The Truth About Visiting Giethoorn

If you use Pinterest (or possibly even on Facebook) then you’ve probably seen photos of the Dutch town of Giethoorn. Touted as being idyllic and serene, with no roads and hardly any people (maybe just some cows on a boat) it certainly looks like the perfect place for a peaceful getaway. I’d been hoping to visit for a while now, and during the holidays a few weeks back Dennis and I finally went for a road-trip to Giethoorn! Here’s what we discovered…

About Giethoorn

Giethoorn is a village in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It’s about an hour and a half drive from Amsterdam, and is known for being very pretty as it contains very few roads and much of the village can only be reached by foot or boat. There are many canals and bridges (more than 180 bridges) which only adds to its picturesque charm. Most of the houses and cottages have thatched roofs so it feels a little as if you have stepped back in time as you walk along the footpath by the canal admiring the pretty homes and perhaps stopping for lunch at one of the canal-side cafes or restaurants.

One fun fact that locals are apparently very proud of, is that Giethoorn beat out around 182 contenders across the world to become a destination on the 80th anniversary international edition of Monopoly (in 2015)! You can also find out a little more about just how they managed this here.

The Truth About Visiting Giethoorn

Now that you know the nitty-gritty details about Giethoorn I’m going to let you in on a few little secrets that I discovered when visiting this well-known destination for myself! Just think of me as your travel Mythbuster as I sort the facts from fiction so you can make an informed decision for yourself before you go to Giethoorn.

Fact or Fiction: Giethoorn is a town with no roads?

Well, yes and no. Technically, no; the village of Giethoorn does have roads and even car parks, but there is a large section in the middle that is only accessible by footpath or canal. Most likely, if you’ve seen a photo of Giethoorn, it’s been taken along one main walking strip where there are a lot of canal-side cafes, shops and restaurants; as well as places where you can hire whisper boats to explore the canals. Some of Giethoorn’s residents would definitely only be able to access their house by canal, which must make grocery shopping and moving house interesting events! But there are roads, so you can arrive by car and even park for free and then walk alongside the canals to see all the famous and most picturesque spots without renting a boat.

Fact or Fiction: Giethoorn is an idyllic, untouched destination?

Again, the answer to this question is a bit of a ‘yes and no’ one. You might have heard of Giethoorn being called “The Venice of the Netherlands,” or ‘Little Venice’, and if by Venice you mean ‘pretty canals but packed with tourists’ then yes, Giethoorn is just like Venice. Giethoorn has become quite a popular destination lately, so you might be rudely surprised when you visit to find it very busy with tour groups and other visitors, wandering around the paths in packs or clogging up the canals in their rented whisper-boats. I actually found it quite amusing how full of tourists in boats the canals were, many of whom didn’t seem to actually know how to steer their little boats, so they were constantly bumping into the edges of the canals and other boats like some sort of slow-motion dodgem’ boats. Those peaceful-looking photos of cottages by the water with not a soul in sight? You have to wait quite a while and time your photography skills by a split-second in order to avoid scenes like these two:

The footpaths beside the canals are quite small, and so many visitors would just randomly stop to take photos, or mill around in packs talking and not moving out of the way of other pedestrians, that it also got a bit frustrating at times. Along with the ‘whisper-boats’ you can see in the above photo (they thankfully make very little engine sound) there were also much larger tour boats chugging along at times, with tour guides’ amplified voices added to the noise. The boats full of vacationers were often moving along bumper to bumper (when they weren’t bumping into each other). Here are some photos of the main part of Giethoorn, complete with lots of visitors:

HOWEVER, we did visit during the August summer holidays, which is basically the busiest time of year. I have been assured by reliable sources that Giethoorn is a lot quieter and more peaceful during the shoulder and off-seasons, especially if you stay overnight so you can enjoy the town after all the tourist groups have left or early in the morning. So, let’s tackle the last question:

Fact or fiction: Giethoorn is a beautiful destination?

I would have to say, YES! I mean, yeah there are a lot of other tourists (depending on when you go), but they don’t change the fact that the town itself IS actually very pretty; it wouldn’t be so popular if it wasn’t. There are boxes of flowers on a lot of the bridges, the houses are all immaculately cared for with beautiful painted shutters and gorgeous gardens. It’s also very nice to sit beside the canals and watch the boats, ducks and swans go by, whether you sit on the ground or a bench with a picnic, or in one of the canal-side restaurants.

Some of my favourite photos actually included the people in their boats (like the one above which I think is funny – the teenage girl ignoring the beauty around her to look at her phone) or this lovely one below:

Getting to Giethoorn

There are three main ways to get to Giethoorn. If you have your own car or a hire car it will take about an hour and a half to get to Giethoorn from Amsterdam. There’s a free parking lot on Bartus Warnersweg where we managed to snag a spot. The best thing about going with your own car means you can also easily detour to other places that are hard to reach by public transport, such as Pantropica, which is an awesome indoor, tropical garden not far from Giethoorn.

If you don’t have your own car the easiest way to visit Giethoorn would be via a tour. I did some research on GetYourGuide and found two very highly rated day trips to Giethoorn from Amsterdam that differ slightly depending on what you want. This one takes you to Giethoorn, includes a one-hour sightseeing boat cruise through Giethoorn, some free time to wander by yourself, and also stops at the interesting Afsluitdijk on the way for photos. This second one is basically the same but costs about twenty euros more and doesn’t seem to go via the Afsluitdijk, but it has received more reviews and has a slightly higher score (4.7 versus 4.4 stars average). I would personally still choose the more affordable one but that’s totally up to you!

The third way to get to Giethoorn is via public transport, which takes the most amount of time but is possible. You can catch a train from Amsterdam to Steenwijk (probably with a train change halfway) and then a bus from Steenwijk into Giethoorn. The whole trip will take you around 2 hours. I would only recommend doing this if you are thinking of staying overnight (or longer) in Giethoorn as it’s a lot of time and effort (and money!) for just a day trip. If you stay overnight, or longer, then you’ll also be able to enjoy the town without as many crowds in the evening and early morning.

Where to Stay in Giethoorn

There are some nice AirBnBs in Giethoorn as well as a few hotels. Hotel de Harmonie is a four-star hotel a little way out of the town centre (but still within walking distance). Rooms include breakfast and the hotel also rents bikes and boats directly. If you’re travelling on a budget then The Black Sheep Hostel is probably the cheapest option, although it’s a really nice-looking hostel and also includes breakfast! There are some other three-star hotels as well as bed-and-breakfasts if you’d like some more accommodation options for Giethoorn.

You could also combine a trip to Giethoorn with visiting the city of Zwolle. There are some very nice places to stay in Zwolle as well and it’s also an interesting and pretty city. Read more about what to do in Zwolle here if you’re thinking of combining a trip to Giethoorn and Zwolle.

What to do in Giethoorn

So you’ve got your transport and accommodation all sorted, but if you’re wondering what there is to do in Giethoorn, I’ve got you! The main attraction is literally just to walk around oohing and aahing over how cute the place is and, you know, take a million photos for your Insta. But there are some other things to do in Giethoorn too, like:

• Go on a boat cruise: I mentioned the bigger boats that take you around the canals of Giethoorn, so you can see the prettiness from the water, learn about the town from your guide and not have to worry about bumping into other boats because you have no idea what you’re doing! These covered boat tours are also accessible for wheelchairs or people with small children in prams.

• Rent a whisper-boat, punt or sloop: If you feel confident in your ability to navigate the waterways in Giethoorn, then go for it! You can rent the little whisper boats from multiple places along the canals, but they do tend to get busy in summer, so I recommend booking online before you go to Giethoorn.

• Eat! There are quite a few little cafes and restaurants lining the canals, make sure you check them out for a meal or just an ice cream. There’s also a Dutch cheese shop if you’re into cheese. To save money you can also just bring picnic supplies from the supermarket and plop yourself down next to the water (like we did).

• Visit a museum: Giethoorn is home to a couple of small museums like ‘t Olde Maat Uus Museum which teaches you about the history of Giethoorn and often has actors in traditional clothing to do so.

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Have you ever dreamed of exploring Giethoorn, or have you been? Let me know in the comments what you think about this famous Dutch town! And don’t forget to pin one of these for later if you are planning to ever visit Giethoorn for yourself.