Amsterdam Private Tour: Highlights & Hidden Gems By Bike Or Foot

Annet was simply the best! We spent four wonderful hours exploring Amsterdam with her on a private tour, and she made the city come alive with her knowledge, warmth, and delightful personality. She listened carefully to what interested us and created an experience that felt completely personal—never rushed or rehearsed. Annet was engaging, thoughtful, and an absolute pleasure to spend time with. By the end of the tour, we felt as though we had explored Amsterdam with a dear friend. This was truly one of the highlights of our trip, and we cannot recommend Annet highly enough! Charlene n Ron

Christa was wonderful! The tour was exactly what we wanted the day before our cruise. Great way to see the best of Amsterdam!

Sebastian was amazing and very friendly. We have had a wonderful time even though we were not experts with cycling. He has even provided us with recommendations to try through our trip. Enjoying the city vibes on a bike is totally worth it. Totally recommend this experience.

Amsterdam is a jewel not to be missed! Our guide Ann walked our foursome through the hidden paths of history, through beautiful canals, cathedrals, delicious chocolate, cafes and restaurants. Ann is a very engaging guide and we truly enjoyed our hours with her in Amsterdam.

I waited two weeks to give With Locals a chance to address our guide Helena’s blatant racism but looks like she is still a guide advertised on their website so their values clearly align with hers. Less than an hour into our tour (me and my friend, both of us white-presenting North American female doctors) during our stop at the historic post office she (in NO relation to the history of the post office) made statements such as “the muslims invading our country are threatening the gay community” and likened it to “blacks in America being disproportionately incarcerated because they’re criminals”. It was unsolicited, unrelated to our tour and completely unhinged. She saw that such blatant racism rattled me, locked eyes with me and doubled down with vitriol when I asked her to repeat herself, thinking I must have misunderstood. Not even an apology for overstepping as a tour guide. I ended the tour right there. With Locals refunded my money immediately though it was impossible to use their website to communicate with the company so I finally tracked them down on IG DM. They still employee her. Make your choices accordingly.

This was an amazing bike tour with Arunabha. We learned so much in a very short amount of time. Really enjoyed this tour and highly recommend it.

Olga was a great guide very informative and friendly. She took us to places we never would have thought of.

Arun was an excellent guide, sharing interesting stories as well as some hidden gems around Amsterdam.

Olga, our guide was great! We learned a lot and enjoyed seeing the highlights of Amsterdam! It was perfect for our first morning in Amsterdam. Thank you.

Is was the best way to get introduced to an amazing city, Willam was great and we learned so much. We really enjoyed it. Would highly recommend doing a tour.

Annette is an excellent guide. Knowledge of all the hidden gems. And for those who loves photography. She gives you loads of tips!

A memorable morning in Amsterdam with Carolina. She showed us the city in a fun way with lots of history, stories and even a stop for a taste of Amsterdam snacks. We walked the city like friends, and Carolina recommenced us stores and restaurants.

Annet was a magical guide…. Our private tour of Amsterdam couldn’t have been better. Her photography tips and knowledge of the area (and her big beautiful heart ) blessed us.

My husband and I travel the world. Ian was the greatest guide we have ever had. Our time flew by with mesmerizing stories of his city, both personal and passionate! He and his wife have a very deep, rich connection with their beloved Amsterdam and it was an honor to witness this through him. Please do not look any further. If you want a true insider's guide to Amsterdam, its people, its stories and mostly its HEART- Ian is your man! We will never forget you Ian!

Tour guide contacted 2 days prior and said she would not be able to make it. However it seems it was not actually “canceled” until a few hours before so no replacement guide could be found and we missed out on the experience.

Loved Arjun’s international perspective during the tour. Brought buildings to life with the back stories.

We had an amazing day with Helena. First, she was so flexible in starting and ending our tour where the cruise ship docked and where we needed to be at the end. But it was so much more. Her knowledge of Amsterdam was impressive- the history, the architecture, the food, the drinks. There wasn’t a question she couldn’t answer. Our tour included all the places we wanted to see and then more.

Temi show us aspects of the city that were off the beaten path, extremely interesting and memorable. Temi had deep knowledge of the history and events of the places he featured on the tour. I highly recommend him to anyone looking for a thorough and thoughtful guide. Detailed everything to our needs.

We had an extremely disappointing experience with our guide, Christa. I strongly advise against booking her as she exhibited a snobbish attitude and seemed to have a chip on her shoulder. We were running late for the experience and had informed her of our delay. Upon arrival at the meeting point, I started the conversation by apologizing for being late. However, she responded in a threatening tone, stating that if it had been another guide, they would have canceled the tour. I offered to shorten the tour by 30 minutes, but her rude reply was, "OF COURSE I will shorten it." Ultimately, we cut the tour short by 1 hour and 30 minutes, and she spoiled the experience from the outset. Courtesy demands that if I am paying for the tour and apologizing for the delay, she should have been polite. As a family, we travel very frequently and this was not the first time we have had a late start to a tour. In the past, our guides have always been accommodating, often going out of their way to ensure a good experience. During the tour, Christa walked ahead of us several times, and after about an hour, we decided to call it off and sat down for a meal instead. In summary, please ensure you check the identity of your host when booking. If it is Christa, I strongly urge you to request a different guide or even consider canceling the tour altogether.

Ian was the highlight of our Amsterdam trip. As the "Mayor" he was funny and informative of all the tour aspects and all information about Amsterdam. Really enjoyed the time and he has our highest rating. Would do it again in a heartbeat.

Timo was a wealth of knowledge and little known facts. The tour was comprehensive and tailored to our interests. We highly recommend!

Marten was an excellent guide. He gave us a wonderful walking tour (despite the rain) of Amsterdam. He had teenagers of his own, so was very comfortable engaging with them. His wealth of knowledge spanned from history to food to cultural nuances that we never would have learned without him. An excellent way to spend half a day to orient yourself in the city.

Ian was great. We enjoyed his stories of local culture, arts, and poltics. The tour was in depth and full of facts about local history and art. So many small details. As the tour progresses it becomes more catered to your tastes and likes. The facts about local businesses and places we visited felt like we were more than just run of the mill tourist's.

My husband and I did the Highlights and Hidden Gems tour with Sebastian on our first day in Amsterdam. Sebastian was a great guide! He took us all over the city and gave us so much knowledge and information! The tour is a great way to quickly orient yourself in the city. He is extremely well versed in the history of Amsterdam and pointed out things of historical interest that we would have surely missed on our own. Sebastian gave us insights into Dutch culture and Amsterdam culture specifically. He also gave us many great suggestions for food and things to do. He even planned out a DIY food tour for us to do while we were there! He responded to messages very quickly and checked in with us the next day to see how we were doing and if we needed any more suggestions or tips. I would highly recommend Sebastian as your guide in Amsterdam!

Timo was extremely knowledgeable and gave us so much information about so much around us, including the transportation system. Perfect for our first day in Amsterdam!! Many thanks to Timo.

We signed up for an architecture tour and got that and so much more from Anna. She puts things into context and helps you understand the Netherlands in unexpected ways. Highly recommend.

We signed up for an architecture tour yet got that and so much more. Anna puts things into perspective and helps you understand the Netherlands in unexpected ways. Highly recommend.

Helena was a wonderful guide and truly showed us some hidden gems in Amsterdam, things we would have never discovered on our own. She customized our itinerary to meet our needs. She was very knowledgeable and a pleasure to be with. She even recommended additional activities for us, as another tour we had scheduled for the following day was cancelled. It was a fun and educational way to see Amsterdam and would highly recommend!

Sebastian was AMAZING! He has such great knowledge about Amsterdam. We enjoyed the tour so much! We highly recommend this tour!

Christa was terrific! We saw most of the city and stopped into a few select stores along the way to do a bit of shopping and had a nice drink in a restaurant with a view.

Anna, was great. Very knowledgeable and tailored our tours to our needs really well. We did a 3 hour tour of the main historic parts of Amsterdam and anna took us into parts we would never have found on our own. She also did a one hour Golden age architecture tour for us which was incredibly interesting and didn't overlap anything we did previously. Thank you Anna

This was a excellent tour including some of the less tourist parts of Amsterdam. Giovanna had an excellent knowledge of the area and history , we were able to do this tour at a leisurely pace, highly recommend.

Olga was terrific and we learnt, laughed and didn’t get run over!!! Found very fun and interesting places in Amsterdam - learnt a lot and have even retained it 😂😂 I’d recommend this tour and especially Olga

We love "with locals" and have enjoyed having a private tour with a person who knows the city, has stories of its history, and can share their own personal experiences living in Amsterdam. Unfortunately, the guide Jess was two hours late due to a personal issue, which altered our other plans later that day. And she lacked knowledge of the city. Also, for the cost of what we paid ($263), it was a horrible 2 hours! We not only had terrible Profferjes (mini pancakes), which our guide recommended for us to taste, but proceeded to argue about the cost of a bottle of water that she drank entirely. We could have saved the dollars and did a self- guided tour ourselves and had a fabulous meal. Read the reviews for this tour because you don't always get the best guide.

Well, we had booked with Locals because we had an amazing experience with a Wiith Locals guide in Portugal. First, I understand that personal issues may interrupt ones day, but starting our tour a hour and a half later put a kink in the rest of our other plans that day. Our guide had high energy but not too much knowledge of Amsterdam than the "tourist" highlights that I can read in a tour guide. When you pay $235, we had high expectations since this was a private tour and can learn more from a local. Book a less expensive tour and save the money and enjoy a coffee experience on Dam Square!

Our guide Aleks was excellent! passionate, knowledgeable, nice and funny. really recommended....go for it!

Christa was very knowledgeable about Amsterdam and the Hidden Gems” and trivia that is so interesting about Amsterdam. We walked on so many back streets while Christa shared historical stories about the area. She was flexible to what we were interested in as we had already been in Amsterdam for a couple of days. We would highly recommend a private tour with Christa !

This was a private tour and as such I had expected more of a plan in what we would see. The guide was very enthusiastic and full of energy. There were too many ad hoc decisions as what to show us next. I feel we trudged and trudged along in a haphazard way. Stopping for a coffee break at the beginning was nice. But a quick (lunch) break would have made more sense. I have 3 suggestions to make: 1. A few visuals would have been good (maybe some 8x10 inch pictures in a plastic hoes, instead of cell phone photos. 2. A break in the middle with the opportunity to visit the restroom. Guide never thought of that. 3. As much as I appreciate that the guide was willing to go overtime, it really is much better to have stuck to the expected ending time. Again, that goes back to the lack of having a plan.

Our guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. She was very accommodating during the entire tour. We had an awesome time! Highly recommend!

Giovanna was a wonderful guide. Full of enthusiasm and warmth. This was our second visit to Amsterdam and she gave us information we did not know and added to the experience.

Adum was a great guide. We saw all of the popular sights and a few out of the way spots. We liked the leisurely pace, since a member of our group was on crutches. My only note would be that he could have talked a bit louder.

We arrived early to designated place and Estella was already there. She asked a few questions to gauge our baseline knowledge, enthusiasm for walking, and physical stamina (we just got off plane) then asked our preference for optional treks. Being with Estella was like meeting a long lost relative to catch up and learn her city. Her English was superb, the journey was a leisurely pace, and her tone was enthusiastic and excited. We even peeked into places we would have just walked by (a church & movie theater), which demonstrated historical or architectural importance. Very friendly, knowledgeable about the city and its history, especially with her job history as a museum guide. She navigated to avoid several crowds while describing historical and current problems of this city. Her compassion makes an impression upon her audience. Her time and attention was quite generous. She’s a powerhouse!

Timo was fabulous ! Showed us lots of books and crannies as well as the usual - he was so informative and also such a nice guy!

Ollga was very informative and pleasant. We had just arrived in Amsterdam the same day of the tour and it was a nice overview of the sites and history of Amsterdam. A nice preview of our visit.

Willem is so knowledgeable! He made the tour very interesting, never a dull moment. He truly showed us some of the hidden gems of Amsterdam. He was very understanding when we arrived a bit late, which we appreciated. We would definitely book with him again!

My wife and I had a wonderful time on this tour (first trip to Amsterdam). Willem was a great tour guide and really personalized our tour for us. Highly recommend!!

Excellent tour! Our guide Estrella Van O was very knowledgeable, it felt as we were getting to know Amsterdam with a friend. She took us to interesting places, giving us information about everything, answering every question making the tour fun.

A wonderful tour guide and walking tour! She was passionate about the city, knowledgeable, and personable. She answered all of our questions. It was wonderful getting an insider's perspective on lovely Amsterdam. Highly recommended.

We took this walking tour with Helena. It was fantastic. She took us all around Amsterdam into different areas explaining history and architecture. She us very knowledgable and friendly. This was our first time in Amsterdam and was an excellent way to get a feel for the city. We highly recommend this tour with Helena as a guide.