Amsterdam Luxury Canal Cruise
On my solo trip to Amsterdam last year, I wanted to get out my comfort zone a bit and decided to find a group activity to join. After scouring Airbnb Experience reviews, I ended up reserving a seat on a luxury canal cruise run by Rederij De Wester, an experience that won an award for the 3rd best Airbnb experience in the world! There are a lot of experiences on Airbnb, so that’s pretty impressive.
The Amsterdam Experience Cruise I went on was led by the wonderful and entertaining Captain Storm, who I cannot say enough nice things about. He was such a friendly, genuine person and a fantastic storyteller, I was smiling the whole time.
As I mentioned, I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and do something that would allow me to be more social with strangers and this was the perfect setting. There was one other person who traveled alone, but everyone else came with one or two buddies. I had so much fun getting to know other tourists - I had just arrived the day before and I got some great recommendations for things to do in the city! We even went out for drinks after the cruise was over to keep hanging out.
The cruise was really informative and educational in the most entertaining way: food! We learned a lot about traditional Dutch food and drink while we ate and drank. I tried Bitterballen, a Dutch meat-based fried delight, and Jenever, which is a juniper-flavored liquor similar to gin - but it’s not gin, so don’t mix that up!
I even left a review: I booked this purely based on the amount of positive reviews and can honestly say, this experience was not overhyped! I went as a solo traveler, and ended up spending the rest of the evening after the experience hanging out with my new friends! This was an amazing way to see Amsterdam from a new perspective and a fantastic way to meet people when traveling alone. There were more snacks than anticipated, and I got to try bitterballen for the first time! Huge thank you to Captain Storm for such a memorable experience and really making me feel welcome!!
Overall this was an incredible experience. It was a great way to get an introduction to a new city, an overview of major history there, and even some fun facts I probably wouldn’t have learned on my own. The group was small and intimate enough to enjoy the company, but big enough that you didn’t only have to talk to two other people. Another great thing about this experience was that part of the price of the ticket is donated to a foundation that helps premature and sick infants.
If you’re interested in the Amsterdam Experience Cruise, click here to book on Airbnb. Have you done anything like this before? I’d love to hear about your experiences trying something new or out of your comfort zone, put them in the comments below!
Stay safe, drink a Heineken (or don’t), and have a great weekend.