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FAQ

OUR FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Giethoorn is a water village located in the Weerribben-Wieden National Park. The National Park is located in the very top of the Dutch province Overijssel and belongs to the municipality of Steenwijkerland. About 2800 inhabitants live in Giethoorn (reference date 1 January 2021).

Giethoorn is also called Dutch Venice or “the village with no roads” by our foreign guests.

The Weerribben-Wieden National Park is the largest continuous peat bog in northwestern Europe.

Giethoorn has a number of tourist attractions.

Museum Giethoorn ‘t Olde Moat Uus. This is a museum where you can see how life used to be in Giethoorn.

Personal stories of striking residents reveal all kinds of things about peat extraction and special customs. This is the only place, where you can see an authentic Gieter farm from the inside. The fisherman’s cottage and the boathouse also give a unique impression of the simple existence in this water-rich village. There is a film, a museum shop with coffee corner and there is plenty to discover for children. Audio tour in several languages (free of charge).

Museum “De Oude Aarde” (The Old Earth). Discover the beauty of mother nature here. The most beautiful gemstones, minerals and fossils have been collected in this museum since 1969. Due to the many voyages of discovery of René Boissevain (the founder of the museum), the museum is filled with a unique collection. Discover the wondrous shapes, brilliant colors and stones you never dreamed existed, you’ll find them all in the dimly lit museum. Here you will find the largest egg in the world, the Amethyst geode from Brazil and the petrified tree trunk from America.

And here are some more:

  • Gloria Maris Shell Gallery
  • Rhoda pottery shop
  • Gallery Krikke


Of course, there are also nice souvenir shops and boutiques such as the Wapen van Giethoorn, Venice, Het Rode Pleintje and “In Den Coop’ren Duikhelm”. You can spend the night at the hospitable hotels and the cozy bed and breakfasts. You can eat and drink at many cozy hotels, restaurants, ice cream parlors, snack bars and cafes.

And how could it be otherwise in our water village? Enjoy the numerous possibilities to move over the water.

Giethoorn is famous for its village canals with countless bridges, beautiful gardens and extensive lakes. “Like in a fairytale” –as many of our foreign guests say.

Think about letting yourself sail around in a tour boat/private tour in a sloop or go sailing yourself in a sloop, whisper boat, the punt, canoe or kayak. You can also go supping, windsurfing or kitesurfing here.

At our boat yard, you can rent a boat / Puntersloop where a total of 8 guests can board. You will also find a wide range on the Giethoorn.com platform. Of course, you can also contact the other boat rental companies in the village.

Our boats are traditional handmade spacious oak boats (“Punters”), executed with slightly higher edges. This makes it suitable for all ages, but it certainly is the ideal family boat. Enjoy a wonderful carefree journey with just the two of you, your family, relatives or with your friends. Even for guests who find it a bit scary on board, it is a very suitable boat because it does not wobble so much. Due to the flat bottom, it is super stable. Children are always equipped with a life jacket for free. We also have a few in stock for adults who feel safer then. You can rent this boat/Puntersloop for max. 8 people.

In Giethoorn, it is only allowed to rent boats that are powered by an electric motor. These boats are called whisper boats.

Sailing with our boats costs €33 per hour if you rent for a longer period of time. You get a nice stable and safe boat that can accommodate up to 8 people. On reservation, you can hire the boat for a minimum of 2 hours in the morning and a minimum of 3 hours in the afternoon. You never pay more than the daily rate which is € 160. You can then use the boat from 10 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.

Our boats are equipped with a beautiful cushion set with removable covers of artificial leather. On cooler days, you will be given a fleece blanket.

You can rent a simple and narrow boat made from steel/aluminium elsewhere in the village for around €20 per hour. Renting a larger boat/sloop in the village costs between €30 and €50 per hour.

Our authentic boat (“Punter”) is built of oak and has a flat bottom, which makes it very stable in the water. The boat is equipped with a large front box, 2 spacious side boxes and a rear box. This creates a cozy seating area, just like with a sloop. There is plenty of space on board to store things. The boat has room for 8 adults. The boat is powered by a 1000 watt electric motor which has enough battery capacity to sail all day (7.5 hours). The boat is set at 6 km per hour, the maximum speed allowed in Giethoorn. There is a rubber edge around the boat so that it can be easily installed anywhere and it protects the boat in the busy canal.

Whisper boats made of polyester, aluminium and steel are also offered in the village. You can choose from all kinds of models: sloops, punts and console boats.

We follow the guidelines of the Dutch health authorities (RIVM) and the government. If you have any questions, feel free to call us or send us an email or a WhatsApp message.

Our company is located in the quiet part of Giethoorn (North). If you want to sail a route through the touristic part of Giethoorn, we advise you to rent the boat for at least 3 hours. Do you want to moor the boat for a while or stop at a terrace? Then rent an extra hour. We also have routes through nature reserves (2 hours or more).

You can park your car for free. We have our own private parking across the street, opposite the boats. That is just as easy for whatever you wish to bring  on board. If you come by bus, the stop is only 150 meters away from our yard.
The advantage is that it is a bit quieter in our part of the village. You will receive a detailed explanation about the routes to be sailed, the handling of the engine and a navigation card. As you do not immediately sail in the bustle of the touristic part, you can first get to know the boat. If you ever get lost, we will gladly take the time to help you get back on track. You can also head into the nature reserves right away and avoid any traffic.  

From our boat yard, you can decide on different directions to discover this beautiful area. If you go for idyllic and quiet, you can sail towards the Weerribben, through the village of Dwarsgracht or take a boat trip through the picturesque Giethoorn North and the adjoining nature reserve.

If you prefer a lively crowd, you can go to the southern part of Giethoorn (with more tourism). The whole village is very photogenic with its fairytale scenes, paths, waterways and countless bridges, pretty thatched farmhouses and beautifully landscaped gardens. You can then get off the boat and enjoy an inviting terrace, a museum, a jetty, stop at a reed collar or on the island in the middle of the lake (“Bovenwijde”).

The busy season in Giethoorn is from April to the end of October. Outside the main season, there are some boats in service. During the summer holidays, we have an absolute peak from mid-July to the end of August. The same is valid for the public holidays in May (Pentecost and Ascension Day). It can therefore be very busy on sunny days. Of course, you can always book one hour more in order to plan your trip. Giethoorn is simply very popular among tourists.

Giethoorn has had 177 bridges since 2017.

In Giethoorn, the canals are about 70 cm deep, on the lakes around one meter. There are some places where it’s a little deeper. There is also a lot of mud on the bottom. This is especially dangerous for children who cannot swim. When they fall overboard, they usually go head-down first. Mud getting into the lungs can cause pneumonia. We therefore provide a life jacket for all children who cannot swim. Safety first!

A dog is allowed in our boats. After the boat trip, every boat is cleaned thoroughly before the next  guests get in. We now have wipeable cushion sets made of artificial leather.

Of course we can’t control the weather in Giethoorn. We do offer to switch the boat rental to another day up to 24 hours in advance. If this is not possible, please discuss this with us before booking, and we will look for a suitable option should it be too rainy or windy on the day of booking.

Giethoorn has a tourist area where it can be pleasantly busy in summer with souvenir shops, boutiques, galleries, museums, many cosy hotels and restaurants, ice cream parlors, snack bars and cafes. The local supermarket Plus and a tourist information can also be found there.

No, there is no station in Giethoorn. Take the intercity Leeuwarden or Zwolle and get off at Steenwijk (intercity station) to continue by “bus 70”. Or rent a bicycle at the station for the last 4-5 kilometres. If you prefer to take a taxi, we recommend to book it in advance.

At Steenwijk station, you can take the “bus 70” which will take you to Giethoorn. To reach us, get off at the stop called “Lindenhof” which is only 150 meters away from our boat rental.