Amsterdam Tour Companies

[hdcnm]

Hi

My daughter and I are sailing on the Viking Kvasir Basel to Amsterdam on June 29th. We have booked a post cruise extension with Viking in Amsterdam. The extension includes a walking tour on the first day, but we would like to book a tour of Amsterdam on the second day. Has anyone used a tour company in Amsterdam? We have used Viator in other locations and been happy with their tours. When I contacted them about their Anne Frank House and Jewish Historical Museum tour they emailed me back that they were contracting new rates from their supplier and didn't know when they would have updated information. I have read that Anne Frank House tickets go quickly so I would like to book them as soon as possible. Any ideas about Amsterdam tours and other sightseeing tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

[sunsetbeachgal]

Ann Frank house is so easy to do on your own and you need to buy tickets on the internet beforehand for a timed entry, as the regular entry lines are VERY long. I would jump on this right away, and hope you aren't already too late for advance tickets as they are limited!

Edited March 12, 2016 by sunsetbeachgal

[hdcnm]

Thanks for your reply sunsetbeachgal - I have been checking the Anne Frank Haus website but I believe the tickets aren't available until one or two months before. There are actually some available for March and April. I will keep checking for the July tickets.

Thanks

[cruzzzinma]

Definitely buy tickets for the English tour on the website when they become available. When we were there in October, the "buy" ticket lines were very long.

 

The Anne Frank tour is actually a pre-brief before you go through the house. An actual tour through the museum seems like it would be impossible - it is a very small space with narrow staircases. Everyone goes the same direction.

[yoshi]

We recently took the Viator Skip the Line Tour of the Anne Frank House which was worth a little $ extra. The tour started at a diamond factory in area that was the Jewish neighborhood, we walked to the Jewish Historical Museum and Jewish Memorial. The Portuguese Synagoge was closed that day so we only walked by it. Then we took a bus to the Anne Frank House and went to the front of a very long line into the Anne Frank House. I really appreciated all of the extra narrative that the guide gave us. We are not Jewish so the extra historical information was helpful to get the whole picture. I did re-read the Anne Frank Diary before we went which also was helpful.

Have an awesome trip!

[Lois R]

Hi,:) those tickets for Anne Frank sell out in the blink of an eye. I am

going next month and when they became available I could not get to

the computer and when I looked again that same evening all the times

were sold out.:rolleyes:.....so I could not get my ticket on line. And

from what I have read, the lines are hours long if you need to buy

a ticket in person......I wanted to see it but I am not waiting hours....

I will pass.

 

As for tours? If you go to the Western Europe Forum you will find

some good information over there and check Trip Advisor too.

There are many, many, MANY tour companies in Amsterdam.

[MNPlease]

Lois- I totally hear you! I had been checking the Anne Frank house tickets ever day (they don't post full months at a time always) so sometimes dates trickle in. But they do sell out pretty much instantly. Even though there had been listed as an optional excursion to the Anne Frank house on Avalon's info for our April sailing I had decided to book tickets for us independently for the day we debarked the ship and I am so glad I did. Avalon removed the Anne Frank museum optional afternoon activity from its list of places we could choose from.

 

Tickets are pretty cheap too....so if you buy them and didn't end up using them you wouldn't be out that much but it might save you a whale of time and trouble.

 

Best to you all on your river cruises.

[franski]

We did a WWII history walk when we were in Amsterdam.

 

It lasted about 3 hours. There were only 4 of us on the tour - and we felt we learned quite a bit during the walk.

 

We also did a canal boat tour on our own, and toured the Dutch Resistance Museum.

 

Fran

[LoneStarCruisinCouple]

Hi

My daughter and I are sailing on the Viking Kvasir Basel to Amsterdam on June 29th. We have booked a post cruise extension with Viking in Amsterdam. The extension includes a walking tour on the first day, but we would like to book a tour of Amsterdam on the second day. Has anyone used a tour company in Amsterdam? We have used Viator in other locations and been happy with their tours. When I contacted them about their Anne Frank House and Jewish Historical Museum tour they emailed me back that they were contracting new rates from their supplier and didn't know when they would have updated information. I have read that Anne Frank House tickets go quickly so I would like to book them as soon as possible. Any ideas about Amsterdam tours and other sightseeing tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

Howdy hdcnm:

This is LoneStarCruisinCouple and we cruised last yearin September with Scenic Jewels of Europe Amsterdam to Budapest. We had three days in Amsterdam and used Toms Travel Tours. http://www.tomstraveltours.com

Not only is he rated as one of the best travel guides in Amsterdam by TripAdvisor he is also rated as one of the best travel photographers in Europe. Is really very nice as while you are exploring he is also taking photos of you and your tour and gives them to you when finished. Also if you have time try out Jewels Dinner Cruises and if you might like to have a nice view of the city try out the RoofTop Bar on top of the Doubletree Hotel.

Smooth Sailings

LoneStarCruisinCouple

 

Sent from my SM-G925P using Tapatalk

[hdcnm]

Thanks for information - I will investigate Toms Travel Tours

[bubbulz]

We used Mark at That Dam Guide (http://thatdamguide.com/) and he was excellent! Check out the TripAdvisor reviews. We went on a 3 hour walking tour that gave us a good overview, and then did the rest on our own. We spent one afternoon on the HOHO Canal Bus, stopping off at several places. (We skipped the Anne Frank House since none of us was really interested in dealing with a large crowd in a tight space.)

[hdcnm]

Thanks bubbuiz - I will look at that company as well. We are coming off a Viking cruise and have a walking tour the first day that Viking has arranged but I am sure that it is short and not comprehensive. We have all day and evening on the second day and we are trying to do as much as possible in the regrettably short time we have. Oh well - reason for a return trip !

That is a good point about Anne Frank House and I have seen others say that it might night be worth the hassle of getting tickets or the lines. Sad because it has such important history.

[bubbulz]

Agree re: the historical significance but I'd also advise against it if you are the least bit claustrophobic or have any mobility issues.

 

On a side note, That Dam Guide also gets rave reviews for their Red Light District tours. We didn't do one, but it did sound interesting (and wasn't an area we really cared to wander around at night on our own).

 

For one night, I'd plan a Rijsttafel dinner at either Tempo Doeloe or Blauw. We ate at the former (definitely have a reservation!) and it was great. Small, busy restaurant, but great service and great food! Blauw is quite literally a 'hole in the wall', down a quiet alley, but also gets fantastic reviews.BTW, for the Canal Bus, we paid for our tickets online in the US and then picked them up at the ticket office when we were ready to board the first time. It's an easy system to use, and you can quite literally see all of the city from the canals.

[Host Jazzbeau]

On a side note, That Dam Guide also gets rave reviews for their Red Light District tours. We didn't do one, but it did sound interesting (and wasn't an area we really cared to wander around at night on our own).

 

We did this on our own and never felt in danger at all. The problem was we were lost most of the time (in the dark)! For that reason I would use a guide.

[bubbulz]

We did this on our own and never felt in danger at all. The problem was we were lost most of the time (in the dark)! For that reason I would use a guide.

 

Oh, I think you misunderstood. I did not mean to imply we thought we would feel that we were in danger. In fact, we felt safe wherever we went while we were in Amsterdam. Rather, there are certain 'protocols' to follow while there in order to be respectful to the local customs and I think I would have felt more comfortable with a guide. Plus as you state, the mere practicality of not getting lost in the dark. ;)

[CPT Trips]

We did this on our own and never felt in danger at all. The problem was we were lost most of the time (in the dark)! For that reason I would use a guide.

 

We visited with our GCT PD. GCT PDs routinely offers extra, unadvertised tours and activities during the course of their cruises.