So there we were, in Amsterdam chatting with other folks from the hotel. They spoke about food tour…read moreand we've done them before as well so we decide to delve in. After a bunch of research we decide on hungry birds, and it was a good decision. Our guide for the tour was Anne, as you proved to be a little ball of positive energy that was totally appreciated. She handled controversial issues well, and introduced us to many of the tastes of the market. We tasted everything from fresh Herring to smoke deal to sought after, cookies and we seem to have a back door, no line access to everything. If you'd like to stop reading now is a good point but know that we are big fans of Angry Birds We met at the designated location, introduced ourselves to the other people on the tour and then Anne showed up. She arrived bearing cookies, and my wife and I had actively sought out these cookies just the day before as we had seen them on Instagram. We waited for 15 minutes in line to buy our Van Stapele cookies and here she was showing up with a fresh batch to share with us to get the party started. It was a great start. We then moved onto multiple quality tastes. My wife, ever the brave soul, volunteered to taste the whole fresh Herring that was offered to her, served in the traditional fashion of the seasonal run of the fresh Herring. So it arrived on a plate with onions and pickles, and Leah was taught how to hold the Herring by picking it up from its tail, adding the onions and the pickles and then taking a bite. Mind you the fish had been deboned and cleaned, but it looked every bit of a fish without the head. I volunteered to try a couple of bites as well and enjoyed it. This was at the Volendammer Vishandel, and there was no doubt about the fish being fresh as the place was very busy I don't want to go on and on and ruin your trip to the food tour and so I'll stop here but the combination of the energetic tour guide and the unique stories told made it a very quick four hour tour that I would encourage my friends to take.

We loved this tour. It was so informative and so much fun. Anne was so wonderful and so much fun…read more You wont be disappointed.

I cannot think of a better way to spend a drizzling Sunday afternoon than taking a culinary walk…read morewith friends. The organizers of WijnSpijs had the brilliant idea to line up 7 great restaurants, cafés and bars to spoil 400 guests between 12.00 to 17.00 with their best wine paired with a small dish. Et voilà: the first culinaire wandeling - Pijp edition was born! So you call up your friends, check who's in, choose the order in which you want to visit the different places and buy your tickets (don't underestimate this last step, the event was sold out quite quickly). There's no guide that's gonna take you by the hand and lead you from one spot to the other. Also the time management is totally up to you. We didn't spend so much time in the first two places since we had to find our own schedule. The downside of the concept is that it might feel quite ongezellig having to leave when you're just about to getting cozy. But every new visit is exciting. You don't know what wine and what dish you're gonna get beforehand, so you get a lot of surprises. Most places were able to serve the wine and food in a decent time. Unfortunately we had a half an hour wait at the bar of Boca's. We didn't even get a table. Another group of 5 guests who arrived after us however did and even got their food before us. We really had to earn these hamburgers. Also Bar Americano as our last stop was rather disappointing. What they called risotto was just not. It was a rice dish with white asparagus. And it looked funny after the waitress gave it a final touch by generously grating pecorino cheese over the plates and table cloth. All the other places convinced me with their delicious dishes and I also enjoyed most of the wines. The one they served at Bar Barrique was everyone's favourite: Cuvée Licorne by Domaine des Aspras. These winemakers go the extra mile to give it a hint of cognac. So do I have to be hard-drinking to attend this tour?, I hear you asking. It's definitely an advantage. Although the wines are paired with food you might get a little tipsy towards the end.

From the owner: Wijnspijs organiseert culinaire wandelingen door heel Nederland! We zijn ook gespecialiseerd in…read moreculinaire bedrijfsuitjes!

Thijs took us on a wonderful tour filled with great food and a fantastic history lesson of…read moreAmsterdam. He was engaging and knowledgeable. We tried a variety of food and drinks. Would recommend 100%!

From the owner: We love good food and we suspect you do too. We have lived in Amsterdam for many years and in…read moreaddition to being seasoned, local guides we are also chefs, artists or teachers in this city that we love so deeply and know so well. Each one of us has our own specific stories that we are longing to share with you and we aim to turn each and every tour into a unique experience, together with you, our guest.

I booked this well in advance (6 - 8 weeks). You pay a nominal booking fee (maybe a Euro or two…read moreper person) to book, the tour is free, and you are expected to tip a decent amount at the end (at least 10 Euros). I figured it would be a good orientation and we'd have some flexibility if our plans changed late. We ended up sleeping later than planned on our first full day in Amsterdam (thanks, jet-lag). We did, however, manage to arrive at the rendezvous point (the monument in Dam Plaza) at least 5 minutes before tour time (10:30 a.m.). There were about 3 tour groups assembling at the same time. The company divided us up among appropriate guides and the tours began. Our guide was Paul Bierman. He was a lifelong resident of Amsterdam and had the associated level of knowledge about things. The tours are somewhat free form, and can focus on whatever the group likes - architecture, history, etc. Our group wasn't super decisive so we got a broad overview (which was fine). Paul walked us around the city center pointing out old churches, the first stock exchange, whimsical local canal lore, canal-side houseboats (one of which was a dedicated cat sanctuary), etc. It was a bit of a potpourri of local facts and trivia but everyone enjoyed it. We ended up back near the starting point close to 2 hours later. Overall, I thought this was a good introduction to the central city. It is a good option for a first-time visitor's first day in Amsterdam.

I've visited Amsterdam four times, but I just discovered the free tours by Free Walking Tours. On…read morethe day before my departure, I was thrilled to find one available in the afternoon. With a big group, It was split into two groups and I was assigned to Sebastiaan. His passion for history and sense of humor made the tour truly enjoyable. His familiarity with New York also helped me draw interesting connections between the two cities. This experience made my trip memorable, and I highly recommend him. I plan to return for more tours in the future. Thank you Free Walking Tours!

My daughter and I recently took a trip to Amsterdam for our birthday celebrations. I cannot say…read moreenough about Tom's Travel Tours. Our guide, Joyce, took us to the Keukenhof where she filled our tulip tour with much interesting and fun information. She took us to an organic farm, several roadside tulip fields, and lunch in Bergen. Excellent guide. Our guide, Jacky, was so accommodating and fun taking us on our walking tour and food tour. She kept us moving but at a comfortable speed. We had a private canal cruise with Wim, who, also, was so knowledgeable and shared so much information along the way. It is so worth it to book a tour company and I highly, highly recommend Tom's Travel Tours. Thank you for the most enjoyable visit to Amsterdam!

We booked three tours from Amsterdam: 3 hour walking tour Jordaan/Amsterdam, Guided visit to the…read moreVan Gogh Museum and Rijksmuseum, Royal tour Delft and Hague; one tour from Gent: Elegant Ghent Tour; and one tour from Bruges: Charming Bruges. All were excellent. In particular, our Amsterdam guide, Joyce, had excellent in-depth knowledge that was particularly useful in the museums we visited with her: the Van Gogh museum, Rijksmuseum, and the Mauritshuis; and in the Royal Delft museum in the Royal Delft factory. She was able to go beyond what was written on the displays and give further context and meaning, as well as identifying optimum ways of navigating throught these sometimes crowded museums. Mieke in Gent was obviously well-known there: people kept on stopping and talking with her. And Hendrickx was very useful in Bruges.

Great tour with Shaun. Fun, knowledgeable and took us to places we never would have thought to go…read more Great tour, great price!

My friends and I just returned from Amsterdam where we had two wonderful days with Dina who guided…read moreus through the countryside outside of Amsterdam. We saw working windmills (not the tourist site stuff), learned how wooden shoes and cheese were made and explored quaint, historic cities in the area. Dina customized our tour to meet our needs and provided us with unique experiences. She doesn't just do food tours (although she was a chef at one time). I won't hesitate to call her for future tours with my clients now that I have personally experienced her wonderful service.

From the owner: Private City tours with a culinary twistread more

Maybe it was all tour guide, but at the end of trip, our group (8 of us) didn't feel it was a good…read moreuse of our time and kind of wish we had just gone exploring on our own. I guess it really depend on the guide, as I've been on these type of "free" tours where we learned a lot about the city and greatly enhanced the rest of our stay with local tips about restaurants etc. For this tour, it started out fine, the guide talked to us about the unique architecture of the houses and how they can become tilted. Unfortunately afterwards it was mostly just a lot of walking, and as it was a big group (the company had split the participants into several groups already, but it was still a good-sized group that formed a long line on the narrow streets), the few closer to the tour guide may have gotten a lot more out of the experience as they chat with the guide along the way, but the rest of us felt excluded. The little info we got was mostly history with a dry presentation. Early in the trip, I have asked the guide about something, and she said she'd explained more about that later. Towards the end of the trip, I mentioned to another traveler that I never did find out more about that something, and the lady said, oh, the guide did talk about it. I was a bit bummed to have missed it, and also felt that a more attentive guide would have sought to include me in that part of the talk. As said I've enjoyed many of this type of tours, so when we visited Amsterdam we did a bit of research and signed up for this one due to its good rating. Unfortunately the experience didn't live up to our expectation.

Gotta give it up to Shanna for an awesome tour! The weather was cold, grey and drizzly but she…read morestill brought positive energy and a good attitude. There were also moments where random interlopers interrupted her or the group got separated by traffic and she handled it all professionally. What I enjoyed the most was her depth of knowledge about the different social groups living in the city. Our group got into some detailed discussion around the history of the slave trade and sex industry in the city and at all points she gave a balanced perspective. I liked the combination of fun history with socially aware commentary on what it means today. I would totally recommend the tour, and Shanna to anyone visiting Amsterdam.