In Waterland polder stretches before you out to the horizon, broken only by a church tower here and there in some distant village. Here it is difficult to understand how you can be in the most densely populated country in Europe, birds, cows, sheep and horses far outnumbering people. The grasslands and canals that make up Waterland are busy. In the spring its the breeding grounds for numerous bird species, often sharing their grounds with livestock. In August, its a busy place as birds prepare for their journey south and other birds rest on their trek southward already begun.

Of course there are people too and the villages in and around Waterland are some of the most charming in Holland. Small and quiet today Zunderdorp, Ransdorp, Broek in Waterland, Holysloot, Durgerdam, Zuiderwoude evoke tranquility, far different from the Golden Age when they would have been linked to the Zuider Zee and Amsterdam’s trade-born boom.

Tour Hightlights:
Four to five hour tour: polder, lots of bird life, pretty villages Zunderdorp, Ransdorp, Broek in Waterland, Holysloot, Durgerdam, Zuiderwoude. Six to seven hour tour: add Edam and Volendam
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