Hoorn Disney Travel Agents Near Me

Overview

Introduction

The most notable thing about the town of Giethoorn is what you don't see: cars. The preferred mode of transportation is flat-bottomed boats.

Stop for a while and watch farmers taking cows to pasture on them. The spectacle is a popular one, and Giethoorn can get crowded in July and August. Plan to spend a couple of hours seeing the town. Giethoorn is 65 mi/105 km east of Amsterdam.

Overview

Introduction

Hoorn makes an attractive day trip from Amsterdam because of its colorful history and charming village atmosphere.

Hoorn was mightily enriched because its harbor was a key hub for the Dutch East India Co. The company's men circled the globe, and one, a Hoorn native, named the tip of South America for his hometown; we know it as Cape Horn.

Visitors can stroll around Hoorn's quaint harbor and along canals for a good look at redbrick, gabled row houses; the oldest date from the late 16th century.

A few historical churches are on view, too, as well as museums. There is a 1609 weigh house and a 16th-century tower called Hoofdtoren. The remnant of old fortifications, the tower still guards the harbor entrance, just not in the military sense. Both buildings are restaurants now.

Founded in 1357, Hoorn is still one of the Netherlands' richest ports.

Overview

Introduction

There are some 150,000 domesticated ostriches in the world, and 120,000 of them live around Oudtshoorn, South Africa, a dusty town on the edge of the Little Karoo plain 210 mi/340 km east of Cape Town.

They wander the stony farms, scratching a minimal diet from the harsh desert scrub. Be sure to visit a farm (at some, you can even ride an ostrich), then head to the C.P. Nel Museum to learn about the history of the trade, which flourished in the days when ostrich feathers were a popular accessory. Plumes, once de rigueur for ladies' evening wear, are still sent all over the world.

There's also a nice suspension bridge over the Grobbelaar River. Be sure to go 20 mi/30 km north from Oudtshoorn to take a tour of the spectacular Cango Caves. Although somewhat overrun with tourists, the caverns are acclaimed as the most beautiful calcite in the world (and we won't dispute that). While in the area, also visit the Cango Crocodile Ranch and Cheetahland.