Venture north out of Amsterdam to visit the authentic old village of Zaanse Schans, which is a working open-air museum. Your scenic drive out of Amsterdam will pass pastureland dotted with farmhouses and grazing animals. In the Zaanse Schans you will see the beautiful historical windmills and will learn more about the working of a paint pigment mill and a wood saw mill. There were once over 600 windmills in the Zaanstreek, but now only a handful have been preserved. You will also see the clog makers at work in the workshop, and learn about the history of wooden shoes in the museum.

After the Zaanse Schans you will visit a cheese farm to learn more about how the Dutch make cheese and have a little tasting as well. The highlight of the farm is to see the Jersey cows and calves walking around the farm and to see how the cows are milked by a robot machine.

Volendam is a typical Dutch fishing village and taking a walk along De Dijk and through the harbor area will not disappoint. Another stop along the tour is Woltjes Backerij, where you will step back in time to the 19th century to see how people lived then and how they made stroopwafels. If you are staying in town for lunch, we recommend the freshly caught fish.

The third location visited on the tour is the village of Marken, a former island in the Markermeer, now a peninsula. You'll travel between Marken and Volendam by boat, with a scenic, 30 minutes trip across the Ijsselmeer. Upon arrival, enjoy this quaint fishing hamlet on the shores of the former Zuider Zee, an area that dates back to the 13th century when monks constructed dikes for protection from the sea. The characteristic green and white clapboard houses of Marken have remained unchanged for centuries and, many of the local residents still wear colorful ancestral costumes, adding to the special atmosphere of this beautiful place. See how people lived in the 17 century by visiting a traditional Marker house.