Date of Visit: 2/26/2016 Time of Visit: 3:51 pm…read more So I popped in here after my flight thinking I could some helpful information. Apparently not. Not only were the two ladies who worked here not friendly (how do you not smile back at someone when they approach with giant smile and a friendly hello?) but they don't know anything. And they are supposed to be the tourist information office. They are more interested in selling you something than providing information. Which I totally understand, it's a business. But instead of calling it Tourist Information call it, Place to Buy Sightseeing Tickets or something along that line. Oh, and nothing is free in that office. The maps aren't even free. You'll pay 2.50 euro. Wait till you get to your hotel and get one for free. I'll update this with photos when I go back by here for my flight home.

This visitors center was exceptional. Special shout out to Mariana Pietersz. She was able to…read moreseamlessly assist me in Spanish and took the time necessary to answer my questions and inform me of all of the options I had with the iamsterdam card.

"Well, at least"…read more... A while ago, I saw this video about the difference between sympathy and empathy. Empathy, they explained, is the capacity to get down to an individual's level and meet the person where they're at. To really experience what what someone else's experiencing. And that, I think, is exactly what this place is about! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Evwgu369Jw Despite all that, however, I wasn't really feeling it. Somehow, the introductory story told by Sandra just didn't do it for me. She failed to move me! Personally, I felt like she was trying too hard to be something she wasn't, which is....funny.... It's okay not to be funny! Her talk came across as forced, forced to the point it even started to annoy me. I don't know, I think I just missed the authenticity! As for the tour... It could have been very effective... The decor was solid built. The recreation of different A'dam scenes I think they achieved quit well. But since I was somehow always the last 1 to enter each room, I ended up missing most of the instructions our guide was giving. Think our group might have been too big (we were with the 6 or 7 of us). I just kept on bumping into people, groping them as I tried to orientate myself by feeling the "environment". All this touching left me with the strong urge to wash my hands afterwards! Besides that, and someone trying to shove rusty things down my throat, I think I'd still recommend this experience. But not to go in with more than 3 or 4 people at the same time though. Finally if I may give 1 more word of advise, consider dropping a few nice warm piles of dog poo. Not to be funny, but seriously though. Make it like a true A'dam experience! I really wonder how the visually impaired manage to dodge this these (small) gifts left by our 4-legged friends when walking across this city's streets. It's already quite a challenge when you're visually able! Anyways, this experience whole left me with the realization that I do have germophobia :( But at least I'm thankful I can see...

CtheCity is an amazing experience where you have the opportunity to "see" Amsterdam through the…read moreeyes of someone who is blind. Did you ever wonder what it would be like to walk around the city with one of those white canes? It's a lot less scary than you would think. Upon entering CtheCity your are introduced to your blind tour guide that will lead you through a mock Amsterdam (the whole tour is indoors). The journey will take you about 1 hour and everything will be in total darkness. Get ready to use your ears, hands, nose and white cane to help guide you along. Don't be scared, your guide and small group will be with you at all times. You're all there to help each other out. The tour starts in a small debriefing room that is not totally dark. You will get some instruction about what the next room has in store and then you will walk into complete and total darkness. What's the first thing you notice? Traffic and lots of it. The task, find the cross walk button and cross the road. Don't worry, there are not real cars. Throughout the course of the tour, you will have to find your way through a maze of bikes, cross a bridge, order drinks and cheers your group in a café, find a bench and sit down at Vondelpark and finally have an infrared picture of your group taken in the dark! You will notice that things start to get a bit easier as you go along as you learn how to rely on your other senses and each other. Also during the tour you will have a chance to have a frank conversation with your guide about every day challenges that they face, but you will also begin to realize that being blind is not the end of the world. There is so much that can be done without help and it's quite interesting to hear about it.

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!

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.

I couldn't be in Amsterdam without taking a canal cruise..... Luckily, I was able to hop onto this…read moreone. For EUR14.50 for a hour cruise, I really couldn't go wrong. The boat had several tables to sit at. The tour was a pre-recorded English speaking narration. However, the captain of the boat would interject at times. Go and relax! Enjoy a cruise!

Imagine a budget airline with no frills but gets you from Point A to Point B. Well, Rederji Boat…read moreTours does just that for your Amsterdam canal experience, and that's the way I like it. Seriously can't get better than a €10.50 boat ride that allows you to experience one of the greatest cities in Europe. My friend and I agreed that we just wanted to experience going through the canals on a nice day while still learning a bit about the history of Amsterdam. Rederji popped up in my search mostly for how affordable the experience was! Their departure dock is easy to find and boats set sail roughly every half hour or until it gets filled. The tour lasts for about 90 minutes and you truly get to see what makes Amsterdam so beautiful. The tour is automated with an announcer cycling through 3-4 different languages, with English being the third making it easy to catch the site while hearing what it's about. I'll admit that some parts seemed to stretch a bit (e.g. this random person's mansion squished between two equally as amusing buildings), but we didn't mind. There's no formalities and no bag checks, so you can feel free to bring snacks and drinks on board with you as you set sail around the canals. We enjoyed our time on this boat and would recommend it for anyone on a budget and want an enjoyable experience.