We will be in Amsterdam in late August, and are having trouble selecting a walking tour company. I'm a little leery of the free ones, especially after reading something about them interfering with paid tour operators trying to conduct their business. The companies with lots of reviews on TripAdvisor are not as highly rated, and the ones with better reviews don't have that many. Some of the companies' tours are full or the company is not getting back to me. Opinions? Has anyone taken a Mee-in-Mokum tour? We will have our 14- and 17-year-old daughters with us, so we need a tour guide who is animated enough to keep them from getting bored. Thanks.
Posted by
Orange Park, Fl
985 posts
I was on the fence about taking a walking tour but finally decided we would enjoy Amsterdam much more by doing one. We have booked with That Dam Guide for the second morning after our arrival. He keeps his group size small and gets rave reviews.
Posted by
Cherry Hill, NJ
154 posts
If you want animation and a good bang for your buck, I recommend Sandeman's New Europe "free" tours, It's 3-3.5 hrs of greatness! Teenagers will not be bored. These guides are young and energetic.
Our tour guide was Julian (a cute 20 something Aussie who married a Dutch gal) I can't say enough good things about our experience. Don't let the "free" thing cloud your judgement. They're not really free, you're expected to tip at the end which we gladly did.
I was so over the moon with our experience in Amsterdam (April 2014) we sought out the same tour in Paris (April 2015). It did not disappoint. We also booked a paid tour of Montmartre with Sandeman's. I look forward to another tour in Dublin and Prague next year. We may go back to Amsterdam in 2017 and I will seek out Julian again since we'll be with friends who are new to Amsterdam. You won't be disappointed.