Final-year school trip to Amsterdam and Efteling: canals, Zaanse Schans, Anne Frank, a theme park and ’s-Hertogenbosch (6 days)

Day 1: Departure from your school and arrival in Amsterdam

• Departure from your school early in the morning, at the agreed time, and daytime drive to the Netherlands (about 3 hours, excluding breaks).
• Our drivers drive for a maximum of 3 hours, then take a 30-minute break, day and night.
• Arrival in Amsterdam in the late morning and canal cruise: the Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht, lined with Golden Age merchants’ houses.
• Free lunch, then a walk from Dam Square to the Begijnhof and the floating flower market (Bloemenmarkt) on the Singel.
• Check-in at the accommodation for four nights, dinner and a quiet evening.

Day 2: Zaanse Schans and Volendam

• Drive to Zaanse Schans (about 30 min): its working windmills, green wooden houses and clog and cheese workshops.
• On to Volendam, a former fishing port on the IJsselmeer: the dyke, the traditional houses and fried fish to taste at the harbour.
• Supervised free time in Volendam.
• Return to Amsterdam, dinner and a supervised evening.

Day 3: Anne Frank, the Jordaan and the Rijksmuseum

• Visit to the Anne Frank House, where she wrote her diary in the Secret Annex during the occupation (on request).
• Walk through the Jordaan, a former working-class district of canals, hidden courtyards and small markets.
• Visit to the Rijksmuseum and Rembrandt’s “The Night Watch” (on request).
• Dinner and a supervised evening.

Day 4: Amsterdam by bike and Van Gogh

• Group bike ride with a guide, the Dutch way (on request).
• Walk in the Vondelpark, the city’s great park.
• Visit to the Van Gogh Museum (on request).
• Supervised free time at the Albert Cuyp market and in the centre.
• Dinner and last evening in Amsterdam.

Day 5: A day at Efteling

• Rooms vacated after breakfast and drive to Kaatsheuvel (about 1.5 hours).
• A full day at Efteling: the Baron 1898, Python and Joris en de Draak roller coasters, the Vliegende Hollander, Symbolica and the Fairytale Forest.
• Free lunch in the park.
• Check-in at the accommodation near Efteling for one night, dinner and a supervised evening.

Day 6: ’s-Hertogenbosch and return to your school

• Departure after breakfast and drive to ’s-Hertogenbosch, also known as Den Bosch (about 30 min).
• Walk through the historic centre: the Markt, St John’s Cathedral and the lanes of Hieronymus Bosch’s home town.
• Boat trip on the Binnendieze, the river that flows beneath the houses of the centre (on request).
• Free lunch, then daytime drive back to Belgium (about 1.5 to 2.5 hours depending on your school) with regular breaks.
• Arrival at your school in the late afternoon or evening.