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Amsterdam Tours & Activities

Now that your flights and accommodations are booked, now you get to plan the fun stuff. What to do in Amsterdam? The must-do attraction, no matter how much time you spend in Amsterdam, is a canal cruise. I typically suggest two boat rides, a day cruise and night cruise to see the city and its landmarks from both perspectives. My top cruise company recommendations are:

Smokeboat Canal Cruise, small boat for 20 guests

Canal Cruise
Now that your flights and accommodations are booked, now you get to plan the fun stuff. What to do in Amsterdam? The must-do attraction, no matter how much time you spend in Amsterdam, is a canal cruise. I typically suggest two boat rides, a day cruise and night cruise to see the city and its landmarks from both perspectives. My top cruise company recommendations are:

Flagship
Romantic Amsterdam Boat Tours
Captain Dave
Amsterdam Boat Adventures
Pure Boats
Those Dam Boat Guys
Captain Jack
Voyage Amsterdam 
Smoke Boat Cruise
Buddha Boat

Cafe Hoppe, the original Dutch Brown Bar

Bike Tours
Amsterdam bike tours are a popular experience travelers want, but consider if a city bike tour or a bike tour in the countryside is best for your group. If anyone is not a great rider, they will feel more comfortable riding in places like Zaanse Schans. If you dream of riding on the streets and parks of Amsterdam Flagship and Those Dam Boat Guys have great canal cruise & bike tour combo tours.

Amsterdam Highlights Bike tour (Flagship)
Hidden gems & highlights bike tour
Amsterdam: Windmill, Cheese, and Countryside E-Bike Tour
From Lisse: Keukenhof Flower Fields Bike Tour

The Rijksmuseum

Museums
Museums in Amsterdam are some of the best in the world. The Rijksmusem and Van Gogh are well known, but don’t leave Museumsplain until you’ve gone to the Moco Museum Amsterdam too. Some of Amsterdam’s best museums are lesser known. Amsterdam’s Our Lord in the Attic Museum is one of the best museums, hidden behind the canal house facades. Places like The Upside Down Amsterdam are a little farther away from the city center, but the excellent public transportation makes it easy to reach. Don’t try to visit all of these in one trip:

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
Rijksmuseum Private Guide
Van Gogh Museum
Moco Museum Amsterdam
Stedelijk Museum
Bol Cocktail Experience
Rembrandt House Museum
Our Lord in the Attic Museum
Amsterdam National Holocaust Museum
Amsterdam Jewish Museum
Nemo
Red Light Secrets Museum of Prostitution
STRAAT Museum
Amsterdam: Museum of the Canals
Wondr Experience Amsterdam
The Upside Down Museum
Amsterdam : Amaze Immersive

Although touristy, the Majestic offers good food with an amazing patio to relax.

Food Tours
Amsterdam food tours are focused on hidden gems found in the Jordaan neighborhood and open-air markets. Many travelers are curious about the taboo parts of Amsterdam.

10 Tastings Guided Food Tour
Street Food Tours Amsterdam
Amsterdam Jordaan Food & drink tour
Boutique Amsterdam Food Tour
Amsterdam Food & Culture tour with tastings
Private Amsterdam RLD and Food Tour
Restaurant 1e Klas- 3 course
Restaurant 1e Klas- bitterballen tasting

Anne Frank House in the Jordaan

History Tours
Amsterdam history tours are very popular attractions in the city for an indepth look at the history that created this European Capital City. Amsterdam Red Light District tour or Red Light District & Coffeeshop tour are great either for laughs or learning.

Anne Frank History Tour
Life of Anne Frank & WWII walking tour
Highlights and History walking tour
Small group tour with fun guide
Red Light District Tour
RLD & Coffeeshop Tour
Brothel Tour w/ former sex worker

Day Trips
Taking day trips from Amsterdam is fast and easy on the train or with a guided tour. If you want to see the Amsterdam windmills, you will need to leave Amsterdam and head to Zaanse Schans, 15 minutes outside of the city. The same with visiting the Muiderslot Castle, just 15 minutes out of the city of Amsterdam. Is Rotterdam worth visiting? Is Haarlem worth visiting? Is Utrecht worth visiting? Yes, yes and yes! They are all worth visiting if you have the time and if not, you’ll have to plan to come back. These are some of my favorite day trips from Amsterdam:

Keukenhof Gardens
Keukenhof & Zaanse Schans Windmills
Keukenhof, Tulip Farm Full Day tour with cruise
Haarlem canal and windmill tour
Utrecht city tour
Utrecht canal cruise
Castle de Haar tour
Giethoorn Day Trip, boat & walking tour
Giethoorn with boat tour
Rotterdam Guided Trip to Rotterdam, Delft & The Hague
Day Tour to Rotterdam, Delft & the Hague
Zaanse Schans. The Hague & Rotterdam Tour

Maritime Museum & replica ship

Amsterdam with Kids
Amsterdam with kids? Absolutely! You can completely avoid the Red Light District and still have an amazing trip to Amsterdam with the whole family. Amsterdam is filled with parks and playgrounds and if you visit in the spring or summer they will be filled with kids. Picnic lunches and playdates at the park is a great way for kids to run around and get their wiggles out. On sunny days, the beach at Zandvoort is only 30 minutes away!  

A canal cruise is a quintessential way for all visitors to see Amsterdam. But not all cruises are appropriate for kids. Most have a disclaimer that they are 16+ for humor or 18+ for a cannabis friendly boat. But there are also boat tours with kids in mind! Flagship canal cruises are my go-to cruise for all ages, because they are small, captained boats and don’t need to be booked ahead of time. Another good cruise with kids is the Hop on/Hop off boat, but only the boat. Skip the bus tour completely, the bus drives around the city on the motorway and you don’t get to see any sights. Additionally, Blue Boat has an afternoon kids cruise that cater to young kids with a scavenger hunt and cute characters.   

Some of the best things to do in Amsterdam with kids include:
Nemo
Het Scheepvaartmuseum
Artis Park
A’dam Lookout (burger)
This is Holland
STRAAT Museum (Street Art Museum)

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