The Best Amsterdam Tours for Groups Who Want to Explore Like Locals

Amsterdam tours are such a fun way to explore the city with your favorite people, whether traveling with a group of friends or with the whole extended family. You can hop on a canal cruise, join a local food tour, or just wander the pretty streets with someone else handling the details. It takes the pressure off planning and keeps everyone happy, from history buffs to laid-back strollers. There are so many phenomenal tours in Amsterdam for groups; here are my top picks!

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Best Amsterdam Tours for Groups

Free Tours in Amsterdam

Amsterdam Highlights Tour

Free walking tours are a great activity to plan for the first day of your group trip. They’re a low-key way to get your bearings and learn about the city’s history and culture. If some group members prefer to relax instead, they can! 

Sandeman’s New Europe Tours are the best in the business, and their Free Walking Tour of Amsterdam is ideal for first-time visitors. This 2-hour tour starts at the National Monument in the city center. English tours depart three times daily at 10:30 AM, 11:30 AM, and 1:30 PM.

You’ll visit and hear stories about so many Amsterdam landmarks, such as:

• The Oude Kirk
• Royal Palace of Amsterdam
• Begijnhof Town Square
• Jewish Quarter

Nowadays, I always advise travelers (especially groups!) to book places on a free walking tour. You don’t have to pay as these are tip-based tours, but guides like to limit the sizes. No tour guide wants to lead 50+ visitors down a narrow lane with cyclists rushing past! 

Since this tour is so highly rated, it usually sells out a few days in advance. Groups of 6+ might have to pay a small deposit, but you can deduct this from your tip.

Untold Red Light District Tour

Have some members of your group visited Amsterdam before? Do you prefer uncovering hidden gems and hearing lesser-known stories from a city? Guru Walk’s The Untold Story of Amsterdam’s Red Light District Walking Tour is perfect for friend groups traveling together. 

Everyone thinks they know Amsterdam’s Red Light District (or De Wallen, to use its official name). This tour will cause you to rethink your assumptions! Learn about the area’s history, find out about secret bars, walk along Zeedijk, see churches, and much more.

This free evening tour runs for 1 hour and 45 minutes daily at 6:30 PM. Meet your guide at the Barbizon Hotel. The amount you should tip a free tour guide varies depending on the quality and length of the tour. They should earn your tip! In Amsterdam, most expect to receive around €10-25 per person.

Amsterdam City and Highlights Tour

Guided Bike Tour

When in Rome, do as the Romans do … So, when in Amsterdam, do as the Amsterdammers do and ride bicycles around the city! Considering the speed and ruthlessness of the cyclists here, you might not feel comfortable renting bikes as a group. Book this Highlights and Hidden Gems Bike Tour of Amsterdam through Viator instead!

This 3-hour small-group tour has a maximum capacity of 12 people. It includes a fun and friendly guide who will offer practical tips about cycling and cultural lessons along the route. Cycle around the Canal Ring, Jordaan neighborhood, Vondelpark, and more. Infant seats and child bikes (age 5+) are available.

Luxury Canal Cruise and Cocktails

With 165 canals and 1,200+ bridges, the only way to appreciate Amsterdam’s waterways is by sailing on them! Groups of friends will adore relaxing on this Luxury Canal Cruise with Cocktails. Learn all about Amsterdam’s maritime history, see the modern NEMO Science Museum, and witness hundreds of charming canal houses.

It’s a 1-hour experience, and larger groups can choose a private option. You can also upgrade from a one-drink option to an unlimited open-bar drinks package with Dutch cheese snacks! Perfect for a boys’ or girls’ trip. If you’re traveling with family, this City Canal Cruise is a great alternative.

Private Full-Day City Tour

If your family or group is planning a whistle-stop trip through Europe, you may only have one or two days in Amsterdam. No one wants the pressure of planning one perfect day in the city. Especially if you’re all first-time visitors! Luckily, Context Travel has you covered. Their private Amsterdam in a Day Tour is ideal for groups looking to maximize their time.

This 7-hour walking tour is a highlight reel of the city. It includes a private canal boat ride, tickets to the Rijksmuseum, and guided tours around Dam Square and the Old Town. 

Your expert guide will be able to answer all your questions and tailor the tour to your group’s specific interests. Tap into their knowledge of restaurant recommendations and other cool things to do. It’s the ultimate stress-free way to experience Amsterdam through the eyes of a local!

Photography Tour

You only need to spend around 30 seconds in Amsterdam to realize it’s a gorgeous city. The canals, the cobblestones, the townhouses … Even in the rain and with crowds, it’s a beautiful place. Amsterdam is the ideal backdrop for family photos or snapshots that your group will be proud to share on social media!

Local Lens offers a catalog of professional photographers in Amsterdam. They can take portraits on a 30-minute to 2-hour Photography Tour in the city’s most picturesque spots. Receive high-resolution photographs in five business days or less. Your fun trip memories will be captured forever in these beautiful photographs.

Food Tours and Classes in Amsterdam

Tastings of Amsterdam Tour

Dutch cuisine isn’t as well-known as, say, Italian or French. While you might be able to list multiple types of pasta, dishes from the Netherlands haven’t made it as big on global menus. That’s why this Tastings of Amsterdam Food Tour is such a great experience for your group. You can try lots of little tastings and expand your knowledge!

This 3-hour walking food tour includes a whopping 10 tastings of Dutch classics around Amsterdam. Try stroopwafels, bitterballen, and seven more delicacies in various Amsterdam neighborhoods. It’s a private experience, so tell your guide about allergies or restrictions ahead of the tour. 

Stroopwafel Workshop

Speaking of stroopwafels, they’re hard to beat. Two crispy waffle-textured wafer cookies sandwiched by caramel syrup: what’s not to love?! Groups of all ages will love to learn how to make this Christmas market staple. So, check out this Traditional Stroopwafel-Making Workshop.

Learn how to bake two extra-large stroopwafels; one to eat straight away, and one to take home. The experience includes an instructor, an apron, a hot drink, and all the ingredients. Your kids will love the stroopwafel certificate everyone receives as evidence of your new skill!

Dutch Craft Beer Tour

Some groups will love the Heineken Experience, but others will prefer something more local. The Netherlands has a long beer brewing heritage dating before the Middle Ages. Book a 12-person small-group or private Dutch Craft Beer Tour with the foodie experts at Secret Food Tour to indulge in this tradition.

Enjoy no less than 11(!) beer tastings at four stops on this 3-hour tour. Visit a bar with over 52 taps that exclusively pours Dutch-made beer. Visit Amsterdam’s first-ever microbrewery and sip a cold beer in a bar built in 1895. 

Your group will learn about Amsterdam’s beer history as you walk through the city’s oldest streets. Opt for the upgraded food package to soak up some of the alcohol!

Albert Cuyp Market Tour

This food tour is perfect for group members with limited mobility. Albert Cuypstraat is a street in Amsterdam’s bohemian De Pijp neighborhood. It’s home to one of the best and biggest food markets in the city. Join a local guide for their Albert Cuyp Market Food Tour to navigate your way through the over 260 market stalls!

On this daily 3-hour tour, you’ll taste six different Dutch delicacies. Some dishes include fresh herring, gouda cheese, Indonesian grilled chicken saté (a former Dutch colony), and bitterballen. 

Most vendors never leave the market, so some stalls have a 20-year-long waitlist! Your guide will be able to offer more insights as you soak up the sights and smells of this Amsterdam institution.

Bols Cocktail Experience and Workshop

Bols proclaims to be the ‘World’s First Cocktail Brand’ and began right here in Amsterdam. The city has a 450-year history of Genever and liqueur distillation. Learn more about the art of cocktails and mixology at this Bols Cocktail Experience and Workshop. 

Take a self-guided audio tour through the Cocktail Experience before the workshop. Let an experienced bartender help you all create two or three cocktails in Bols’ elegant Mirror Bar. Perfect for a Bachelorette party or a gal pal’s milestone birthday trip!

Amsterdam Attraction Tours

Private Rijksmuseum Tour

The Rijksmuseum is probably the most important museum in Amsterdam! This 19th-century complex in Amsterdam’s Museum Square displays over 8,000 Dutch Golden Age paintings and European artworks. It’s easy for groups to get overwhelmed visiting such a busy art museum. 

Luckily, Context Travel runs the perfect private Rijksmuseum Crash Course. Learn about the works of Dutch masters like Rembrandt and Vermeer. Witness the museum’s most important paintings, like The Night Watch and The Milkmaid. 

It’s an ideal tour for novice art fans and culture connoisseurs alike. Your art historian tour guide will tailor this 2.5-hour tour to your group! It includes a skip-the-line entrance too. If you are traveling with kids, check out their private Rijksmuseum Tour for Kids.

Exclusive VIP Heineken Tour

Taste one of the world’s favorite beers in the country at the original brewery where it was first created. Heineken was first brewed in Amsterdam in 1864. Today, the old brewery is open for your group to enjoy this Exclusive VIP Tour of the Heineken Experience.

This 2.5-hour behind-the-scenes tour includes an expert guide to show you around the brewery. Taste five premium beers with food pairings and access a hidden bar that isn’t open to the public. This is a fantastic tour for groups celebrating a birthday or bachelor/bachelorette party. Note that the drinking age in the Netherlands is 18 years old. 

Private Van Gogh Museum Tour

Vincent Van Gogh might have spent much of his life in France, but he was born in the Dutch town of Zundert. The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has the largest collection of his works in the world. With over 200 paintings and 500 drawings, it pays to have an expert to show you around. ContextTravel runs a fantastic private Van Gogh Museum Tour.

Let a local art expert show you around this incredible museum on a 2-hour tour. While it doesn’t include the entrance fee, they will help you buy timed tickets in advance. No waiting in long lines, and you’ll uncover much more about Van Gogh, his life, and his artistic style.

Day Tours From Amsterdam

Rotterdam, Delft and The Hague Tour

Does your group only have one day spare in your itinerary for an epic day tour? You’ll want to make the most of your limited time! This Rotterdam, Delft, and The Hague Day Tour is available as a small-group or private tour.

Your tour guide and driver will pick up your group from your hotel in a comfortable vehicle for this 10-hour experience. Visit the markets and cube houses of Rotterdam, tour the Royal Delft factory, and see the palaces and political centers of The Hague. It’s a mixture of maritime history, artistic heritage, and contemporary architecture rolled into one tour!

Private Keukenhof Half-Day Tour

Groups visiting Amsterdam from late March to early May are inevitably there for the tulip season. Groups of all ages will enjoy stopping to smell the flowers on Context Travel’s Keukenhof Gardens Half-Day Excursion. It is the place to see the tulip fields. This is a private 4-hour tour, so it’s easy to squeeze this intimate experience into a jam-packed trip. 

This tour includes transportation, entrance tickets, and a local historian to show you around the gardens. There’s nothing else to plan! Relax and enjoy the rows of technicolor blooms in a gorgeous landscape just a 45-minute drive from Amsterdam.

Small-Group Bruges Tour

It’s not only tempting to visit another country during your Amsterdam group trip, but doable! Bruges is a storybook medieval city in the Flanders Dutch-speaking region of Belgium. Viator offers this fantastic small-group Bruges Day Tour from Amsterdam.

At 12 hours long, this tour might be a little tiring for young kids, but older kids will love visiting a new place. It’s a 3-hour drive to Bruges, so you can sleep in the air-conditioned vehicle! 

Learn Belgian history from your tour guide on the ride. Explore the Market Square, Town Hall, Belfry, and the De Halve Maan Brewery. See one of Michelangelo’s masterpieces in the Church of Our Lady and enjoy an epic multi-national day trip.

Private Zaanse Schans Half-Day Tour

Aside from tulips, the Netherlands is also famous for its historic windmills. One of the best places to see windmills close to Amsterdam is the Zaandam neighborhood of Zaanse Schans. Many windmills were relocated beside the River Zaan to recreate the look and function of an 18th- and 19th-century Dutch village. 

This Zaanse Schans Half-Day Tour is run by the local experts at WithLocals and is perfect for families. Your private guide will help you navigate public transport, take you to a cheese tasting, and offer a local’s perspective. 

This tour also includes an entrance to one of the historic windmills. If you like, you can also attend a clog-making workshop. So much Dutch culture in one short trip!

Giethoorn Day Tour

The Netherlands has over 2.5 million acres of wetland, comprising 16% of the country. It’s fair to say that rivers, lakes, and wetlands are an essential part of the landscape. Paired with a 13th-century, car-free town like Giethoorn, you have a beautiful place for a relaxing group day tour. Check out this Giethoorn Day Tour.

It’s a 7 to 8-hour tour that uses public transportation to travel from Amsterdam to Giethoorn. Families and groups on a budget will love this tour! Escape the hustle and bustle of the city and enjoy an included boat cruise through this dreamy fairytale town. Enjoy plenty of free time strolling across bridges, peering into farmhouses, and spending time in nature.

Amsterdam Tours Perfect for Your Group Trip

Booking Amsterdam tours will make your group trip feel effortless, from the planning to the laughs along the way. Whether you’re cruising canals, tasting stroopwafels, or learning about art, it’s all better when shared. You’ll head home with full camera rolls, full stomachs, and great memories that will stick around forever.