Netherlands Tours & Vacation Packages

Amsterdam sits at the northern end of the Western Europe circuit, so routes starting in Paris, Frankfurt or Luxembourg City all reach it, and routes starting in Amsterdam run the same circuit in the other direction. This means the Netherlands can be a first stop, a midpoint or a finishing point depending on where you begin. The order of stops for each route is on the tour page.

Starting in Amsterdam means the city comes first and you have the option of time there before departure. Passing through on a route from elsewhere means Amsterdam is one stop among several, usually with an overnight. The number of routes starting in Amsterdam is smaller than the number passing through, so starting there narrows the choice while giving you the city up front.

Dutch stops on these routes are concentrated around Amsterdam rather than spread across the country. Zaanse Schans, the preserved windmill village north of the city, appears on several itineraries. Keukenhof, the bulb gardens, is seasonal and only on itineraries running in spring. Routes then cross into Belgium rather than continuing further into the Netherlands.

More than on most parts of these routes. The bulb gardens open for a limited window in spring and are closed for the rest of the year, so an itinerary that lists them will only include them on spring departures. Canal cruises and the windmill village run through the year. Winter brings short daylight hours, which affects how much fits into a stop. Seasonal notes are on the tour page.

Belgium and Luxembourg almost always, since the three sit close together and routes cross all of them in sequence. Germany and France follow on most itineraries, usually through Cologne or Trier heading east, or through Brussels heading south toward Paris. Longer routes carry on into Switzerland and Italy. Each tour page lists every country on the route.

It varies by route rather than by country. Some departures are guided in English, some in English and Mandarin Chinese, and some list other languages. Where group numbers are small, travellers speaking different languages may share the same coach. The languages for each departure are stated on the tour page.