Amsterdam Private Guide

[KLRDUKS]

Me and my wife will be on the AMAPrima in early may (Amsterdam to Budapest) and will be coming in several days early. Anyone have a reccomendation for a private guide for Amsterdam and surrounding areas? We do want to do Alsmeer and the flower fields as well as around Amsterdam.

This board gave us a great reccomendation for a guide for Budapest and have that set up. Thanks in advance for any suggestions and contact info.

[franski]

Originally Posted by KLRDUKS

Me and my wife will be on the AMAPrima in early may (Amsterdam to Budapest) and will be coming in several days early. Anyone have a reccomendation for a private guide for Amsterdam and surrounding areas? We do want to do Alsmeer and the flower fields as well as around Amsterdam.

Take a look at Tours by Locals (http://www.toursbylocals.com/).

We booked through them in Moscow and were very pleased.

In Amsterdam, we did a walking WWII tour - found through a recommendation here on this board - and truly enjoyed it. There were 5 of us on this tour - and we learned quite a bit. Lots of walking... (over 2 hours). We ended near the Dutch Resistance Museum, and while we were too late to go after our tour ended, we were able to get back after we disembarked from our cruise.

Fran

[Talisker92]

In Budapest you do need a guide because of the hills and the city layout, In Amsterdam, you can DIY as we did.
With a good map and hopping on one of the Hop On Hop Off canal boats, almost the entire city is accessible. We spent many hours visiting various places with the canal boat.

[fred111]

I agree with Fran. Toursbylocals is a good outfit. We used them in Munich and Nuremburg and were very happy with their service.

[Jeep61]

When we had a layover in Amsterdam we enjoyed and excellent walking tour of the city with Edwin Groeneweg who owns and operates The Dutch Travel Advisor. Edwin provided a wealth of knowledge about the history and development of the city - it was an exceptional day and we recommend using his services. We wanted a walking tour but I believe he offers other options. Contact him at info@thedutchtraveladvisor.com and view the web site at http://www.thedutchtraveladvisor.com/

Hope this helps in your enjoyment of Amsterdam!

[franski]

Originally Posted by franski

In Amsterdam, we did a walking WWII tour - found through a recommendation here on this board - and truly enjoyed it. Fran

Sorry - forgot to include the contact info... http://www.historywalks.eu/

Fran

[nothriver]

In June 2012 we hired Marius: http://www.dagtoertaxi.nl/services.html

He collected us from the airport, gave us a driving tour then a walking tour of the Amsterdam while our luggage was safely locked in his van. After our tour he took us to our hotel. He was a wonderful guide. After an overnight flight, we were so tired it was hard to keep our eyes open but it was our only day in Amsterdam and with our guide Marius, we were able to make the most of it. The next day, we we were able to tour two museums on our own before checking out of our hotel and embarking on our cruise.

Before our trip, Marius emailed tour options and was very responsive. We would definitely hire Marius again. We originally found him from a recommendation in old thread on this forum!

[pixiegirl-loves-travel]

My daughter and I spent several days in Amsterdam before our Russian River Cruise last July. Amsterdam is so easy to explore on your own- and everbody speaks English- just an fyi in case you've not been there before. I was so shocked by how walkable and easy it was! We then booked several tours thru Viator online. We took a day trip thru the Holland countryside to see the windmills, Delft pottery, Madurodam and Volendam- it was quite reasonable. We also saw The Hague and toured a wooden shoe factory. We rented a private room and bathroom on a houseboat in the Jordaan area which gave us easy access to everything.

If you've not already done so, get your tickets to the Anne Frank house online ASAP.

Of course if you desire a truly private outing, everybody else has great recommendations.

Have a great trip!