Amsterdam Windmill ToursThe Zaandam Lego Houses Tour: Windmills, a Stacked Hotel and Volendam
The Zaandam Lego houses tour is the only trip from Amsterdam that stops at the Inntel hotel, the stack of seventy green Zaan house facades piled twelve storeys high beside Zaandam station, and it does it inside a half day that also covers Zaanse Schans, a cheese farm and Volendam. It runs by midibus with a maximum of 29 travellers, a bilingual guide in English and Spanish, and rates 4.8 from 1,405 reviews at $34. That is the highest score of any GetYourGuide option on this site. It sits alongside the other Amsterdam windmill tours compared here.
The Tour at a Glance
5.5 hours, morning and afternoon departures
De Ruijterkade 151, beside the Aloha bowling entrance behind Centraal
Midibus, maximum 29 travellers
Bilingual, English and Spanish
Zaanse Schans 80 min, Zaandam photo stop 10 min, cheese farm 45 min, Volendam 80 min
4.8 from 1,405 reviews, the highest here
From $34 per person
Check Dates and Times
Live availability for the midibus departures. Both a morning and an afternoon slot run most days, and the morning one reaches Zaanse Schans before the full-size coaches.
The Stop Nobody Else Makes
The Inntel Hotel, Ten Minutes and Worth It
Beside Zaandam station stands a twelve-storey hotel built as a stack of about seventy traditional Zaan house facades, painted in the green the region used for its timber houses, with one house picked out in Monet blue. Architects call it a critical piece of regional postmodernism. Everyone on the bus calls it the Lego house.
The stop lasts ten minutes and is purely for photographs. It works precisely because the rest of the day is genuine seventeenth-century timber: you spend eighty minutes among the real green houses at Zaanse Schans, then ten in front of a building that piled them up as a joke and meant it seriously.
Why the Midibus Changes the Day
Twenty-nine seats rather than sixty. The vehicle parks closer, unloads faster and moves through the cheese farm without a queue forming behind it, which is most of why this listing carries the highest rating of the four GetYourGuide options here.
Maria, writing on 24 July 2026, described the shape of it accurately: "Volendam is a small beautiful village and Zaanse Schans an outdoor windmill museum. Lego Houses is just a five minute stop for photos of a hotel with a strange facade." Pallavi, two days earlier: "Covered a whole lot in very little time and did not feel rushed."
What the Half Day Covers
Zaanse Schans, 80 Minutes
The longest stop of the day, twenty-five minutes north of the meeting point. Eighty minutes covers the dike path, the mills from outside, the clog workshop and a coffee.
It does not cover a mill interior comfortably unless you go straight there. If that is your priority, walk to De Kat first: it opens at 9:00, charges €7.50, and the platform outside gives the best view of the whole row.
- Windmill interiors are not included in the ticket
- The village, the paths and the clog workshop cost nothing
- 80 minutes is enough for one mill if you go there first
The Cheese Farm, 45 Minutes
A short introduction to cheese-making and clog craftsmanship, then a tasting across young to aged Dutch cheeses. Forty-five minutes is generous for this stop compared with the coach tours, which give it fifteen.
Volendam, 80 Minutes
The fishing village on the old Zuiderzee: a working harbour, gabled houses along the quay, fried fish counters and stroopwafel stalls. Eighty minutes is enough to eat and walk to the quiet end of the harbour, which most coach itineraries do not allow.
How the Half Day Runs
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Start
De Ruijterkade 151, beside the Aloha bowling entrance
Behind Amsterdam Centraal on the waterfront. Look for the white midibus rather than a full-size coach.
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+25 min
North to the Zaan
Commentary on Dutch traditions and the mill economy on the way up.
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80 min
Zaanse Schans
The mills, the green timber houses and the clog workshop. Mill interiors are paid at the door.
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10 min
Zaandam, the Inntel hotel
The photo stop: seventy stacked Zaan facades, twelve storeys, one of them Monet blue.
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+25 min
East to the cheese farm
Across the polder toward the old Zuiderzee shore.
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45 min
Cheese farm
Cheese and clog craftsmanship, then a tasting from young to aged.
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80 min
Volendam
The harbour, the fish counters and free time along the quay.
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+30 min
Back to Amsterdam
Returns to the same point behind Centraal, five and a half hours after the start.
Practical Notes
What to Bring, and What Is Not Allowed
A midibus, two outdoor villages and a photo stop with no shelter. Not suitable for wheelchair users, and the operator also sets an upper age limit on its listing, so check that before booking for an older traveller.
- Bring: a windproof layer, a card for the €7.50 mill entry, and cash-free payment for the fish counters
- Not allowed: hotel pickup, which this operator does not offer at all
- Meals and drinks are excluded apart from the cheese tasting
- Optional entrance fees are on you: nothing beyond the cheese farm is included
Where the 4.8 Comes From
Small vehicle, generous stop times and a guide working in two languages. The reviews name the guides more than the sights, which is usually the sign of a tour that runs the same way every day.
Rana, 20 July 2026: "Our guide was friendly, knowledgeable, and shared lots of interesting information throughout the day. The itinerary was well organized." That, and eighty minutes at each of the two main stops, is the entire explanation.
Where the Tour Goes
Zaanse Schans and Zaandam on the Zaan, then east to Volendam on the Markermeer shore.
Who It Suits
Book It If
This is the pick for a half day that does not feel like a conveyor belt.
- You want a smaller vehicle without paying small-group prices
- You want real time at each stop rather than a walk-through
- You are travelling in Spanish as well as English
- The stacked Inntel facade is the photograph you came for
Not Suitable For
Two exclusions come straight from the operator's own listing.
- Wheelchair users
- Older travellers: the operator sets an upper age limit, so confirm before booking
- Anyone wanting Marken or Edam, which this itinerary skips
- Anyone who needs hotel pickup, which is not offered
Questions About the Lego Houses Tour
What are the Lego houses in Zaandam?
The Inntel hotel beside Zaandam station, built as a stack of around seventy traditional green Zaan house facades twelve storeys high, with one house picked out in Monet blue. The tour stops for about ten minutes, purely for photographs.
How big is the group?
A maximum of 29 travellers in a midibus. That is half the size of the full coaches on the other GetYourGuide trips here, and it is the main reason this listing rates 4.8.
Is windmill entry included?
No. The ticket covers the coach, the guide, the cheese farm and the tasting. Going inside a mill at Zaanse Schans costs €7.50 for adults at the door, and the 80-minute stop is long enough for one if you head straight there.
Does the tour visit Marken or Edam?
No. This itinerary is Zaanse Schans, Zaandam and Volendam. For Marken and Edam take the eight-hour bus tour or the full-day trip.
Is there hotel pickup?
No. You make your own way to De Ruijterkade 151 behind Amsterdam Centraal, beside the Aloha bowling entrance.
How long do you get at each stop?
Eighty minutes at Zaanse Schans, ten at the Zaandam photo stop, forty-five at the cheese farm and eighty at Volendam, inside a five-and-a-half-hour half day.
Recent Reviews
Loved the whole trip and the details shared by our tour guide Anna Maria. Covered a whole lot in very little time and did not feel rushed.
Very nice experience. Volendam is a small beautiful village and Zaanse Schans an outdoor windmill museum. Lego Houses is just a five minute stop for photos of a hotel with a strange facade.
We had a fantastic day trip in the Netherlands! Our guide was friendly, knowledgeable, and shared lots of interesting information throughout the day. The itinerary was well organized.