Rondvaart Zuideinde is on the Maaiensteeg, at the southern start of Giethoorn. You take a boat tour with commentary from the skipper, hire a tour boat for your own group, or sail yourself in an electric whisper boat or sloop (electric boat).
Rondvaart Zuideinde has been running boat tours through Giethoorn for decades, for day visitors, families, staff outings and coach parties. Because the company is on the south side of the village, the boat tour sails through the whole village. The boats lie about 200 metres from the well-known canals and bridges, and you park for free on the company’s own grounds next door.
At Rondvaart Zuideinde you can take a boat tour, book a private boat tour or group boat tour, hire whisper boats, console boats and electric sloops, sail your own route through Giethoorn and Weerribben-Wieden National Park, and buy a gift voucher for boating.
Rondvaart Zuideinde has no restaurant of its own. When you hire a boat, the staff show you on the boating map where you can eat and drink along the way.
The regular boat tour takes an hour and sails several times a day. You sail through the narrow canals, past the old farmhouses and under the little bridges, and across the lake of Giethoorn. Along the way the skipper tells you live through a microphone about the history of the village and points out special places. He does this in Dutch, English and German, so guests from abroad can follow the story too.
On the boat tour you are given a drink on board. You may also bring your own food and drink. Since 2021 Rondvaart Zuideinde has sailed with a fully electric fleet of tour boats, so you sail through the canals without engine noise.
If you want the tour boat to yourself, you hire it entirely for a private trip of one or two hours. No other passengers come on board. A private boat tour is suitable for a birthday, anniversary, family weekend or company outing. You may bring your own biscuits, cake or drinks. You request a private trip from Rondvaart Zuideinde, who then check the availability of the boats.
Rondvaart Zuideinde has six tour boats. For very large groups the tour boats of sister company Koppers-Giethoorn can also be used, so that groups of 250 people or more can sail at the same time. The trip can be tailor-made, for example with a trip through the De Wieden nature reserve or a stop for a walk, a museum visit or coffee in the village.
Rondvaart Zuideinde has 24 hire boats, all with an electric motor. They sail almost silently and without emissions, and every year the boats and motors are serviced. A whisper boat or console boat can sail for well over 7 hours at full power. You hire a boat for a minimum of 2 hours and a maximum of a whole day, and you do not need a boating licence.
1 to 6 people
The standard boat: a simple whisper boat with an electric outboard motor, which you steer by hand on the motor.
1 to 8 people
The larger whisper boat, with backrests so you sit more comfortably. You also steer this one by hand on the outboard motor. Handy for a larger party.
1 to 6 people
The same size as the whisper boat, but with a steering wheel and backrest. You steer as in a car.
1 to 8 people
An aluminium electric sloop with cushions, backrest and steering wheel. Larger than the whisper boat and the console boat, so with more room for your party.
1 to 6 people
A boat with luxury cushions, a high backrest, a large steering wheel with throttle lever and a swimming platform at the back, so you can easily get back on board after a swim.
Before you set off you get an explanation of the boat and the routes. You can borrow life jackets when you hire, but on busy days they may run out; to be safe, bring one yourself. You pay a deposit in cash on departure, which you get back if nothing is damaged. If you come back later than planned, you pay for the extra hours on your return.
With every hire boat you get a boating route. This can be a paper route map, but you can also follow an online route on your phone with your GPS on. The online routes show numbered landmarks, some with a photo. The staff explain the route that fits the time you are going to sail.
For a trip round the centre of Giethoorn, 2 hours is enough. If you sail for 3 hours or longer, you also pass through Weerribben-Wieden National Park. In the middle of the park is a lookout tower where you can moor. Anyone who wants to see everything is often under way for 4 to 5 hours. If you hire for a whole day, you can stop along the way at museums, terraces, the hamlet of Dwarsgracht or the swimming island on the Bovenwijde.
According to Rondvaart Zuideinde, sailing yourself in Giethoorn is something you get the hang of after a few minutes. You do not need experience, just a few simple rules. The maximum speed in Giethoorn is 6 kilometres per hour. The water is about one metre deep everywhere, in the canals and on the lake.
If you want to swim, you can do so at the swimming island on the Bovenwijde lake, within the fenced area. Rondvaart Zuideinde recommends wearing swimming shoes, because there may be objects on the bottom.
You can request a gift voucher for hiring a boat from Rondvaart Zuideinde. Contact them by phone to do so. You choose the value yourself and, if you like, a personal code, for example with the name of the recipient. The voucher is valid for a year and works as a discount code when reserving. Please note: the code is case-sensitive and can be used only once.
On the Rondvaart Zuideinde website you can read how Giethoorn came into being. Peat diggers dug up the peat here. This created ponds and lakes, and waterways and ditches were dug to transport the peat. Many houses ended up on small islands, which you can reach only by a little bridge. During the boat tour the skipper tells you more about it.
No. You do not need a boating licence for any of the hire boats at Rondvaart Zuideinde. Before you set off the staff explain how the boat works and which routes there are. In Giethoorn you may sail at a maximum of 6 kilometres per hour.
The regular boat tour through the village takes an hour and sails several times a day. You sail through the centre of Giethoorn and across the lake. With a group of 10 people or more you can also request a two-hour trip, which continues after the old centre into Weerribben-Wieden National Park.
The skippers of Rondvaart Zuideinde tell you about Giethoorn live through a microphone, in Dutch, English and German. If you need an explanation in another language, you can ask in advance.
Yes. You can hire a tour boat entirely for your own party for a private trip, for example for a birthday, family day or company outing. Rondvaart Zuideinde has six tour boats and, together with sister company Koppers-Giethoorn, can take groups of 250 people or more on the water. A stop for a walk or museum visit can be discussed.
Rondvaart Zuideinde has its own large car park right on the N334, where you park for free. It is signposted as P1 Red / ZUID. The hire boats and tour boats are about 10 metres from the car park. If you come by public transport, you get off right at the door.
Dogs are allowed on the boat tour. In a hired whisper boat or console boat your dog can also come along if you bring a mat or blanket; the dog must stay on the floor and may not go on the seats. Dogs are not allowed in the Electric sloop and the Sloop Deluxe.
Yes. At Rondvaart Zuideinde you can bring your own food and drink, both on the boat tour and in a hire boat. Before departure you can also buy a drink there. On the boat tour you are given a drink on board.
Reserving is not compulsory, you can also just drop by. Rondvaart Zuideinde does recommend reserving in advance, because all the boats are often hired out, especially around public holidays, at weekends and in fine weather. For questions you can call 0521 36 12 10.
