Wheelchair-user-friendly Giethoorn

Giethoorn is a mostly car-free town in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It takes about 1.5 hours driving from Amsterdam to Giethoorn. If you go by public transportation, you would need to add up another extra hour. Although the village locates in a distanced area with nothing else around it, it still attracts lots of tourists around the world with its fairytale-like sceneries.

Sharon’s friends visited her in August 2019, and we decided to rent a car to visit the lovely village because two of them are wheelchair users. Before the trip, Sharon wrote an email to the Giethoorn Tourist Information Center to confirm details about Wheelchair Accessibility in the village. There are accessible toilets in the Tourist Information Center building with a parking lot next to it. You could easily get to the riverside following the signages for the parking lot. While you wait for the boat to depart, you could also enjoy some traditional Dutch meals along the riverside.

If you have limited time or prefer less walking, it is the easiest way to explore the village by boat tour. Almost all the major boats have a built-in lift for wheelchair users to onboard. And after that, you could sit back and chill, enjoying the beautiful scenery and taking lots of pictures. You would cherish this memorable moment for a lifetime.

If you prefer to stay overnight, there are also wheelchair accessible B&B in Giethoorn. We at Amyoku will recommend Giethoorn as one of the best destinations for slow travelers.