Sandeman’s New Amsterdam Tour

Their free walking tour highlights Amsterdam and gives you a good introduction to do your own explorations. Cannot recommend their red light district tour enough — you learn fantastic information about the history of how prostitution was legalized in the Netherlands.

We just got back from our trip abroad, did two tours abroad, and the Sandeman’s New Amsterdam tour was awesome! Mike was an excellent guide. He really went into depth with the history of the city, both informative and with a great sense of humor. Do this tour on one of your first days so you can go back and explore the areas! Highly recommend them

I love Sandeman’s tours. They never fail me.
I took a free walking tour with Spencer, and he is awesome. He is so energetic and so knowledgable, it’s amazing. We walked through a lot of Amsterdam in the three hours (including a half-​hour break for lunch), and it was fun. I got to learn and understand how Amsterdam came to be, and I would highly suggest taking these walking tours whoever Sandeman’s does them!
I also took a (paid) Red Light District Tour with Tim, and it was equally good and interesting. I didn’t want to wander round the red light district by myself at night, so I decided to go on the tour. It was interesting and I learned a lot, and Tim was really knowledgable and energetic the entire time too. This was the first tour I’ve taken with Sandeman’s that was paid, but I had no hesitation nor doubt that it would be a good tour. It definitely lived up to my expectations of Sandeman’s, expectations and admiration that I developed over attending three or four of their walking tours in other European cities in the past.
I love Sandeman’s tours. They are always from energetic, very knowledgable people, and I always learn so much. Highly, highly, highly recommend!

Me encantan los tour de Sandeman, los tomé por todo Europa y te lo dicen todo. Son tours caminando alrededor de 3 horas en donde te cuentan la historia de la ciudad, las cosas más importantes y datos curiosos. Los guías son muy amigables y puedes pedirles recomendación acerca de restaurantes o lugares locales. Mi tour favorito.
I love Sandeman tours, I took almost all of them in Europe and they tell you everything. They are walking tours for 3 hours where they tell you the history about the city, important things and curious data. The guides are really funny and helpful, you can ask for recomendation about places and local restaurants. My favorite tour.

Thanks for a fun tour Mark… had a great time & loved your humor & tips on all things Amsterdam. Enjoyed it so much we came back later
for Red Light District evening tour with Dar. Great romp thru RLD… so fun & informative. Thanks for helping make our time in this wonderful city a blast!
Joni & Anthony — San Francisco, CA

Die kostenlosen Touren dauern 3 Stunden, inklusive einer halbstündigen Pause.
Wir hatten den deutschen Psychologen «Michael», der dank kräftiger Stimme und einer ordentlichen Portion Humor die Führung sehr unterhaltsam gestalten konnte.
Sie bietet eine gute Grundlage für die spätere Erkundung auf eigene Faust.
Eine Online-​Reservierung wird nicht benötigt (die € 3 kann man sich sparen). Sie bietet nur den Vorteil, wenn die Gruppen viel zu groß werden und keine Führer zur Verfügung stehen.
Als Trinkgeld, das explizit am Ende der Tour erwartet wird, sollte man schon € 7 – 15 rechnen (je nach Gruppengröße und eigener finanzieller Lage).

This is the tour to go on.
We didn’t bother with the online € 3 reservation because it’s not necessary. Just show up 10 minutes early and they will place you in groups that get paired up with guides. It was made clear in a respectful professional manner by our guide that he works on tips but we did NOT feel pressured. Since they get paid at the end, guides are incentivized to give a good tour.
FACT: the tour does indeed last 3 hours including a break, which is long but not too long.
Pros:
–we had Michael who was awesome which is why this factoid goes into the pro category. He knows Amsterdam, Dutch, and how to keep a crowd engaged for the whole tour. And he’s funny.
–great intro to the city. Do this on Day 1.
Cons:
–groups could seem a bit big and unwieldy
–the right guide does seem to matter
Show up and you will likely have an amazing time, want to tip your guide very well, and be on your way toward getting the most out of your stay.

We had a horrible tour guide on our FREE WALKING TOUR. An older Irish man that’s been in Amsterdam for 10 years but can’t speak Dutch. I went on this trip with some colleges of mine because we wanted to see the city without the pressure of spending a ton of money on a tour. We all booked the 3 € in advance, I’m not sure what that was for or who it went to but unless we had an amazing tour guide we weren’t planning on spending any extra money. The website says that the tours are pretty much out of the goodness of the guides hearts and you will never be pressured to give any money. Yeah right. Our guide was not that good and many people left the tour unsatisfied and did not tip, including my colleges and I. He literally ran down the street to find us and started yelling at us about not tipping. When I pulled out my purse out of guilt he started cursing at us !! Saying «its a big Fuck you». At that point I took my bag and left. We were pretty shaken up and decided to end our day earlier than expected. What a crazy experience. If tipping is required and not optional the webpage should have made this clear. (he even told us that 10 € per person is nothing and he believes he should get 30 € this guy was crazy.)

After I made the tour with New Europe Tours for the first time in Paris, I checked if there was one in Amsterdam too and felt happy it was so. my summary:
+ meeting point easy to find
+ uncomplicated start (its for free!), you get your group and just start
+ We had SUCH a COOL and CRAZY guide (his name was Kor)! He was from Amsterdam, gave us a lot of local info and was abolutely entertaining ;)
+ are you thinking about if the 3 hours are too long? No they were not! :) you get a lot of backgound info beside the basics — local info, stories from the guide, how is living in the netherlands and insider info where to go etc.
+ went to have a drink with the guide and some guys from the tour — I dont think that would have happened after a standard city tour
— I came on a Monday and there were already so many people we had to split in groups (with about 25 – 30 people). That was absolutely okay but I recommend: Dont do it on the weekend if you can. There will be bigger groups for sure.
Actually I found out that those guys have their reviews on TripAdvisor. There you can find more about the guides.;)

This tours are just freaking awesome. I bought the tickets online and when I got there just showed them my Iphone with the pics and that was that. We took one in Berlin and it was so good. We decided to do the red light district tour here in Amsterdam. Very worth it. TOTALLY TAKE THIS TOURS. YOU WONT BE DISAPPOINTED. Our guide was very well informed and also very nice. You can’t beat that

For some background on what the philosophy of this tour is, here’s a copy/​paste from my review of the Berlin Tour: it’s a «free» tour, where you pay at the end whatever you felt it was worth; this acts as incentive for the freelance tour guides to provide the best possible service. They don’t get paid by SANDEMAN’s, so what you «tip» them is what they make (minus a cut for the company).
That said, the SANDEMAN’s New Amsterdam tour is good to do if you haven’t already explored the city yourself beforehand. Sure, the guides provide a lot of insight, but it’s a tiny city and you’ll end up going circling back to places you’ve already seen.
The tour group was also a bit too big and unwieldy for the tiny streets (look both ways for bikes also), so that was a bit distracting.
It was advertised as a 3 hour tour, which is entirely too long. We spent a considerable amount of time in the Red Light District. My friends and I left halfway through during the break. Our guide wasn’t very happy about that but we paid him, and he was all smiles, and gave us some tips on where to go afterwards.

The best way to explore a new place is by taking a walk in a local’s shoes, and that is exactly what happened. Our tour guide, Kor, was excellent with keeping our group entertained and he kept our attention the whole time. We learned a lot about the history of Amsterdam and about the society it is today.
This is a must for anyone in Amsterdam, and I would definitely attend another tour in other cities through Sandemans free tours.

This is the actual Free Amsterdam Tour. Beware of phishing sites. At present it starts at 11:15am at the Nationaal Monument, where tour guides divide those gathered by language and size. Then one of the guides will take you on a thorough three hour walking tour of the inner city ending up near the Anne Frank House. It’s replete with political, religious, and architectural history, spanning from Amsterdam’s beginning up to today. It may not be the most intimate or professional tour you’ve ever been on, but it’s a wonderful orientation to the city. The guides work purely on tips, so you’re at liberty to pay for what you receive. The value is unbeatable.

i have been on sandeman’s tours in 8 different cities and they are always great.
its a get what you pay for type situation so expect up sells and promotions.
either way its a great thing to do as the guides are typically very hip and know whats good.
remember to tip them as they do not get paid any other way.

Really excellent tour, and completely free! Mark was our tour guide. He was really friendly and very knowledgeable about the city. You can tell he really loves the city and is very excited to be living here. For example, during the tour, some random dude walked through the group and sang «Stand up for your Right» to us. Some tour guides might usher us quickly along, but Mark stood there dancing along. To me, this indicates that he really loves the people and the city, and overall demonstrates the type of tolerance you’ll see throughout the entire city.
We stopped at several locations all throughout Amsterdam, starting at Dam Square and ending at the Anne Frank house. The tour was really long — 3.5 hours, with a 15 minute break in the middle. For someone with very tiny feet and is out of shape (desk job doesn’t lend itself to much exercise!), this got to be tiring towards the end but I made it! If you get tired during the tour, you can always ‘hop off’ in the middle.
The route was well planned and well executed. We would walk for about 10 minutes, then stop for 5 – 10 minutes of information about the site. During our 15 minute break, Mark suggested stopping at a FEBO for a quick Dutch snack, which was an excellent recommendation because it was super good! He also provided good coffee shop and french fry tips.
Since the tour is free, the tour guides make their money on tips. Mark was not pushy about the tips at all. He mentioned them once at the beginning and once at the end. He had a great attitude about it, too, saying that we shouldn’t even be embarrassed to ask for change.
Overall, this is a great option for any budget. Pay what you can and enjoy the walk!

Boom! FTR and well deserved five stars.
Sandemans New Europe has affiliations in many major European cities. I’ve really enjoyed their tours in Edinburgh and Prague, I have no idea why I haven’t found time to do the London one yet.
Here’s what makes this tour different. On other tours, you pay at the start. So if you don’t like it, tough luck. Sandemans is done differently. There’s no payment up front for their free tours. In fact, no payment at all. The tour guides work completely based on your tips. If you don’t like the tour, at any time you just… wander off. If you do like it, you tip the tour guide at the end. I handed the lovely Lee € 10 today because she really loves Amsterdam and she knows it. Three hours walking through the city today pointing out the major sites and the interesting points here and there. I was really pleased with her effort and enthusiasm. Thanks, so much Lee!
Sandeman’s does other tours that aren’t free. A «red light district» tour and others. Check the website for details.