Private City Kickstart Tour: Amsterdam

Recommended by 98% of travelers

Badge of Excellence

Amsterdam, Netherlands

1 hour 30 minutes (approx.)
Group discounts
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Kickstart your visit to Amsterdam on a private and personalized sightseeing tour of the city’s hot spots and can’t-miss attractions. Stroll through some of the most interesting areas, such as Dam Square and the Red Light District (De Wallen), while a local host shares insight and tips on the best places to shop, dine, and explore like a local.

Kickstart your time in Amsterdam on a 1.5-hour private intro tour
Get insider tips on sightseeing, dining, and navigating the city
Skip the group tours and explore at your own pace on a more personal tour
Private tour, exclusively for your party: a personalized experience

What's Included

Private Tour
Local Guide
Local Tips and Tricks
City Orientation

Hotel pickup and drop-off
Food and drinks

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Prins Hendrikkade 59, 1012 AD Amsterdam, Netherlands
At the entrance of the NH Collection Amsterdam Barbizon Palace

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Itinerary

Start your time in Amsterdam on the right foot with the help of a local guide on this great-value tour. Meet your personal ‘city concierge’ at Central Station, and set off on a customized stroll through the city’s most captivating and iconic districts, plus tucked-away treasures that many visitors miss.

Admire architectural highlights like St. Nicholas Church, soak up the multicultural vibe of Chinatown and satisfy your curiosity in the infamous Red Light District. After breathing in the fragrant Bloemenmarkt (flower market) air, take in all the bustling action of Dam Square and visit hidden medieval chapels in beautiful Begijnhof.

Along the way, ask all the questions you like to help you make the most of your visit. Your guide is full of useful information like where to find the most delicious internationally-inspired meals, how to get advance tickets for the Anne Frank House, and the best approach to partaking in the city’s famous nightlife. The itinerary can be customized based on your personal interests. At the conclusion of the tour, Say farewell to your new local friend at a hand-picked cafe in Rembrandt Square.

Dam Square

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Nieuwmarkt

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Red Light District (De Wallen) (Pass By)

Bloemenmarkt (Pass By)

Rembrandtplein (Pass By)

Dutch National Opera & Ballet (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level

Post Covid-19 regulations are applied to this product with regards to the number of participants, delivery methods of the tour and content of the tour.
Private tour: only you & your local guide
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

4.9

based on 165 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Great way to get introduced to Amsterdam.

Mark_B, Apr 2025

Great introductory tour of the heart of the city. We very much enjoyed our guide's local expertise and tips on how to navigate the city. It was a great first tour for my son's first trip to the city.

Great tour

Olga_E, Sep 2024

It's a great kickstart tour that helps to understand the history of the city and plan the activities for the stay. We really enjoy ed it.

Private walking tour

Kimberly_S, Jan 2024

Very knowledgeable and fun guide for our group. We appreciated the insider knowledge and fun facts. Thank you!

No provision for bad weather

Lawrence_C, Jul 2023

Area was experiencing severe thunder and lightning storms (in fact the airport, and I’ll public transportation have been stopped due to the weather ) Subway was closed and traffic was at a standstill, so no way to get to the site for the start of the tour. Reached out to the tour guide who informed me that even though the weather was bad, there was no way to cancel and get a refund. Doubt I’ll be using this booking service again.

Response from Host, Jul 2023

Dear Lawrence, Thank you for sharing your feedback regarding your recent experience in Amsterdam. We apologize for any inconvenience you may have encountered due to the severe thunder and lightning storms that occurred during your scheduled tour. We understand that the weather conditions resulted in significant disruptions to transportation, with the airport and public transportation being halted. The closure of the subway and the standstill traffic made it impossible for you to reach the tour starting point on time. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused. In such situations, we always strive to provide the best possible support and flexibility to our customers. However, we would like to clarify that cancellations and refunds due to extreme weather conditions are subject to our cancellation policy, which takes into account various factors including the guidance of local authorities and the safety of our customers. To assist you further and address your concerns, we kindly request you to contact us directly at info@withlocals.com and provide us with your booking ID. This information will allow us to investigate the specific details of your reservation and work toward a resolution that meets your expectations. Please share the booking ID with us at your earliest convenience. We value your feedback and are committed to resolving this matter to your satisfaction. We hope to have the opportunity to make it up to you and restore your faith in our booking service. Thank you for your understanding, and we look forward to hearing from you soon. Best regards, Withlocals team

Great kickstart!

Joan_R, Jun 2023

Very informative! Was really good to get the feel of the area and some great information about what we were seeing. Would highly suggest to anyone who doesn’t know the area.

Highly Recommend

Jill_L, May 2023

Willem went above and beyond! We arrived late into Amsterdam, after our tour was supposed to start, due to flight delays. We notified Viator who notified our tour guide, Willem. Willem graciously agreed to meet us the following day at a time convenient to both of us; his tour did not disappoint. Willem tailored our tour to areas we were interested in seeing all the while filling us in with details and interesting facts about Amsterdam. We loved the tour and appreciate Willem’s flexibility in rescheduling our tour. We highly recommend this tour and we highly recommend Willem!

City tour

Marc_G, Sep 2022

More history please, fewer opinions. Shave and look presentable/professional. Speak to entire group, not just one individual.

Response from Host, Sep 2022

Hi there, my name is Lieke from Withlocals and I am part of the quality and support team. At Withlocals we want our guests to have the best experience of their trip so we are very disappointed to find out about your negative tour experience. As we cannot directly get in touch with you from here, please email us at info@withlocals.com and we will make sure to follow up on this issue. We are looking forward to your email. Thank you and please accept our apology on behalf of Withlocals. Have a great day, Lieke | Withlocals

Download walking tours on your own

Brenda_V, Jul 2022

Very little historical information was shared. We got lost before meeting guide. Guide states to ask whatever you’d like. But you don’t know what to ask if we have never been to city.

Response from Host, Jul 2022

Good way to start

Stephanie_H, Jul 2022

Just our group so we got to ask a lot of questions. Not to much walking and at a slow pace. Great start to our Amsterdam stay.

Walking tour

Lynne_A, Jul 2022

Anna was great, so much information, any questions answered, highly recommend. She asked what we wanted to see and goes at your pace. Thank you

Time well spent

Tony_H, Jun 2022

Marten was very personable and gave a good insight not only about Amsterdam but the Dutch way of life

Great host

Marsha_O, May 2022

Anna was a delightful guide and was very accommodating to our schedule, which was delayed due to a late flight. Her knowledge of history and locations in Amsterdam was impressive and her personality was enjoyable. I recommend this tour

Great tour of Amsterdam

Abigail_G, May 2022

This was a great walking tour of Amsterdam. Our tour guide was a native and had a deep interest in architecture, which was an added bonus.

I feel like a resident!

Carmelia_O, May 2022

My guide Anna was magnificent! The next day I returned to the areas we toured and I felt like a resident. Because I navigate best using landmarks I truly felt safe and comfortable wandering about on my own.

Excellent Private Tour!!

Roberta, Apr 2022

Willem is an excellent guide! He truly knows and loves his city, Amsterdam! Many thanks to Willem for a great tour and for his kindness!

Very flexible tour guide...

Ana_H, Sep 2021

Very flexible tour guide accommodated to our needs. Good listener and knew answers of everything we asked

Amsterdam overview tour

Greg_C, Aug 2021

Arunabha was very knowledgeable and we enjoyed our tour! He gave us a great history of the city and many interesting facts.

1st timer

Denise_E, Jul 2021

The tour was great- Anna was very warm and welcoming. She is very knowledgeable and quite the history buff when to comes to Amsterdam. This was only 90min- I chose this tour to kill some time before meeting my daughter for the evening and it was perfect. Now, I’ll return to the things that really interest me the rest of the week.

Knowledgable and personal

Deborah_H, Nov 2019

Our tour was fantastic. Saw a lot and had detailed information from our guide. He seems to thoroughly enjoy showing people around and was a fountain of information. I highly recommend this tour and our guide.

This tour was VERY informative and...

Gretchen H, Sep 2017

This tour was VERY informative and worth taking to get acquainted with the surrounding area. You will walk through all the important tourist areas you have probably read about prior to arriving. We met our tour guide in front of Central Station which made it really convenient. The 1.5 hour tour was just long enough to touch on all the highlights. Then, you can go back and visit and stay longer at the places that you really found of interest. Make sure you wear some good walking shoes!

Very relaxed and informal...

E A H, Sep 2017

Very relaxed and informal introduction of Amsterdam with Karina, who was well-informed and kept us engaged and showed us some places that we would never have found easily on our own. An ideal way to kick-start your Amsterdam holiday.

Si quieres un vistazo general

MariaElena_R, Oct 2021

Nuestro guía nos habló de la historia y las peculiaridades de Amsterdam, de atracciones poco conocidas, de dónde comprar, comer y pasear en la ciudad. Fue amable.