By Car
As we live in Amsterdam and have a car, we chose to drive to Giethoorn! It’s around 1 hour and 20 minutes drive away so a day trip to Giethoorn is an easy one for us – and those of you with a car!
By Public Transport
For us to get to Giethoorn from Amsterdam, we’d have to take a train to Almere, switch to a train going to Zwolle, switch to a train to get to Steenwijk, and then take a bus from Steenwijk to Giethoorn. It takes about 2 hours 30 minutes via public transport. So – if you have the stamina for all of that – get yourself up nice and early and head for the cute village of Giethoorn for your day trip!
By Tour
If you do not live in The Netherlands, don’t have a car, or don’t want to take public transport – taking a tour is your best option! There are some great tour companies operating within The Netherlands and they plan the perfect day trips to Giethoorn which are completely hassle-free for you!
Here are some great tour options!
How to Have An Amazing Day Trip To Giethoorn
Arrive Early On Your Day Trip To Giethoorn
My number one tip for a day trip to Giethoorn is to arrive early! If you can, arrive by 9:30am to experience Giethoorn for yourself before the tour buses show up! We arrived at 10am and had a solid hour before the town began to get unbearably busy.
Giethoorn only has 2,600 inhabitants so mornings are the best time to enjoy this town in all of its glory. The peaceful canals where you can only hear birds chirping and the wind rustling through the bankside grass are a great place to be. The tour buses begin departing around 3pm or so, making this the next best time to visit Giethoorn! But coming in the late afternoon means less time to experience Giethoorn.
Buy Snacks For A Boat Ride In Giethoorn
Before we arrived in Giethoorn we stopped into the grocery story for some strawberries to eat while punting the waterways of Giethoorn. We also purchased a couple of low alcohol beers for the ride so we could have a cheers and enjoy our little boat ride.
It was really nice to have a snack on board as the ride took quite a while due to how busy Giethoorn was that day! Enjoying the strawberries also made our boat ride feel really luxurious! But – pack whatever you feel like eating!
Book Your Boat Rental As Soon As Your Arrive In Giethoorn
As Giethoorn can get quite busy as the day progresses, don’t take a chance on your boat rental! We waited until about 11:30am before we decided to get a boat rented and we struggled to find a boat! We got lucky at one boat rental as the people who had reserved their boat never showed up. Otherwise we might have been out of luck!
You can rent a boat in advance of coming to Giethoorn online. However if you are unsure of your day schedule then it’s best to wait until arriving – just book it straight away!
The boat route you can take is the same for everyone. You must follow the route. When you rent a boat, you will receive a map and an explanation of how to steer. Please pay attention to this information! You don’t want to be those tourists that capsize. The boat punting route is quite pleasant, however you must cross the Bovenwijde – a large lake which can get very windy and choppy.
If you are not a confident boat captain, you can book on a tour boat which has a captain which guides over microphone along your journey. This is definitely the most relaxing way to do it – especially when the canal is crowded.
Dine Along The Waters Edge During Your Day Trip To Giethoorn
There’s just something so charming about sitting in a cafe/restaurant nestled alongside a body of water. It’s even more charming when its along the Giethoorn canals. There’s a handful of cafes and restaurants (and ice-cream stalls) along the main canal. So my advice is to forego a packed lunch and instead grab a table at one of these local places and enjoy watching the day pass you by.
On the day we visited Giethoorn it was exceptionally busy by lunchtime. So, for us, it was quite funny to watch the boats sailing past. Why? Well – they weren’t exactly sailing! The whole canal had so many boats it was one big boat float traffic jam!! Giethoorn was not exactly tranquil at that moment but it sure was funny!
Walk The Giethoorn Waterways On Your Day Trip
Walking the canals of Giethoorn can be very relaxing. It’s great to check out all of those stunningly manicured gardens and the beautiful thatched-roof houses. This is what makes Giethoorn stand out from other small towns in The Netherlands. Any day trip to Giethoorn would really be incomplete with having wandered along the canals.
We really enjoyed walking along the canals, crossing bridges, waving at people riding the boats, deciding which house we’d buy if we moved to Giethoorn and walking with an ice cream in hand.
But Wait – How is Giethoorn even pronounced?
Okay – having lived in the Netherlands over three years, being married to a Dutch guy AND having taken Dutch classes I can tell you that I actually know how to say this word!
The pronunciation of Giethoorn is “Heat-horn”, not “Height-horn”, not “Hate-horn”, but “Heat-horn”. The G in Dutch is more of a husky H in its pronunciation. Drag a tiny bit of phlegm up from your throat when you say it! If you can do that – the locals will pass you off as one of them!
Interested to see where else I recommend for day trips in The Netherlands? Check out more posts here.
Keen to take a Day Trip to Giethoorn? Let me help you!
Make sure you get the cheapest flights from your home town via Skyscanner if you don’t live in The Netherlands!
Need accommodation? Get a cute place in Giethoorn booked on Airbnb for an overnight stay! Or more of a hotel person? Search Booking.com!
Let me know if you are heading to Giethoorn and if you have any questions for me!
Feel free to share your adventure with me via social media – too!
And above all – have fun!
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Australian expat, married to a Dutch guy, living in Amsterdam. Previously lived in London for 3 years, too! Lover of travel, coffee, brunch, beaches, fresh flowers, and family. Now a new mum, navigating life with a baby!
2 thoughts on “Day Trip To Giethoorn from Amsterdam”
Thanks for the pronunciation tip!
So when is the best time to visit Giethoorn?
Giethoorn is best when the weather is nice! A calm sunny day 🙂 If you can swing it, go during the week and not on the weekend, and especially not on a public holiday! But if you must go on the weekend, just arrive early enough to see Giethoorn before tourist bus after tourist bus arrive 🙂 It’s a gorgeous little place and best experienced when it’s still calm.