Private Dutch Food Walking & Boat Tour
Enjoy the best of Dutch food and Amsterdam on foot and per luxury boat
Combine two of the very best experiences Amsterdam has to offer in one private tour: a Dutch food walking tour and a canal cruise.
Your experience begins with a 3-hour guided walking tour through the famous Jordaan district. Together with your local guide, you’ll explore Amsterdam’s history, culture, and everyday life, while enjoying four delicious Dutch food tastings along the way. Your guide is happy to share stories and insights about the past and present of the Netherlands, Amsterdam, and its people, and to answer any questions you may have.
After the food tour, you will be personally escorted to the departure location for a luxurious 1.5-hour private canal cruise. We ensure a smooth and comfortable boarding process, where you will be warmly welcomed on board by your own private captain.
Based on our years of experience, we know that after a delightful food tour, many guests prefer to relax and enjoy the canal cruise privately with their own group. For this reason, your guide will say goodbye at the boat. Of course, your captain will share stories during the cruise and is happy to answer any questions. If you would prefer your guide to join you on the boat, please feel free to contact us and we will gladly arrange this for you.
We work with a carefully selected group of boat partners who share our commitment to quality, style, and warm hospitality. The boat is chosen to suit your group size, ensuring a comfortable and intimate experience at all times. All boats are classic historic salon boats, often over 100 years old, beautifully restored and fully equipped with modern comforts, including an onboard toilet, heating, a covered seating area, and a well-stocked bar offering soft drinks, beer, and wines.
What you’ll eat and drink
The route and tastings change from day to day, making every tour a little different. This is because we only work with small, authentic businesses, and some of them are not open every day. We also like to take the opportunities each day offers—such as visiting the market on Saturday—and each season brings new flavors to the table. What never changes is the quality: every tour features unique places serving the very best of Dutch food and drinks. Please find our tastings per day below but keep in mind this may still vary. And if you wonder why we serve Indonesian food, it’s because Indonesia was occupied by the Dutch for more than 340 years, leaving a deep influence on Dutch history and cuisine.
Non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages of your choice are included, such as coffee, tea, soft drinks, wine, craft beer, and jenever. If you like more than 1 standard drink on the boat or enjoy a more luxurious option such as spirits, champagne or special wines we can invoice you afterwards for this. Your guide will be happy to arrange this for you.
Saturday
- Homemade Dutch apple pie
- Indonesian (former Dutch colony) chicken satay with peanut sauce, Ajar, lonton rice and kroepoek at the Saturday Lindengracht market
- Dutch herring (haring), fried cod (kibbeling), and smoked eel
- Three artisan soft and hard Dutch cheeses, served with crackers and quince pear
- Bitterballen (served on the boat)
Sunday & Monday
- Homemade Dutch apple pie
- Fresh baguette topped with Dutch grillworst—a warm, spiced pork sausage—served with honey-mustard sauce, mayonnaise, pine nuts, and rocket salad
- Freshly grilled Indonesian-Javanese chicken satay served with peanut sauce, cassava kroepoek, and sambal. Followed by handmade Indonesian spekkoek (layered cinnamon cake)
- Three artisan soft and hard Dutch cheeses, served with crackers and quince pear
- Bitterballen (served on the boat)
Tuesday to Friday
- Homemade Dutch apple pie
- Fresh baguette topped with Dutch grillworst—a warm, spiced pork sausage—served with honey-mustard sauce, mayonnaise, pine nuts, and rocket salad
- Dutch herring (haring), fried cod (kibbeling), and smoked eel
- Freshly grilled Indonesian-Javanese chicken satay served with peanut sauce, cassava kroepoek, and sambal.
- Three artisan soft and hard Dutch cheeses, served with crackers and quince pear
- Bitterballen (served on the boat)
Tour highlights
- Private experience combining a Dutch food walking tour and a canal cruise
3-hour guided food tour through the Jordaan with four high-quality Dutch tastings
Insightful local guide sharing stories about Amsterdam, Dutch history, and daily life
1.5-hour private canal cruise with your own captain
Classic historic salon boat with heating, covered seating, onboard toilet, and bar
Dutch bitterballen served on board during the cruise
Do you offer children discounts?
Children aged 6 and over receive a €10 discount, and participation is free for children under 6 years old. We assume they will share food and drinks with you, and you are also welcome to bring your own for them.
Please note: if a larger-than-usual boat is required to accommodate the total number of guests, including children under 6 years old, additional costs may apply. We will always discuss this with you in advance.
What is included in the price?
The price includes your private guide, boat rental, all food tastings, and drinks during the tour. During the canal cruise, one standard drink per person is included (beer, wine, soft drink, coffee, or tea).
If you’d like additional drinks or a more luxurious option on board, there’s a wide selection available. Extras can be paid by credit card on the spot or invoiced afterwards, with a 10% surcharge for administration and online payment costs. Your guide will happily go over the options with you in advance.
How long is the canal cruise?
The canal cruise lasts 1.5 hours, which is more than enough time to cruise past Amsterdam’s most beautiful and well-known sights.
What type of boat will I cruise on?
We work with a carefully selected group of high-quality boat companies, all operating classic “salon boats.” These beautiful, often historic vessels are comfortably and luxuriously equipped with comfortable seating, an onboard toilet, a bar, heating, and a (sliding) roof. Your English speaking captain is highly professional and knowledgeable, and will be happy to share stories and answer any questions during the cruise.
Does the guide join the canal cruise?
Based on our years of experience, we have found that guests often enjoy relaxing and spending time together during the canal cruise after the interactive food walking tour. For this reason, the guide will say goodbye at the start of the cruise. Your professional captain will, of course, be happy to share stories and answer any questions during the journey.
If you would prefer the guide to join you on the boat, please feel free to let us know and we will be happy to arrange this for you. An additional fee of €100 applies.
Can you cater for food allergies and dietary restrictions?
The tour is well suited for vegetarians, pescatarians and we can cater for various food restrictions such as gluten, nuts, crustacean or dairy free. Unfortunately we can not cater for the vegan lifestyle. When making your booking, you will be asked to specify any dietary requirements. Please, contact us when in doubt.
How much food is served?
Come hungry and do not make a dinner reservation for at least 3 hours or so after the tour as you will enjoy lots of Dutch food.
What are the non-alcoholic options?
A wide selection of delicious non-alcholic beverages, including at the Dutch wine tasting, is available.
Will the tour go ahead in bad weather?
The tour will go ahead in any weather, unless a ‘code orange’ warning has been issued by the Dutch weather institute KNMI. In case of a cancellation due to such circumstances, we will try to offer an alternative date, and if that is not possible in your case, you will receive a full refund.
Is the tour suitable for guests with limited mobility?
Walking distance is approximately 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) on easy terrain, mainly along cobblestone streets, with some canal bridges and occasionally narrow pavements.
The majority of the tastings are seated, and between tastings you will walk and stand still for up to 20 minutes. As some of the tasting locations are in centuries-old buildings, you may encounter small steps and steep, narrow staircases. Restrooms may also be located upstairs or downstairs. For most docks and boats, getting on and off requires using a small set of steps.
Please contact us if you have reduced mobility and, for example, use a walker or wheelchair. As this is a private tour, we will be happy to discuss with you if and how we can adjust the tour for you.
What happens if I am late for the tour?
If we notice that you are not there at the designated time and location, we will try to call you on the phone number you provided when booking to find out whether you need assistance. Of course, we will also provide you with a phone number on which to contact us.
Are pick-up and drop-off services available?
On this private tour, complimentary walking pick-up and/or drop-off is offered within a 15-minute walk of the tour’s start and/or end point.
For locations beyond a 15-minute walking distance, this service can be arranged for an additional minimum fee of €37.50 per 30 minutes, per one-way transfer, excluding transportation costs such as taxi or public transport.
Please contact us if you have a specific drop-off location in mind for the boat at the end of the tour. We’ll be happy to look into this. Extra costs may apply.
Do you offer this tour in other languages than English and Dutch?
This tour is also available in German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Hebrew. However, please contact us before booking to check guide availabilities for this.
What is your cancellation policy?
Cancellation (excluding boat costs) is free of charge and fully refundable for the food, drinks, and guide if you cancel at least one week before the tour date. If you cancel less than one week before the tour date, we will reimburse 35% of these costs.
Boat costs are non-refundable if you cancel less than three weeks before the tour date. The cost of the boat depends, among other things, on its size and typically ranges between €400 and €600.
Please contact us if you would like to know the exact amount for both price elements in advance.
Where does the tour start and ends?
If you are not using our pick-up and/or drop-off services, please find the Google Maps link to the starting point below or scroll down to view the map. The end point of the tour depends on the selected boat company, but is typically within a 10-minute walk of the starting point (example map location below)
If you have a specific drop-off location in mind for the boat at the end of the tour, please feel free to contact us. We’ll be happy to look into the possibilities for you. Additional costs may apply.
Starting point: Cafe ‘t Papeneiland
Maps
Starting point
End point
What an amazing tour. Our guide Jan was awesome! Very knowledgeable about the history and culture of Amsterdam. Our food stops were all different and represented the variety of foods that can be found in Amsterdam. All were very yummy!! I highly recommend this tour!!
I had the greatest time during my tour this past Sunday. Lots of good local food with a great guide. Each place has been picked carefully and represents different aspects of the city’s food universe, from the classic apple pie to Indonesian-inspired dish. Being in Amsterdam for a full week, I went back to many of the places. I recommend 100%!
We had such a wonderful time with Thijs on the Grand Dutch Food & History Tour! I expected good things, since Rick Steves gave Amsterdam Food Tours high marks in his Amsterdam travel book, but the tour exceeded expectations. It did not feel like a tour but having a lovely walk around the city with a friend, who knew all of the good spots to visit and enjoy fantastic food, beverages and experiences. As a bonus, we learned a great deal about the city and its history along the way. I would recommend the tour to everyone and when we visit Amsterdam again in the future, we will look to Amsterdam Food Tours to make the trip memorable.
We had an excellent Sunday tour with Thijs, and would highly recommend it to anyone visiting. We were only in the city for a couple days, so having this tour was the perfect combination of exploring a neighborhood, learning some history of the city, and trying lots of different types of foods (I will be thinking about the sandwich for a long time to come). Can’t think of a better introduction to Dutch cuisine, and only regret we aren’t here long enough to go back and try full meals at every place we stopped.
If you’re looking to experience the real Amsterdam beyond the usual tourist spots, this tour is absolutely perfect. It offers a fantastic journey through hidden corners, unique places, and special tastings that you wouldn’t come across on your own. The guide is empathetic and highly engaged, making the whole experience incredibly enjoyable and well worth every cent. For those who wish to explore Amsterdam through its food and culture, this tour is a golden opportunity.
We had a really great time on our Grand Dutch Food & History tour. Rudolph was an excellent guide – very knowledgeable, entertaining and also very humorous. The food and wine selection was very good and we learned a lot about Amsterdam, its history and its food culture. We would highly recommend the tour.
Enjoyable tour! So much valuable information shared with the group. All the food was delicious. Definitely recommend this food tour!
Just finished a tour with our excellent guide – David. He was informative and knowledgeable about the history as well as the food. His time management was good – we never felt rushed and yet we got to all the places. He was very comfortable to be with and answered all our questions. We got a true sense of the Dutch culture. And all the stops served up yummy food. We will not be needing to eat dinner tonight. Would absolutely recommend.
Jan did a great job providing a thorough and detailed history of Amsterdam as well as showcasing highlights of boutique dutch cheese, wine, and the delicious apple pie! I am thrilled with his genuine enthusiasm and would be glad to have Jan again as my tour guide, share a good meal and conversation. Highly recommended! (tour during mid August 2025)
Marc gave an amazing tour today, the excellent choice of stops gave a wonderful glimpse into Amsterdam life and history. From traditional apple cake, meats, cheeses, wines to Indonesian satay all wrapped in engaging stories and information about this beautiful city. Marc and the wonderful local businesses earned every one of the 5 stars!
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