Suggestion for a private tour (auto) guide for Amsterdam?
 

Hello, my husband and I will be leaving for Holland next Tuesday. We will be staying about an hour south of Amsterdam and plan to schedule 1-2 days to tour Amsterdam. I had knee replacement surgery back in the winter and I am still not able to walk the city as a means of getting around. Too bad because it's a great way to discover a city. We also have not had time to do a lot of planning which is so unlike me. Having a guide to help us choose our touring would be great and spare me a lot of wasted energy. Thanks very much for any info you may know about tour guides. I've seen much about walking tours but this isn't what I am looking for to see all of the city.

I don't know what you have in mind but if you don't get any guide suggestions you might consider just using a taxi or Uber once you get into Amsterdam on the train. You can book a canal tour and many museums, etc. in advance with timed entry so you don't have to wait in line. Your hotel might have a line on a private guide and perhaps Trip Advisor and other travel sites might, too.

Watch for cyclists!

All buses and trams in Amsterdam are easily accessible, with a level platform, so no step, and cover most of the city. I am not sure what you are hoping to see whilst there but if you haven't already booked your timed entry tickets for places like the Anne Frankhuis and the van Gogh Museum you may be too late. All museums require a lot of walking, and in some cases stairs, of course.
Have a look at the Amsterdam tourist sites and the GVB site for trams and buses.

If it all sounds too much for you then there are plenty of other lovely places to visit. Where are you staying?

Oh and it is the Netherlands, not Holland. Holland is the name of two provinces not the whole country.

I might look at a specialist boat tour. "those dam boat guys" come to mind. Using a car in the city centre is messy.

bilboburgler- are you referring to a canal tour? We plan to do a canal tour for sure but I'm asking about seeing the city neighborhoods without waking or biking. Do you know if there is an on/off bus that goes all around the city and you get a great overview, and you can get on and off? thanks!

hetismij2 -thank you for your reply. Do you know whether there is a bus that goes all over the city and you can get on and off?
We are doing a home exchange about an hour south of Amsterdam in a small town called Oostvoorne near the beaches.

No experience but a quick search came up with this:
https://www.citysightseeingamsterdam.nl/

But honestly public transport and or a canal boat will get you to most places.

You may be able to borrow a wheelchair in some of the museums.

You may be able to rent an electric scooter or wheelchair to get around.

There are large boat tours and small ones, my reference is to a small one who will either do a small boat tour standard or a special. There are a lot of canals that the big boats cannot get down

bilboburgler- yes, It seems as though that would be a strong preference. Someone on this forum just recently recommended a canal tour with a small boat that seems like a good one.

Ktravel yeah thanks, thought of thought. Yesterday at my Physical Therapy appointment she told me she would rather I walk and take breaks than use a wheel chair. in a museum. Interesting.

Have you thought about one of those cane type devices that transform into a triangular shaped stool? Last month when I was in Amsterdam I saw people using them in museums. But, you could use it anywhere at any time.

In your situation I think I would try to take several different canal cruises (hopefully ones that cover different areas). And, maybe splurge and see if you can find someone who does custom cruises that can be tailored to exactly your desires. I may have been the person who recently recommended a cruise (evening that included the Jordaan neighborhood). That guy also had a different cruise that went up through the harbor area. You could do both. Click on my name to see the trip report that includes a whole section on my visit to Amsterdam.

How is the knee for stairs? I ask because the canal front museums/houses I visited all involved climbing flights of narrow stairs.

Plan to spend a lot if you rely on cabs or uber. I took one for perhaps 15 minutes, and it was about 35 euros. I am quite sure I never saw a hop on, hop off bus. Sorry to say, but to me Amsterdam is one of the worst destinations for people who can't easily walk. I hate to discourage you, but that's the reality.

Julies, yes it was your posts and trip report I followed closely. Thanks for all you shared with me, and your perspective,
I can do stairs - it's tough when there's a line of people behind me because I am a bit slow.
I know you stayed near museums and the canals. We may come into Amsterdam from where we are staying an hour south, and stay overnight so we can have more time the next day. Are you by chance familiar with this hotel because it sounds like it might be in the area of your hotel?
https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotel...otel/overview/

Oostvoorne is lovely: do you need transport all the way from Oostvoorne to Amsterdam? It's a leftfield suggestion, but maybe hire a pedicab and book it for the entire day. They don't look it, but pedicab walahs are really knowledgeable about Amsterdam and they know their way around and they'll love having the day booked

https://www.getyourguide.com/amsterd...b-tours-tc171/
https://rickshaw-biketaxi-amsterdam.nl/pedicab

I'll cost you, but it will solve many problems: with a car, you get almost nowhere in the centre of Amsterdam: you'll be stuck in traffic mostly. Pedicabs can ride anywhere and get anywhere. If you let your pedicab driver share in the mid-way coffee stop, happy days. Tuk Tuk tours are another option for the same reasons.

Adding: if you do a boat tour, as others have suggested, AND you do a 2 hour pedicab tour and a stop at a museum (and lunch and coffee and stuff) you'll have seen a lot of Amsterdam in a day.

And so back to Oostvoorne (I love Oostvoorne, I go walking there a lot)

If you do stay overnight, get the pedicab guy's business card for later trips.

Menachem: Can't thank you enough for this suggestion of the pedicab/rickshaw (not exactly sure the difference of the two) idea. My husband and I love the idea for all the reasons you mention. It would be great to experience getting around from this vantage point and not be stuck in traffic and burn fuel. With a quick glance at the fares seems like a full day hire will no doubt be quite expensive given seems to be about $100 /hour. I will contact them and learn more.

We actually don't need transportation from Oostvoorne. As part of the home exchange we also exchange vehicles.

Any chance you are familiar with the Jewish Quarter? Trying to determine besides the museum and visiting a synagogue is there anything particularly worthwhile?

Another question - I see "boat" tours intermixed with "canal" tours. Are they the same?

Thank you very much!