Private canal cruise Amsterdam

The best way to enjoy a canal cruise in Amsterdam is a private canal cruise. You do this at your own pace and you can be picked up in front of your hotel. We drop you where you want. You can ask all the questions that you want, no audioguide. No other people onboard besides your guide, the captain and the person who serves your drinks. We can include just the drinks, or even complete dinners onboard. We can do the cruise on the time of day that you want. All our tours are customizable, also the private cruise. 

Salonboats Amsterdam

We have private salonboats for 2 persons up to 25 and private ships for bigger groups. The small boats can go through certain canals, like the red light district area, where the bigger boats can not go. All boats have a covered section and an outdoor sitting area so we are not dependent on the weather. If we rent the boat for a half or a full day, we can even cruise down the Amstel river for a while and see the beautiful area south of Amsterdam.

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Amsterdam walk

In the morning we make a 2,5 hr private walk in the old city centre of Amsterdam. Among the highlights are the National monument, the Royal Palace on Dam square and the oldest streets of the city. In the mornings there is not too much activity in the red light district yet. That is why the morning is the perfect time to visit that area.

Countryside of Holland

After our walk, we drive to the north. Away from the big tourbus groups, we can have lunch in one of the most authentic fishing villages in the northern part of Holland. In this area many people still live in wooden houses from the 18^th century. Here you can actually see the true authentic Holland, that you only know from old postcards. Wooden houses painted in green, black and white. Sometimes even with thatched roofs. I will tell you all about it.

‘God created the world, but the Dutch made the Netherlands’. You will agree on that, after you have seen the Beemster Polder, an exceptional example of reclaimed land. They drained this huge lake already in 1609, just by windmills.

The nearby Schermerlake, was drained in 1632 and here we can visit one of the original windmills. You can climb to the top of the windmill, and see how the miller rotates the cap. After I helped you to pronounce ‘Schermer’, you will understand why the Dutch resistance always used passwords with ‘sch’ in it during the war.

Video of the countryside

Click here to watch a video of the Dutch countryside that we shot in April.

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Windmills and reclaimed land

The morning we will spend in the northern part of the province Holland. ‘God created the world, but the Dutch made the Netherlands’. You will agree on that, after you have seen the Beemster Polder, an exceptional example of reclaimed land. They drained this huge lake already in 1609, just by windmills.

The nearby Schermerlake, was drained in 1632 and here we can visit one of the original windmills. See the windmill in a video here. You can climb to the top of the windmill, and see how the miller rotates the cap. After I helped you to pronounce ‘Schermer’, you will understand why the Dutch resistance always used passwords with ‘sch’ in it during the war. 

Coastal area Holland

Next destination is the coastal area, the Kennemerdunes. We can have lunch in Bloemendaal at the beach and If you want we can make quick walk at the beach or through the National Park Kennemerduinen. The Nazis used this area during the war as a location to execute members of the resistance. We can visit the war cemetery, beautifully located in the dunes, with the graves of 347 Dutch resistance fighters. All men, just one lady; Hannie Schaft, the girl with the red hair.

Haarlem visit

A short drive brings us to the city of Haarlem where we can make a walk through the oldest part of the city centre.

If you want we can visit the Bavo church where Mozart played the organ. Or maybe you prefer to sit down in a local pub and taste one of the local beers Haarlem is famous for? You will agree with me that Haarlem is as beautiful as Amsterdam is, but without all the traffic, the tourists and the million cyclists.

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Private walking tour Amsterdam

We will show you the highlights the city centre has to offer. Of course you will see Dam square, where Amsterdam started. People were already living on dikes along the Amstel river, but around 1250 these two dikes were connected by a dam. We will show you these two dikes and tell you all about the Dam cities in Holland.
The medieval church at Dam square has no tower. We will tell you why. Also I will explain why the street in between the church and the Palace had a different name during WW2. You will see the borders of the city, from 1350, 1375 and 1450. We will show you why most spout gables can be found at the Prinsencanal and the biggest canal houses on the eastern side on the UNESCO canal district. After this walk you can tell everybody at home why for centuries, visitors called Amsterdam the beautiful virgin with the stinking breath

Red light district Amsterdam

The red light district is the old harbour of Amsterdam. The sailors needed bars, churches and prostitutes. The sailors are gone, but the rest is still there. Let us know if you want to see the area or not. The morning is the best time of day to see the area because there is not much activity yet, but you will get a good idea of what is going on here. The area is normally just a small part of the tour and we mainly focus on the beautiful gables of the canalhouses, the architecture and the two oldest canals in Amsterdam.

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Cheese and wooden shoes

I will pick you up from your hotel and we will explore the countryside north of Amsterdam. In this part of the province Holland, you can see how the people have been fighting the water for almost 1000 years. You will see dikes, polders and dams everywhere. First stop is the former island of Marken, in the former SoutherSea, nowadays a fresh water lake. The first inhabitants lived on artificial hills, to protect themselves from the water. Next stop is the town of Volendam. We will make a walk through this traditional Dutch fisherman’s village. In an old cheese farm they show us how they still make their own cheese, how wooden shoes were made and of course you can taste some local cheeses. For a preview, watch our video here.

Windmills and reclaimed land

Now its time to show you my favorite village! One of the best preserved village in the entire area is De Rijp, with its beautifully restored 17th century houses, all bear witness to the style and glory of the past steeped in a long tradition of whaling fleets and herring fishing. The Beemster polder is an absolute miracle. The draining of this lake in 1612 is a shining example of how the Dutch “created” large areas of their country. In Schermerhorn we will visit a waterpumping windmill from 1632! This windmill is closed from November untill end of March. Then we visit the windmills at Zaanse Schans.

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