This small village is often referred to as the “Venice of the Netherlands”. It’s very popular, especially among Asian tourists. That’s also why I never visited Giethoorn until last month, now that it’s less busy with tourists.

The combination of the beautiful watery nature area of Weerribben-Wieden and the village itself, consisting of many small canals, cute islands with quaint farmhouses and more than 180 authentic wooden bridges make Giethoorn highly Instagrammable and perfect to explore by boat!

A “whisper” boat (fluisterboot) which is noiseless, electric and environmentally-friendly can be rented privately at: Boatrental-Giethoorn, like we did for 3 hours, which only cost €42 for a luxurious 4 person boat. But you can also do a guided canal cruise or explore the village by bike or on foot to see all the quaint fairytale settings.