DAY ONE

Upon your arrival in Amsterdam, you will be met and transferred by private car to College Hotel, a stylish boutique hotel located close to the city’s major museums. Check in and relax before heading out to explore on your own.

Your first stop will be the Van Gogh Museum, home to the largest collection of the Dutch artist’s paintings and drawings, which chronicle the various stages of his artistic life.

For lunch this afternoon, we suggest Brasserie Harkema, a modern version of a classic Parisian brasserie, offering a delicious menu that changes seasonally. Once a tobacco mill, the restaurant is of an industrial cosmopolitan design, and is one of the city’s most popular lunch spots for locals and tourists alike.

Amsterdam is by nature a cycling city. This afternoon you will enjoy a privately guided cycling tour. Tour the city, or take in some of Amsterdam’s surrounding villages. Meet your guide at College Hotel and decide together on a route that suits your interests and activity level. Choose a ride to Durgerdam, passing quiet villages and quaint traditional wooden houses, or to Oude Kerk, riding along the Amstel River to the land below sea level.**

Tonight’s recommended dinner at Ctaste is sure to provide for an unparalleled experience: You’ll enjoy a three-course meal of healthy, local foods completely in the dark! Offering cuisine of distinct tastes and aromas, dining in the dark is a unique way to engage your senses.

After dinner, take a stroll around the city and enjoy some live music and local bars, for which we will provide you with recommendations.

DAY TWO

After breakfast this morning, you will meet your captain and set out on a wonderful private cruise around the city via the famous canals. Your meeting point, at Ruysdaelkade 174, is within easy walking distance of your hotel.

Regarded as the “Venice of the North,” Amsterdam’s canal system was constructed in the early 17th century for defense purposes with over 100 km. of canals, 90 islands, and 1,500 bridges throughout the city. Relax as you pass the city’s beautiful mansions and monumental buildings that run alongside the canals.

Your boat tour will end at Café de Sluyswacht, one of the many beautiful cafés overlooking the canals. Within the crooked building that houses a café, stop for a simple lunch, drinks, and some of the best people watching that Amsterdam has to offer.

Market culture in Amsterdam dates back to the early 18th century, and you’ll spend the afternoon wandering in and out of the daily colorful open-air markets and secondhand stores in the city. If you’d like to visit another museum, head to the Anne Frank House, which is dedicated to the Jewish wartime diarist who hid at the rear of the building.

For your final dinner in the city we suggest Spanish tapas restaurant Pata Negra, a lively spot where you’ll enjoy great music, refreshing cocktails, and excellent food.

After dinner, you may wish to continue your evening at a local bar before heading back to your hotel for the night.

DAY THREE

After breakfast this morning, you will be transferred to the airport in time to meet your return flight home, or to continue on to the next leg of your journey