After dividing up between English and Spanish speakers, the tours each get a guide, and if there are more than 40 people in one group there will be another group that each gets its own guide. In Berlin there must have been 4 English-language groups going out at once, but so far the Amsterdam tours normally only go out in one or two groups in each language. After a short introduction from the guide they will mention that this is a tips-only tour, and then nothing is mentioned about this until the end of the tour, about 4 hours later.
The tour itself goes at a fairly brisk pace, with walks of usually 3 to 5 minutes between each stop. Once the group is gathered together again the guide explains the surroundings while adding interesting facts and stories about each location. Compared to a bus tour or even the canal cruises, these tours get in far greater depth, and since the pace is dictated by group itself instead of traffic patterns, you are sure to get the full story before moving on.
The walk in Amsterdam covers the historical center, including the Red Light District, as well as parts of the outer canal belts and the Jordaan neighborhood. There is also a 30-minute lunch stop, which I could have done without, but at least the stop is in the excellent La Place on the Damrak, and those who aren’t hungry have plenty of options for filling that break.
How much should you tip?
The amount of how much to tip is completely up to each person, but I’d say figuring around €5 per person is a good place to start. If you are a backpacker surviving on noodle soup at the hostel, then €1 or €2 would be appreciated by the guide, and I’m sure they’d rather you do the tour instead of skipping it to save the meager tip. These tours tend to be fairly social, so the more the merrier.
I’d like to hope many people will dig a bit deeper, and even offer up more than €5 per person if your budget allows. This is an experimental business model that is an excellent resource for budget travelers, and if too many people are too cheap about it, the tours will cease to exist. The guides make it clear at the beginning that this is a job for them and not some internship or city program. I’m sure none of them figure they’ll get rich giving these tours, but if they can’t make enough to justify spending half a day with visitors then it’ll all soon be over. The guides also must pay the company a small amount for each person on their tour in order to help cover the overhead, so if the tips are very small they could potentially make nothing.
Other tours offered
The daily free tours are the most popular, but the company also gives Red Light District tours each evening. The ‘Red Light District Exposed’ tour is 2 hours long and costs €10 per person, which is also a great deal and is an excellent way to learn about this controversial area without feeling unsafe or too creepy.
They also offer a pub crawl (nightly except for Saturdays) that is partly through an affiliated company. For €20 you’ll visit 6 different bars with a lively group, and if the drink specials at each location aren’t enough, you’ll also get loads of free drinks and shots before and between each stop, so you’ll make plenty of friends and get as drunk as you want to for a minimal fee.
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