This was the highlight of my vacation to The Netherlands. We didn't know if we should go or not,…read morebecause it was raining, but decided to chance it. We took an Uber from our hotel out to the "Scooter Experience" and was dropped off, and was warmly welcomed. We were offered a coffee, and then given a short demo on how to ride the scooter. These are electric scooters with a high speed of 25 mph. They are really quiet, which I was thrilled about, as you can enjoy the beauty of the trail without having to listen to a loud motor. There are four different routes that you can choose from. We choose the "yellow" route which was the shortest of the four. You are given a map along with verbal instructions. You are to follow the route looking for your color of arrow to guide you along the way. You can take as long or as fast as you want but you have to be back at the start no later than 6:00pm. You are given a jacket, gloves, scarf, and stocking hat if you didn't bring yours, and if you feel like you need to bundle up. It was a cold raining day so we bundled up, and headed out. After a slow start we were finally out of the village, and were on our way......so much fun. The scenery is absolutely beautiful traveling through the country side. We were alone for a lot of the trail running into a few people here and there. It was pure heaven. Because it was cold and raining. We didn't meander but hurried through the trail only stopping a few times to take in the beauty. When I go back to The Netherlands I will make sure I book another "Scooter Experience" but a longer one next time:)

Wow. So great. Bart is fantastic. So welcoming, so thorough. The scooter experience is a must do…read more So beautiful up there. So nice to get out of Amsterdam for a day and see something new. 25 kilometers feels like a stroll compared to what I'm used to, but it was exactly what the doctor ordered. Wonderful. You can take the bus, but research carefully as there are 3 different bus systems and we bought the wrong day pass.

They have an office at central station that sells merchandise and more. I Amsterdam has a card for…read moreusing the city public transportation and admission to many museums and other places. You can buy the card when you get there or buy it online through your smartphone and the app. The app has great tools for planning and finding places for the card. The problem is that if you have trouble with reception or the app, it won't work. There were several times that I couldn't load up the QR code and one person couldn't load it at all and had to go get a paper one. The staff were very friendly and helpful with this. Overall I don't know if it's worth getting you have to plan your travel to see if it would work for you. I didn't have to wait in lines and it is easy to tap and pay everywhere including on public transportation. Overall it's a good idea and they have good service but there needs to be a way to download it onto google or Apple wallet to improve the system.

I was going to attend a Gallery opening and needed a gift suitable for a conceptual artist. I spent…read morea week wracking my brains and finally decided to check out this store and Yee-haw! Found just the perfect gift in the artsy plastic recycled vases they sell, which are a Dutch design & innovation, but made in Mumbai by women and children escaping prostitution and giving them a working wage. Shout-out to a staffer by the name of Giovanni who was super helpful. When at check-out I mentioned it was a gift, he offered me free gift-wrapping which I totally took him up on. He also mentioned that if the gift wasn't to the recipient's taste, if they had the receipt, he could exchange for up to 7 days, which I thought was very useful info & good of him to mention. I didn't really get to browse thru the store much, as had to catch my train to get to the Art Show, but this was a fantastic shopping experience with excellent service rendered, so plan to come back for a longer browse thru all their shelves when have more time. If you too find yourself at Centraal and looking for a gift, think beyond the flower shop or the chocolates/ stroop waffles at Albert Heijn and come and check out this store instead! PS - The artist very much liked his gift and the concept behind it! Yelp 58/ 2019

A nice, clean, un attended metro station. Not sure how they keep this so clean when I never see…read moreanyone working here. It has a small bike parking next to one of the doors - by tram 3, 12 and 24. This gets you everywhere in Amsterdam within minutes.

De Pijp is located on the light blue line (Line 52) of the Amsterdam Metro, the station opened in…read more2018 and still feels fairly new. It is only on one line, but the Amsterdam Metro is quick and small, so it shouldn't be too much of a bother changing lines or travelling within the city. It's easy to get in and out of the station through the escalators from the platform to street level, despite being the deepest metro station on the network, you wouldn't realise that! Upon leaving the station, there is the De Pijp neighbourhood with various businesses, including a Joe and the Juice, pretty much right outside. There's also a tram stop outside where you can continue your journey around the city. 4* - It's clean and modern and provides connections to the tram network too, allowing easy access to points around the city.

The buses & trams run frequently, they are clean & efficient. Each stop has a map & identifies how…read moremany minutes until the next vehicle is arriving. Many begin & end at the central station. Once in a car we tapped our phone or credit card on and off. Posted were the next stops. The mass transit system in Amsterdam was easy to figure out & use..

We took the tram 2 - 3 times while we were in Amsterdam. The lines seem quite convenient at least…read moreto some of the major tourist sites (museums, Anne Frank House). You can check various websites to get the routes. While you are riding, they are good about posting upcoming stops (mostly on LED signs). We did not pre-purchase tickets. Rather, we just used tap-to-pay credit cards. You just tap when you get on and again when you exit. This seemed to work well much of the time, but sometimes it would encounter a card that it could not read. In one case, I had to tap the same card twice (once for me and once for my daughter, whose card failed). It posted some message about using the same card, probably in case you tapped twice by mistake for one person. I was hoping it would not mis-charge us. It seemed confused again at the end when I had to do the same thing again. The fees were reasonable - 2 - 3 Euros per ride, I think. While it is great to just walk around Amsterdam, at some point you may get tired and want to take an easier way back to the hotel. In that case, check these out.

Stopped here for souvinirs in the airport. There was no line and they had the cutest items.read more

Very helpful people, whether you purchase anything from them or not. We purchased IAmsterdam cards…read moreand got much more than their cost in transportation, tours and museum vists.

We did this bike tour during a recent visit to Amsterdam and it was one of the highlights of our…read moretrip. Daniel was our guide and he was chill, friendly, patient, and super informative. Not only did we cover the usual highlights of Amsterdam, but also places that we would not have known about on our own. And I know so much more about the history of Amsterdam than I did before! Our tour group was ten people which seemed a decent size. Not too large, not too small. And checking in was smooth and efficient. After booking online, we went to the place, checked in, got fitted for our bikes, and we were on our way. This bike tour gave us a nice introduction to Amsterdam, as well as the city's biking culture.

Towards the end of our stay in Amsterdam, my wife asked me if there is anything that I want to do…read morethat we haven't done already. Without any doubt in my mind I said, "biking!" My intelligent and resourceful wife immediately located and booked a three hour bike tour for the next day. Excited to feel like a local for the day, I highly anticipated our adventure on wheels. Upon arriving at the tour meeting location of We Bike Amsterdam, we checked in with our tour guide and were instructed to obtain our bicycles from the shop. The friendly employee at the shop warmly greeted us and gestured to another employee to issue us both a bicycle. Although these bikes weren't unique, one thing that stood out to me was the distinctive bike lock. Unlike most bike locks that attach the bike to an object (e.g., gate, light pole), this bike lock was attached to the body of the bike and utilized a locking mechanism that prevented the wheels from moving when engaged. Overall, we enjoyed the bike tour that provided us with historical information pertaining to various monuments and locations within Amsterdam. Also, I highly recommend doing a guided bike tour vs. trying to navigate yourself. Having a tour guide added a level of confidence as we navigated the town and tried our hardest not to be a nuisance to the locals (apparently there are some folks that visit Amsterdam and are opposed to respecting & sharing the roads with the locals. Thank you We Bike Amsterdam!

terrible service personnel. went to the stated location for a tour and was told I needed to go to…read moreanother. biked there after confirming with personnel at the alternate location, they would be waiting. biked quickly and found the tour had left. ?? which direction, so we can catch up?? no idea where they go, the young man said. what about the promise to wait? they left. dont know. ok how about giving my money back since I had one of your staff members call ahead to MAKE SURE YOU WOULD BE THERE 10 min later as we biked quickly to your location. "no you can handle that with a third party, but we dont do refunds, generally..." what a stupid policy to offer a customer, even worse since this 20 something guy (dirty blond hair at the location under the highway), had a terrible attitude and no respect for an elderly couple. STAYED THERE AND MADE THEM WORK WITH THEIR THIRD PARTY PROCESSOR to get my money back. If that wasn't bad enough, three of the other employees thought it would be good to go after me with their excuses and random shots. Is there an adult anywhere around this business???

Melissa was responsible for the most perfect day of our vacation…read more JoyRide offers you a full refund if you don't have an excellent time-- pretty high bar, I'd. But looking back on our tour, there was nothing that could have been improved upon. We met at 10:15 in the morning in a common location that is easy to find but not too busy at that time of day on a weekday. Melissa was friendly and helpful. The tour started in Amsterdam through Vondel Park and then took us to a boathouse community, past the 1928 Olympic stadium, through the Dutch countryside to a working farm where we got to see cows and how cheese is made (with plenty of samples) and saw a typical functional Dutch windmill. The tour was adventurous without being taxing, and Melissa could not have been more knowledgeable of friendly and truly catered to all of our needs. She was so great I wish we could have her as our tour guide on all of our travels. JoyRide exceeded all of our expectations and I would not hesitate recommending them to any of our friends!

Basic train station one stop away from Schiphol airport. Mostly sprinters stop here but also some…read moreof the intercity trains to Flevoland. This is an open air station but also quite large. Plan ahead if in a rush.

Low frills train station with easy access to nearby hotels, buses, airport and Amsterdam Centraal…read more Enclosed waiting areas for those cold days. No need to buy a ticket. Just tap your credit card (physical or virtual) when you enter an exit.