Private food tour + private boat
Private Amsterdam Food Tour & Canal Cruise
Ten tastings on foot, then your own boat. Private start to finish, zero strangers.
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- Viator Top rated operator
Duration
About 4.5 hours
Age
Come hungry
Meeting point
Gastrovino, Spuistraat 330
Group size
Private, your group only, 2 to 10 guests
Food
A full meal across the tastings, plus a bite on board
The food tour that ends on a boat
Every private food tour we run ends the same way: guests asking whether to book a canal cruise. For years our honest answer was “yes, but pick carefully”. The big boats pack 40 people behind glass with a recording.
Now the cruise is ours, and it is private too. Your food tour ends at a dock, and the boat waiting there is yours.
Eat Amsterdam first
Your own guide, your own pace, and the 10 Tastes of Amsterdam, from Amsterdam locals running tours since 2015, and widely copied since. Warm stroopwafels made in the basement of a 400-year-old church. Cured North Sea herring, if you dare. Aged farm cheese, warm bitterballen, and more across 10+ tastings, each with a story that connects the food to 750 years of Amsterdam.
Private means the tour bends to you. Three generations of one family, a proposal in the making, eight colleagues escaping the office. Your guide adjusts the pace, the stories, and the teasing accordingly.
Then your private canal cruise
A few minutes’ walk from the last tasting, at the Herenmarkt near the Anne Frank House, your boat is waiting. A covered, heated salon boat with a toilet on board, and only your group steps aboard.
The captain takes the wheel, your guide pours the first cold drink, and one more Dutch bite appears. For a full hour the canals do the entertaining: Golden Age mansions built on herring money, houseboats with better addresses than most hotels, the leaning houses your guide can finally explain from the water.
About the weather, because everyone asks: the boat is covered and heated, so the cruise runs rain or shine. On a grey Amsterdam day the warm cabin is honestly at its coziest. No ponchos, no silent switch to an open boat.
Booking your date
Tell us your date, group size (2 to 10) and the occasion, and you get the all-in price and available start times the same day. One price per group, everything included, nothing extra on the boat.
More than 10? We run bigger boats and multi-boat setups, get in touch.
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure. No boat-cost fine print.
Perfect for
- Birthdays, anniversaries and proposals (cake and your own bottle are welcome, ask us)
- Client entertainment that beats another restaurant table
- Families, the easiest private format there is
- Anyone who wants Amsterdam eaten AND sailed in one afternoon
“The captain cuts the engine under the Golden Bend, the water goes quiet, and your guide tells you why every mansion on this stretch leans forward. Hint: it was never an accident.”
Prefer the boat on its own? See the private canal cruise. Want the walking tour only? The private food tour is the classic.
What to expect
10+ tastings on foot, then 1 hour on your private boat
Note that every tour is a little different. Ask your guide for special wishes.
- 01
Your hotel, on request
Pass byPrivate tours can start with a pickup. Ask when booking and your guide collects your group at your central Amsterdam hotel.
- 02
Gastrovino, the Spui
TastingThe tour starts at Gastrovino, Spuistraat 330, in the old heart of the city, and the first Dutch cheeses land within minutes. From here the tasting spots stay our secret until you're walking, that is half the fun of a private tour.
- 03
A 400-year-old church
TastingWarm stroopwafels made before your eyes in the basement of a church older than New York. This is the smell people remember weeks later.
- 04
The UNESCO canal belt
TastingGolden Age mansions above, bitterballen and the famous herring dare below. Somewhere along these canals your group finds out who is brave.
- 05
The Jordaan
TastingAmsterdam's coziest neighborhood: brown cafes, sweet finishes and the last tastings on land, a few minutes from the water.
- 06
Your private canal cruise
TastingThe finale. A covered, heated salon boat at the Herenmarkt dock, your group only, one hour through the canal ring. Cold drink in hand, one more Dutch bite on board, and your guide's stories continue at water level. Toilet on board, rain or shine.
What's included
- ✓ Private 3-hour walking food tour. 10+ tastings, your group only.
- ✓ Private 1-hour canal cruise. Covered, heated salon boat, your group only.
- ✓ Your own local guide throughout. Plus a captain on the boat.
- ✓ 1 drink per person on board. Served cold.
- ✓ A final Dutch bite on the boat.
- ✓ Toilet on board.
Not included
- − Extra drinks on board. Available.
- − Gratuities. Optional.
What guests say
Why Foodies Love Our Amsterdam Tours
"Joeri was one of the best tour guides I’ve ever had. He is fun, knowledgeable, and accommodating and patient. What else can you ask for!!!"
"Kees was the best tour guide! We learned so much, laughed at Kee’s humor and ate & drank many of the local favorites! Always enjoy a food tour but this was one of the best!"
"Had a great time with the tour guide Todd. He showed us some local delicacies. The herring and the eel was really good as well the surinamese food."
Good to know
Questions, answered
Is this really private? +
Yes, both halves of the private food tour and canal cruise combo are private. Your group is the only group on the walking tour and the only group on the boat.
How much does the private food tour and canal cruise combo cost? +
It depends on your group size, 2 to 10 guests. Send us your date and group size and you get the exact all-in price the same day. One price, everything included.
Is this the same as a regular Amsterdam canal cruise? +
The canal cruise in this combo is not a regular Amsterdam canal cruise. Regular cruises put 40 strangers behind glass with a recording. This is a private canal cruise on a covered, heated salon boat, only your group, with your own guide telling the stories.
Is there food and drinks on the canal cruise? +
Yes, there is food and drink on the canal cruise. One cold drink per person and a Dutch bite are included on board, and extra drinks are easy to order.
How long is the canal cruise? +
The canal cruise is one hour, private, your group only. It follows the 3-hour walking tour, about 4.5 hours all together.
Can we do the boat before the food? +
Boat before food? The kitchen disagrees, and honestly so do we. Food first, float after. Trust the format.
What if it rains? +
The walking tour runs rain or shine, this is Amsterdam. The boat is covered and heated with a toilet on board, so the cruise runs in any weather too.
How much walking is there? +
The walking tour covers about 2.5 kilometers / 1.5 miles over 3 hours at a slow pace, then none. The boat does the last hour of work.
How many people fit? +
The combo takes 2 to 10 guests. The boat seats 11, and we keep one seat for your guide. For 11 or more we arrange a bigger boat or several boats side by side.
Are kids welcome? +
Kids are very welcome on the private food tour and canal cruise combo. Private tours are the easiest format for families, and soft drinks on the boat are covered.
Can you handle dietary requirements? +
Dietary requirements are easy to handle on the private food tour and canal cruise combo. Vegetarian, pescatarian and gluten-free are routine, and vegan and halal work too, because the stops are picked around your group. Tell us when you book, and tell us about allergies as early as you can manage.
We're celebrating something. Can you help? +
Tell us the occasion when you book. Birthdays, anniversaries and proposals happen on this combo regularly. A cake or your own bottle for a toast is usually fine.
Where does it start and end? +
Start at Gastrovino, Spuistraat 330, in the city center. End at the Herenmarkt dock, a few minutes from the Anne Frank House.
Can you pick us up at our hotel? +
Yes, hotel pickup is available on request for the private food tour and canal cruise combo. Tell us your hotel when booking and we arrange the pickup.
Do you speak Dutch? +
Our guides speak Dutch too: spreek ook gewoon Nederlands.
What language is the combo in? +
English on both halves, from a guide who lives in Amsterdam, and Dutch is no problem either. Spanish, French and German are possible on a private tour depending on guide availability, so ask when you book.
What should I wear? +
Comfortable shoes for the 2.5 km / 1.5 miles walking half of the food tour and canal cruise combo, and a light rain jacket for the streets. The boat is covered and heated, so no extra layers are needed on the water.
Are there toilets along the way? +
There is a toilet on board the boat. On the walking half there is one at the first stop and one at the last, and in between your guide knows the cafés along the route where you can step in.
Do I need cash? +
No. The combo is one group price that covers the tastings, the guide, the boat, one drink per person and the bite on board, all paid in advance. Extra drinks on the boat can be bought, and a tip for your guide is optional, cash or PayPal.
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