Amsterdam to Friesland,
across the Afsluitdijk.
Water on both sides of the road for half an hour, then a province of lakes, eleven cities and a leaning tower. One chauffeured car takes you from your Amsterdam address to Leeuwarden — or to a ferry at Harlingen, a boat at Sneek or a house by the water — for one fixed price.
The train goes round the water. The car goes over it.
Friesland is not far from Amsterdam, but the railway loops inland through Flevoland before it gets there. The road does something better. The A7 leaves the Amsterdam ring through Zaandam, Purmerend and Hoorn, reaches the tip of North Holland at Den Oever and then simply carries on across the sea — the Afsluitdijk, a dam some thirty kilometres long with the IJsselmeer on one side and the Wadden Sea on the other, before the A31 takes over past Harlingen and Franeker into Leeuwarden.
That is why people who could take the train book the car for this one. Two hours in a quiet cabin with the horizon on both sides, a stop at the monument halfway across if you like, and your chauffeur setting you down at a hotel by the canals, a company on the ring or a ferry terminal, with a fixed quote that was agreed in Amsterdam.
Thirty kilometres of straight road with the sea on both sides.
The Afsluitdijk is the part of this trip that passengers talk about afterwards. It begins at Den Oever with the sluices that let the IJsselmeer drain into the Wadden Sea, runs almost straight to the north-east and ends at Kornwerderzand on the Frisian shore, where a second set of locks and the visitor centre mark the province line. Roughly halfway across stands the monument to the dam's builders, with a viewing tower and a place to stop; ask your chauffeur and the car pulls in for ten minutes of wind and horizon.
On the Frisian side the landscape opens into wide, low farmland. The A31 passes Harlingen — the port for the Terschelling and Vlieland ferries — and the old university town of Franeker before arriving in Leeuwarden from the west. When the A7 through Hoorn is slow, dispatch can send the car inland instead — the A6 through Flevoland and the A32 north via Heerenveen — at the same fixed price.
Amsterdam ring to Leeuwarden by the A7 over the Afsluitdijk and the A31 through Harlingen and Franeker.
About 118 minutes in normal conditions. Strong crosswinds on the dam can add a few minutes; the inland alternative is similar in time.
Per car with taxes included, confirmed at booking and never adjusted afterwards.
Another Frisian destination — Sneek, Harlingen, Grou, Dokkum or a house on the lakes — is priced on its own distance; enter the actual address and the quote updates before you confirm. Ferry tickets are booked separately with the operator.
One fixed price for the car in each class, over the dam and back if you wish. Choose by passengers and luggage.
Island weeks travel with a lot of luggage. The Van Class carries seven cases and seven passengers to the Harlingen quay in one car, so nobody is left waiting for a second taxi with the cool box.
The museum on the Wilhelminaplein, the leaning Oldehove tower, the Prinsentuin gardens and the canals of the Nieuwestad are all within a short walk of each other. Arrive by chauffeur and spend the day on foot; the car is back at the hotel when you want it.
Harlingen for Terschelling and Vlieland, Holwerd for Ameland, Lauwersoog for Schiermonnikoog. Give us the sailing time and dispatch sets the Amsterdam pickup so you are on the quay well before boarding.
Sneek, Grou, Heeg and the water around them are where a sailing week or a boat handover begins. A Van Class carries the crew, the kit and the provisions from Amsterdam to the marina in one movement.
Meetings at the WTC Expo, at companies on the Leeuwarden ring or with the province offices are a quiet two hours of preparation away. Corporate invoicing and a chauffeur who waits and drives you home the same day.
The city hub: Schiphol transfers, hourly hire and local chauffeur service in Friesland.
The other northern capital, further along the A7 past Joure.
The Afsluitdijk and Friesland as a chauffeured day out, with the car at your disposal.
All the intercity routes, from the Randstad to the far north and south.
About 1h58 for the 170-kilometre route over the Afsluitdijk in normal traffic. The A7 through Purmerend and Hoorn is the busiest stretch at rush hour; leave outside it and the trip is usually as quoted, with the dam itself flowing freely.
Business Class starts at €581, Van Class at €755 and First Class at €1154, each per car with taxes included and fixed at booking. There is no toll on the Afsluitdijk and nothing is added for fuel or the return of the empty car.
Yes. Enter the ferry terminal as the destination and the quote is calculated on that distance. Tell us the sailing time and dispatch sets an Amsterdam pickup that puts you at the quay with comfortable margin, allowing for the traffic of the day.
Certainly. The monument roughly halfway across has parking, a viewing tower and a café; a ten-minute stop costs nothing extra and the chauffeur simply pulls in. Longer stops, such as the visitor centre at Kornwerderzand, are best mentioned at booking.
Yes. Book with Schiphol as the pickup: the flight is tracked, the chauffeur waits in arrivals with a name sign, the car is in the garage nearest the hall and the first sixty minutes after landing are free. From the airport the car joins the A7 at Zaandam and heads for the dam.