I booked this well in advance (6 - 8 weeks). You pay a nominal booking fee (maybe a Euro or two…read moreper person) to book, the tour is free, and you are expected to tip a decent amount at the end (at least 10 Euros). I figured it would be a good orientation and we'd have some flexibility if our plans changed late. We ended up sleeping later than planned on our first full day in Amsterdam (thanks, jet-lag). We did, however, manage to arrive at the rendezvous point (the monument in Dam Plaza) at least 5 minutes before tour time (10:30 a.m.). There were about 3 tour groups assembling at the same time. The company divided us up among appropriate guides and the tours began. Our guide was Paul Bierman. He was a lifelong resident of Amsterdam and had the associated level of knowledge about things. The tours are somewhat free form, and can focus on whatever the group likes - architecture, history, etc. Our group wasn't super decisive so we got a broad overview (which was fine). Paul walked us around the city center pointing out old churches, the first stock exchange, whimsical local canal lore, canal-side houseboats (one of which was a dedicated cat sanctuary), etc. It was a bit of a potpourri of local facts and trivia but everyone enjoyed it. We ended up back near the starting point close to 2 hours later. Overall, I thought this was a good introduction to the central city. It is a good option for a first-time visitor's first day in Amsterdam.

I've visited Amsterdam four times, but I just discovered the free tours by Free Walking Tours. On…read morethe day before my departure, I was thrilled to find one available in the afternoon. With a big group, It was split into two groups and I was assigned to Sebastiaan. His passion for history and sense of humor made the tour truly enjoyable. His familiarity with New York also helped me draw interesting connections between the two cities. This experience made my trip memorable, and I highly recommend him. I plan to return for more tours in the future. Thank you Free Walking Tours!

Our guide, Edgar, was knowledgeable, charming, and his enthusiasm for Dutch history ad architecture…read morewas contagious. The time flew by. Highly recommend.

Oh. My. Goodness! I waited years before I bothered with a walking tour in Amsterdam. It was WELL…read moreworth the wait! I started with the historical Jewish area tour, and couldn't stop. That tour alone was impressive and inspiring. Delighting and quite moving. Tijs was so good that I went on to take more neighborhood tours with him and two with Edgar. These guys know there stuff. No question. Full stop. Great information and cool stories to keep you engaged and remembering! I wouldn't take a historical tour in this town with any other company. I've had the best, and I will return!

Maybe it was all tour guide, but at the end of trip, our group (8 of us) didn't feel it was a good…read moreuse of our time and kind of wish we had just gone exploring on our own. I guess it really depend on the guide, as I've been on these type of "free" tours where we learned a lot about the city and greatly enhanced the rest of our stay with local tips about restaurants etc. For this tour, it started out fine, the guide talked to us about the unique architecture of the houses and how they can become tilted. Unfortunately afterwards it was mostly just a lot of walking, and as it was a big group (the company had split the participants into several groups already, but it was still a good-sized group that formed a long line on the narrow streets), the few closer to the tour guide may have gotten a lot more out of the experience as they chat with the guide along the way, but the rest of us felt excluded. The little info we got was mostly history with a dry presentation. Early in the trip, I have asked the guide about something, and she said she'd explained more about that later. Towards the end of the trip, I mentioned to another traveler that I never did find out more about that something, and the lady said, oh, the guide did talk about it. I was a bit bummed to have missed it, and also felt that a more attentive guide would have sought to include me in that part of the talk. As said I've enjoyed many of this type of tours, so when we visited Amsterdam we did a bit of research and signed up for this one due to its good rating. Unfortunately the experience didn't live up to our expectation.

Gotta give it up to Shanna for an awesome tour! The weather was cold, grey and drizzly but she…read morestill brought positive energy and a good attitude. There were also moments where random interlopers interrupted her or the group got separated by traffic and she handled it all professionally. What I enjoyed the most was her depth of knowledge about the different social groups living in the city. Our group got into some detailed discussion around the history of the slave trade and sex industry in the city and at all points she gave a balanced perspective. I liked the combination of fun history with socially aware commentary on what it means today. I would totally recommend the tour, and Shanna to anyone visiting Amsterdam.

Gerard ran such a wonderful tour! The food was amazing, I enjoyed the historical part of the tour…read moreas well. Even though it was raining, hailing, Gerard brought a lot of great, positive energy to the Jordaan! I highly recommend this tour with him. The food was filling and delicious.

My dad and I (from Chicago) did this on our first day in Amsterdam. The tastings were a great…read morevariety of styles and foods. Danielle was amazing - very knowledgeable, friendly, and personable! She shared a lot of history surrounding the origins of the foods and restaurants as well as notable areas and buildings we passed! Outside of the tour, she also provided a list of recommendations of places to eat and things to see, which was much appreciated! The only thing I would've liked a little more of was a more in depth description of the goods themselves - where they're sourced from and how they're made - maybe from the chefs at the restaurants themselves, as we've experienced in other food tours. Regardless, it was a great time and I would highly recommend to any tourists visiting!

Booked a City Centre Tour while my parents were visiting from the US, and really enjoyed it. The…read moretour involved walking from Rembrandtplein through the west-side up to the Redlight and to Dam Square, finishing in the Jordaan. Our guide was friendly and obviously incredibly knowledgeable about the old and new facts worth knowing about Amsterdam. I would absolutely recommend a tour with OMY, and before booking, you should know that they would likely customize a tour in any way you wish if you have four guests or more - and for €20 per person, it's worth it.

The tour felt like we were hanging out with a good friend that just happened to know a lot about…read moreAmsterdam. Michael took us to some great spots that we would've never noticed. He possessed a wealth of knowledge and insight that we would not have experienced from the bigger tour companies. We also loved having such a small group because we felt connected and comfortable with Michael. Great job OMY and we will definitely take another tour with them next time we visit Amsterdam.

My daughter and I recently took a trip to Amsterdam for our birthday celebrations. I cannot say…read moreenough about Tom's Travel Tours. Our guide, Joyce, took us to the Keukenhof where she filled our tulip tour with much interesting and fun information. She took us to an organic farm, several roadside tulip fields, and lunch in Bergen. Excellent guide. Our guide, Jacky, was so accommodating and fun taking us on our walking tour and food tour. She kept us moving but at a comfortable speed. We had a private canal cruise with Wim, who, also, was so knowledgeable and shared so much information along the way. It is so worth it to book a tour company and I highly, highly recommend Tom's Travel Tours. Thank you for the most enjoyable visit to Amsterdam!

We booked three tours from Amsterdam: 3 hour walking tour Jordaan/Amsterdam, Guided visit to the…read moreVan Gogh Museum and Rijksmuseum, Royal tour Delft and Hague; one tour from Gent: Elegant Ghent Tour; and one tour from Bruges: Charming Bruges. All were excellent. In particular, our Amsterdam guide, Joyce, had excellent in-depth knowledge that was particularly useful in the museums we visited with her: the Van Gogh museum, Rijksmuseum, and the Mauritshuis; and in the Royal Delft museum in the Royal Delft factory. She was able to go beyond what was written on the displays and give further context and meaning, as well as identifying optimum ways of navigating throught these sometimes crowded museums. Mieke in Gent was obviously well-known there: people kept on stopping and talking with her. And Hendrickx was very useful in Bruges.

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!

When I travel, I sometimes go on a tour of the city I am visiting as I like to learn about the…read morehistory of the area. I prefer to go on tours at the beginning of my trip as it helps with figuring out how to get around the city as well as discover attractions and sites I may not have been aware of. When I went to Europe in 2015, my friend recommended Sandeman's New Europe tours. The tour is free, but you're expected to tip the guide at the end of the tour, which is a win-win for everyone -- you don't need to pay more than you can afford, and the guide ends up making a decent amount. And because their wage depends on what people will pay them, the tour guides make an effort at being knowledgeable, entertaining, and personable. Sandeman's also offers paid tours to certain attractions. I've previously been on free Sandeman's tours in Berlin and Prague (as well as some paid tours), and the tour guides have been excellent, so I signed up for a free tour on our first full day in Amsterdam. Unfortunately it was raining at the beginning of the tour, but despite the weather, I had a good time and learned a lot about Amsterdam's history. The tour was two hours and started in Dam Square. The name of our tour guide was Pau, and she was knowledgeable and enthusiastic. If you like learning about the history of the cities you visit and don't want to spend an arm and a leg, I highly recommend Sandeman's New Europe tours. [Yelp collections: Europe 2024; Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Cheap Thrills]

Took the 10:30 tour today with Danny the tour guide…read more Thanks for all the stories, a few opportunities to sit down, and answering all our questions