(GROUP)TRAVEL - PROGRAMS 

Whether you have a single "private" tour or a series of tours year round, your travel assistant at ITO TOURS can assist you in planning your trip to Amsterdam and its surroundings.

2 or 3 nights HOLLAND program (3 or 4 days)

We suggest a hotel on the outskirts of Amsterdam; close to all major roads. On arrival your guests can enjoy an 3 course evening meal at the hotel and get some rest at the various facilities the 4* hotels have to offer.

For the first day we recommend a city tour on your coach through the centre of Amsterdam with a touristic guide. This extensive tour will answer all your questions about Amsterdam and includes the Royal Palace, The Mint Tower, the flower market, the former Jewish Quarter with the flea market, the museum quarter, the charming Jordaan quarter with the Western Church, etc. Als shown are the harbour and the infamous Red Light District. A trip will last 4 hours (half day guide) or 8 hours (full day guide).

For the lunch we have several authentic Dutch restaurants in the centre of Amsterdam, which serve delicious meals for groups from 15 to 150 persons.

After lunch we can arrange a canal cruise through the seventeenth-century canals and see the famous waterfront facades.

The sights of the city will be shown from a different point of view including the quaint arched bridges, the narrowest canal, the Dutch East India Company Ship "de Amsterdam" and the 'Magere Brug'-bridge. The trip will take your group both to the Old and to the New harbour. Canal cruise will take aprox. 1 hour.

In the afternoon there can be a visit to one of the many musea in Amsterdam (Van Gogh museum/Rijksmuseum/Anne Frankhuis) or just a few leisurely hours to stroll around in the park, sit on the terrace and watch the people passing by or just go shopping!

If you decide to have a the afternoon at leisure, the canal cruise can also be done at night when all bridges are lit. A "wine and cheese"-trip bij boat is a unique experience. And even a dinner cruise on one of the boats will be possible!

Second day can be a tour along windmills, water and medieval villages. We recommend to hire a touristic guide for the day.

Your morning will start with a hearthy breakfast at your hotel. After picking up the guide, you will drive to the north of Amsterdam and visit "De Zaanse Schans". This is a small - 40 house - community on the banks of the river 'Zaan'. There used to be 700 windmills here on the turn of the 18th century. Nowadays, only 5 are left. Houses are made of green timber, have steep roofs and white windows. Very good photo opportunities!

Then we drive through typical Dutch scenery to Volendam, a traditional ols Dutch fishermans village situated on the shores of the former Zuiderzee. Along the road we will stop at a cheesefarm and a clog maker. Entrance is free of charge and a short guided tour is included. When we arrive in Volendam a short walk to the harbour will bring us to the restaurant to enjoy a 3 course lunch. Volendam is the perfect spot to pick up your Dutch souvenirs and watch the locals pass by in their traditional clothing.

The afternoon can be either the former island of Marken (short boat ride from Volendam) with the traditional houses and their locals in multi-coloured clothing or you can visit the Closure Dike ('Afsluitdijk'). This major Dam, constructed between 1927 and 1933, connect Northern Holland with Friesland over a length of 32 km (20 miles). It is a fundamental part of the lager Zuiderzee works, damming off the Zuiderzee, a salt water inlet of the North Sea and turning it into the fresh water water lake of the IJsselmeer.