How to Get there?

By Train: The nearest train station is Steenwijk. From there you can take bus/taxi to reach the Giethoorn. You use ns.nl to plan your journey time and train fare.

By Bus: You can board bus line no 70 from Steenwijk train station. Buses are not that often, you have service only once per hour. It takes about 20 minutes from Steenwijk to Giethoorn. The bus stop that you need to get down at Giethoorn is called “Dominee Hylkemaweg”.

By Car: If you’re driving in, you have to park the car in one of the several parking places outside the village (since the village of Giethoorn is only reachable by bike, boat or on foot afterward). All the parking places are “free”; however, it is handy to park at one of the boat/bike rental companies’ private parking, so that you can hop directly into a boat or rent a bike. 

We parked our car at `T Zwaantje and rented boats from them. There’s also a public parking place nearby (Google Maps location here)

By TAXI: If you have no luck with public transport, then taxi is the only option. But this is the Netherlands, taxis are always quite expensive. 

What to do in Giethoorn? 

# 1: A must-do in Giethoorn is to rent a boat. You can rent your own boat or go for a guided canal cruise. This is by far the best way to explore Giethoorn. There are several boat rental options and there also different kinds of boats. You can rent a boat with an electronic motor, a canoe paddling boat, a ‘whisper boat’ or a punter. 

I would recommend hiring one of the electric whisper boats and self-drive. These boats are smooth, slow and are fairly easy to ride; you don’t need any special cruising skills/experience. Of course, you’ll make a few minor collisions with other boats (and that's the fun😀, no one is going to get hurt, nor complaint; these are very slow boats). Within 10-15 minutes, you’ll become an expert cruiser and enjoy the trip to the best. 

#2: Another option is to explore Giethoorn is by bike. There are several bike rental companies in Giethoorn. When cycling, beware of the steep bridges. If you’re not good at biking, it’s better to go on foot!. 

#3: You can also visit the two museums ‘Het Olde Maat Uus‘which is a typical farmhouse and ‘De Oude Aarde‘ (The Old Earth) - showcases a beautiful collection of minerals and fossils. But both these museums are very small; worth only if you have a taste to it.

Where to stay in Giethoorn?

Since its a small village, you don’t have many options for Hotels/hostels. There are 1-2 hotels that I noticed - Hotel de Harmonie and T Zwaantje, but both of them charge more than € 100 per night!!!. There’re also some Bread&Breakfast and camping sites. 

You can use Booking.com or Hostelworld.com to find out the nearby accommodation options.

Where to eat?

Same issue with dining as well – not many options to choose from. Couple of restaurants I noted were De Lindenhof (this seemed to be popular, saw a decent crowd, located at a farmhouse with beautiful garden); the other one was - De Molenmeester. This was also beautiful, located nearby a small windmill. (I haven’t tasted their food, so I can only say as “beautiful”; not as “tasty” yet😜)

Now, watch a sneak preview of Giethoorn in the video below 👇