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Plan Your Travel With The People Who Know!

Unesco Scenic Lake District

Day Trip, Group Tour
Offer Image
The Netherlands is home to 9 UNESCO World Heritage sites, and you will have the wonderful opportunity to discover and see 5 of them today! This small group tour is perfect for an intimate and one-on-one experience with your guide as you tour the Amsterdam Lake District, away from the large and overcrowded bus tours.

UNESCO Scenic Lake District

After meeting your local, friendly and knowledgeable representative near your ship pier, you will depart Amsterdam for this amazing journey of discovery. A short, 15 minutes later in your comfortable, air-conditioned minivan, you will have left behind the busy city center and along the way you will discover the Dutch countryside, picturesque villages, savor typical Dutch food and so much more.

Start the day with two UNESCO sites, world-famous Beemster polder and the Defense Line of Amsterdam. Discover how the Dutch were masters over the water, as early as the 16th century by reclaiming land and using water in the battle against enemy attacks.

Next you will visit the world-famous Afsluitdijk (Enclosing Dike). Leisurely discover this amazing dike while you enjoy a wonderful view of the IJssellake, the biggest fresh-water lake of the Netherlands. Cross the dike to the next UNESCO World Heritage Site on the list, the Wadden Sea.

Then it's off to a picturesque open-air museum village, where the locals will welcome you for a trip back in time. After enjoying a typical, traditional delicious Dutch farmers lunch in a unique restaurant overlooking the scenic, beautiful Dutch countryside, continue your journey and learn about the 11 cities of Friesland, while on the way to Hindeloopen to meet your local resident guide.

In this beautiful, scenic city with only 900 inhabitants, your guide will tell you the secrets and brilliant details of this once very wealthy city. You will learn where the beautiful Hindelooper painting found its origin while one of the last local painters gives a demonstration. Of-course there's plenty of free time to explore and discover on your own. Take a scenic walk across the dike and buy some traditional souvenirs you will not find anywhere else on this special day.

The next stop is another UNESCO treasure, the impressive Ir. D.F. Wouda Steam Pumping Station. Be provided a grand tour by one of the operators and enjoy learning the history of this building as you follow closely as he gives you exclusive entry.

The last stop on this full day of exploring this panoramic little country is another true UNESCO World Heritage Site. Have you ever been on an island which has been "swallowed" by land? Your local guides will take you to the former seabed where you will find the "island" of Schokland. It's impressive to learn all the history surrounding this island as the inhabitants were sent away by their own government.

After this final stop it's time to explore more reclaimed land in the Dutch countryside with meadows, cows and Frisian horses as you make your way back to Amsterdam. A day you will remember forever includes photo stops wherever you wish in the company of an experienced driver and guide and stories and history given to you directly from residents happy to share their country with you.

Book today as not to miss your chance at this once-in-a-lifetime experience, this tour will almost always sell out fast.

About Shore Excursions Group
Shore Excursions Group logo
ABOUT US
Shore Excursions Group was created with one goal in mind: to provide exceptional travel experiences to cruise passengers in the ports they visit around the world. To accomplish this, we have compiled an exceptional array of tours delivered by local experts with decades of experience serving travelers and delivering excellent tours. Our owners and management team are comprised of seasoned travel industry executives who leverage their considerable experience to deliver memories of a lifetime.

We are experts in providing exceptional shore excursions. We understand that in today's fast paced world, vacations have become an increasingly important way to relax, reconnect with family and friends, and experience new and interesting places. With this in mind, we provide the highest quality tours by performing extensive research, and detailed reviews. While other companies also offer excursions, we strongly believe our expertise and approach set us apart. The large cruise lines sell shore excursions - typically in very large groups visiting high traffic sites. We focus on smaller groups visiting more interesting and authentic locations using more personalized local operators. While the cruise lines are experts in delivering cruises, we are experts in delivering shore excursions.

Our Approach
We believe quality service is not only highly valued by customers, but ultimately leads to better experiences and higher satisfaction. Unlike the cruise lines and other tour companies that rely almost entirely on websites, we encourage customers to call us. We want to invest our time answering your questions, providing input, and selecting the excursions that best meet your needs.

Our Tours
Our goal is to provide customers a wide array of exciting, appealing, and enriching tours. For those customers who prefer to travel in smaller groups with more personalized service, we offer a wide variety of small group tours around the world. These tours generally range in size from 2-12 people compared to larger tours which can number up to 50 people. While exploring the destinations and ports on this website, feel free to search for these "Small Group Tours". For those customers interested in private tours, we offer many outstanding excursions that allow you to travel with your party alone and, in many cases, to fully customize your tour. Search for "Private Tours" if you are interested in this experience. Our "Scenic" tours provide up close and personal access to some of the most spectacular natural environments on Earth from majestic glaciers in Alaska to spectacular reefs in the Caribbean. Our "Cultural" tours allow customers to experience local customs, entertainment and culinary delights ranging from tribal dances in Alaska to an outstanding local meal in Santorini, Greece. Our "Active" tours offer a multitude of exciting and adventurous ways to experience our destinations. Our customers can kayak the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, hike to a spectacular waterfall in Hawaii, or bicycle through quaint villages in France. Our "City" tours allow travelers to see the highlights of great cities around the world with unique insights provided by our expert tour guides.

Our People
In our experience, exceptional travel experiences are almost always delivered by exceptional people. With that in mind, we utilize a comprehensive approach to select and employ the leading tour guides and tour providers around the globe. We hold our people to very high standards which we measure by our comprehensive Quality Control process and, most importantly, by our customer feedback, which we will actively seek from each of our customers.

Our Owners
Shore Excursions Group is owned by seasoned travel executives possessing extensive experience across many sectors within the travel industry.

Bradford J. Miller
Mr. Miller is the former Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer for Abercrombie & Kent, the World's leading luxury travel company. In that role, Mr. Miller was responsible for contributing to Abercrombie & Kent's international growth through the development and acquisition of tour products and travel experiences around the world with a specific focus on cruising and land based experiences. Prior to joining Abercrombie & Kent, Mr. Miller held a variety of executive positions with Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises for more than a decade. These positions included Vice President of Guest Sales & Service, Vice President of Brand Development, and Vice President of Onboard Revenue (which included shore excursions). Mr. Miller also led Celebrity Expeditions, a collection of outstanding and unique tours around the World.

Michael Bonner
Mr. Bonner has over a decade of experience working in the cruise industry in a variety of roles for both Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Viking River Cruises. Most recently, Mr. Bonner was the Chief Operating Officer for The Scholar Ship, a Royal Caribbean program aimed at providing college students onboard educational programs in conjunction with enriching shore excursions around the world. Mr. Bonner also helped co-manage Viking River Cruises U.S. Operations, and he ran the corporate, strategic, and deployment planning functions at Royal Caribbean. While at Royal Caribbean, Mr. Bonner was responsible for forming Royal Celebrity Tours, Royal Caribbean's land-based tour operation in Alaska, which takes cruise passengers on multiple day tours through the interior of Alaska either before or after their cruises. Prior to working at Royal Caribbean, Mr. Bonner was a consultant for Booz Allen & Hamilton.
Starting At
$239.00 USD
Per Person
 
Tour Type
Group
 
Group Size
Small
 
Activity Type(s)
Cultural, Scenic
 
Tour Duration
8.5 Hours
 
Activity Level
Easy
 
Tour Leaves From
Near Cruise Ship Pier
 
Food/Beverage Provided
Lunch is Included.
 
Special Instructions
We recommend wearing comfortable and casual, weather-appropriate clothing and sturdy walking shoes.
 
Restrictions
Guests must be able to get in and out of transportation. This tour is not wheelchair accessible.

Location