Like many other popular destinations in Europe, Amsterdam can be busy. In fact, Amsterdam is one of the busiest destinations in Europe. We highly recommend planning your trip before you arrive. We also recommend not spending too much time standing in line waiting for your opportunity to buy tickets. Most of those tickets can be bought on line and several offer fast track access or skip-the-line tickets. In this post you can find an overview of handpicked tours and excursions in and around Amsterdam.
Before we can discuss buying tickets, you need to think about the best way to get around Amsterdam. First of all, how to get from the airport to the city center. Luckily Amsterdam Airport is also a train station with trains departing to Amsterdam Central Station every 10 minutes or so. Within Amsterdam you can either walk or use public transport. We recommend using both. Amsterdam’s public transport company GVB offers unlimited passes for 1 to 7 days. You can find them here.
Useful links
When you arrive in Amsterdam, it is difficult to immediately understand what is worth a visit and what is best to skip. We highly recommend that you do a walking tour as soon as you arrive in Amsterdam. This way you can get to know the city and decide where to go later. We always recommend smaller tour groups so you don’t add to the problems of overtourism.
Amsterdam can be a bit overwhelming. It is also difficult to understand what is good to visit and what is best to skip. We therefore recommend doing a walking tour as soon as you arrive in the city. We also recommend using a small tour group so you don’t add to traffic congestion and overtourism problems in the city. A private tour might be a bit more expensive but this is the most comfortable way to explore the city. This private tour is very convenient. Your guide will pick you up at your accommodation and you will get a good introduction to Amsterdam.
Amsterdam is home to several world renowned breweries including Heineken and Amstel Beer. On top of that, the city now has a lively micro-brewery scenery. During this tour you will join a small group of maximum 12 participants and start exploring Amsterdam’s beer scene. The three hour tour will bring you to breweries, bars and beer halls where you will taste several uniquely Dutch beers.
Follow in the footsteps of Anne Frank in this 2 hour walking tour through the heart of the city. During this you will learn more about a dark part of Amsterdam’s history. You will learn about how Anne Frank lived in the city in the 1930s and 1940s. Your expert guide will share stories about her life, the conditions she lived through while also learning about the Dutch resistance and see where secret hiding places were located. During this walking tour you will visit the Jewish Historical Museum, the Portuguese Synagogue, the Auschwitz Monument and the façade of Anne Frank House.
Formerly known as the Amsterdam ArenA, the Johan Cruyff Arena is the home of the world renowned football club AFC Ajax. Ajax is known around the world for its attacking football, youth academy and many famous players. Ajax is only one of the few clubs that have won the Champions League/Europa Cup 1 at four different occasions. Some of the world’s greatest players from the past and present have played at Ajax or came through the academy. This includes old time legends such as Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten and Dennis Bergkamp. More recently the club brought players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Luis Suarez, Mathijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong to the big stage. During this tour a guide will walk you through the stadium, the museum and you will almost walk onto the pitch.
Just outside Amsterdam you can visit several old Dutch villages. These villages are beautifully situated in the Dutch countryside. Here you can experience how people in the Netherlands lived centuries ago. During this 6.5 hours bus tour you will visit the picturesque towns of Edam, Volendam, Marken, and Zaanse Schans. Learn about Dutch culture, admire quintessential Dutch lighthouses, and explore a cheese factory. The tour includes transport, a Spanish or English speaking guide as well as entrance to a cheese farm and traditional clog workshop.
The Netherlands might be small but it is much bigger than just Amsterdam. If you are staying in Amsterdam for longer than a few days, we recommend leaving the city onone of those days and explore a bity more of the country. This day trip will take you out of the city and to some of the country’s most famous other cities. The tour takes about 10 hours and includes the main highlights of The Hague, Delft and Rotterdam. In Rotterdam you will take a boat tour into Europe’s largest harbor.
Sky line of Rotterdam
