CUSTOM DESIGNED TOUR. I randomly found Alette Dirkse on the internet when I was looking for someone to guide my family through the north end of North Holland. Having traced my roots back to the 1500s, we were on an ancestral tour of the Netherlands & Amsterdam was our "home base". Taking the train to Hoorn was quick and easy. The first time we met, Alette took my family of 5 on a walking tour of Hoorn that began in her home! She graciously provided traditional Dutch snacks/treats and we discussed today's Dutch culture. My almost adult children especially enjoyed asking about how the school systems worked & what activities were popular. My husband & I liked hearing about life in the Netherlands, comparing it to how we live. As we toured the town, Alette provided an excellent historical narrative while also pointing out the current hotspots of the town. The second time we met, Alette had custom-designed a driving tour specifically for me. My personal goal was to see several local towns and to visit a few churches in the towns of my ancestors so I could take pictures & try to imagine how the area might have looked hundreds of years ago. Alette was informative & incredibly gracious. Having corresponded with her by email before the trip, she chartered a course for me that lasted 5 hours! It went so fast! The area around Hoorn (Schellinkhout, Twisk, Benningbroek, Midwoud, etc.) is absolutely stunning. Each town has it's own character. I saw rolling pastures, beautiful historic homes, old churches, full marinas with sailboats, etc. (water sports are competitive here), and quaint towns with friendly, inviting people. It's well worth the additional cost to have someone guide you through a strange city. I loved every minute with Alette & strongly recommend spending some time with her as your guide.

(Translated by Google) As part of a department outing, we were allowed to go out with Alette to get to know Hoorn even better. Hoorn is a beautiful city with a lot of history and is the 3rd city with the most number of monuments in North Holland (learned from Alette :-)…). She tells enthusiastically and with many nice anecdotes about Hoorn, taking into account the composition of the group. Alette, thank you for the super fun afternoon and have already advertised you to the other departments of our organization! (Original) In het kader van een afdelingsuitje mochten we op pad met Alette om Hoorn nog beter te leren kennen. Hoorn is een schitterende stad met heel veel historie en is de 3e stad met het meest aantal monumenten in Noord-Holland (van Alette geleerd :-)…). Ze vertelt op enthousiaste wijze en met veel leuke anekdotes over Hoorn en houdt hierbij ook rekening met de samenstelling van de groep. Alette, bedankt voor de superleuke middag en heb al reclame voor je gemaakt bij de andere afdelingen van onze organisatie!

Holland wie man es sich vorstellt. Noch einen ticken individueller und netter als Amsterdam kommt diese kleine Hafenstadt daher, fanden zumindest wir. Eine super Shoppingstraße ist zu dem verfügbar und lädt zum Schlendern ein. Auch der Marktplatz muss erkundigt werden.

We joined Alette for a very comfortable and informative walk and conversation about Hoorn, The Netherlands, and today's culture and people. She invited us in her home for coffee and treats as we talked of cooking, sports, pets, and everyday life. It was exactly what we wanted! We saw unique buildings, cheese stores, and even had typical weather! We would recommend her personalized tour as she customizes to your interest and is very personable.

We were fortunate enough to stumble into Alette's website while we were planning our visit to Hoorn. From the first contact, Alette was responsive and helpful. She met us at the Roode Steen as planned and provided us with an incredible, informative walking tour through the beautiful and historic city. Even the two of us who live in The Netherlands learned a lot from Alette! Alette has a strong command of the English language, which also was very helpful. I have experienced many tours from local guides all over the world, and I would say that Alette was as good as the best of them!

The tour Alette gave was very insightful and fun to listen to. Through stories and anecdotes she told us vivid stories about the special places and history of Hoorn (and the Netherlands). As new citizens of the area it gave us extra motivation to feel like actual Hoornaren and portray the proudness every Horinees must have felt his or her whole life. Take the tour and enjoy!

Had a fantastic walk around my new hometown Hoorn with Local Guide Hoorn. Very informative and learned a lot even though I live in the area. Alette had lots of great tips and recommendations to explore further. I will book another walk in the future for sure!

Alette is the best tour guide you can pick! She is very knowledgeable of Hoorn and Netherlands history. Never a dull moment in the tour. Definitely recommend 10 out of 10!

We booked a private tour with Alette. Value & fun. Amazed by the rich history of Hoorn. Absolutely recommended!

(Translated by Google) Our city walk with Alette was great. She tells with passion and enthusiasm about her city and its history. Alette is well aware of the national history and of course that of Hoorn in particular. A city walk with her really adds something when you visit Hoorn. With humor and knowledge she managed to captivate us for an hour and a half. In doing so, she does not hide her own views and vision. Recommended ! (Original) Onze stadswandeling met Alette was geweldig. Zij vertelt met passie en enthousiasme over haar stad en de historie daarvan. Alette is goed op de hoogte van de vaderlandse geschiedenis en natuurlijk in het bijzonder die van Hoorn. Een stadswandeling met haar voegt echt iets toe als je Hoorn bezoekt. Met humor en kennis van zaken wist zij ons anderhalf uur te boeien. Daarbij steekt ze haar eigen opvattingen en visie niet onder stoelen of banken. Een aanrader !

My family recently did the "Meet the local" tour with Local Guide Hoorn and it was terrific. Alette is such a great tour guide and an amazing person. You can really tell she enjoys what she does and wants to make the tour a memorable experience. While in Europe we did a lot of tours an this was one of my favorites. It was so much fun and really interesting. Even my kids, whom were getting bored of going on tours really enjoyed it. If you're going to be in Hoorn and want to go on a tour, you can't go wrong with a tour from Local Guide Hoorn. I really can't recommend it enough!

We are so happy that we found Alette, with whom we booked a 2-hour private tour of Hoorn, focusing on the Dutch Golden Age. She arrived on time, she was extremely knowledgable, and her English is excellent. She was delightful. I highly recommend Alette when you come to Hoorn, as she is the best.