Rick Steves Amsterdam & the Netherlands (Travel Guide)

I guess that guidebooks of this nature have fallen by the wayside in favor of social media, TikTok, online blogs, etc. However, this is a fantastic book, extremely useful, and I think far surpasses any social media guide. The book gives terrifically important history about Amsterdam and the surrounding area, provides wonderful walking tours to see everything, provides excellent guides to restaurants, nightlife activities, etc., and includes very useful maps you can remove and take with you. Certainly, online map applications and social media are useful, but nothing approaches the utility of having a single book like this in your pocket to get the best out of a trip. Very highly recommended, you will not be sorry.

I’ve had the chance to compare this to a lot of other guide books for Amsterdam and the Netherlands and I’m SO grateful I chose this one. First of all, I love the guided walks Rick Steves includes for neighborhoods, cities, and even museums, and all of the detailed maps. This is the only book I’ve found that focuses on Amsterdam but also includes extensive, detailed guides to places I want to day trip to including Haarlem, Delft, Leiden, Hoorn, and Edam among other places. The sense of humor and personal perspective make the book fun to read and easy to trust for advice. The only downside is the lack of color photos that other books have, but it makes up for that with a wealth of information.

The Netherlands are one of the smaller countries in Europe, yet it offers much to see and experience to the enterprising traveler. Much of the country was famously reclaimed from North Sea. The canals can be explored in Amsterdam and other cities, which have retained much of their medieval roots. The Dutch art museums are world class. Its culture, for better or worse, is as liberal as any in Europe. Rick Steves has the details in this just released guide. As with other Rick Steves guides, it pays to read the whole book before making travel choices. There is much good advice on where to go, how to get there (trains and bikes), what to see, and where to eat and sleep. The book includes lots of color and black and white photographs, along with maps of cities, diagrams of museums, and a pull-out map at the back of the book. Very well recommended to the enterprising traveler.

Rick Steves has done it again: the best of all travel books on Amsterdam and the Netherlands. Focused mostly on Amsterdam, but many chapters on all areas of the Netherlands to visit. Extremely detailed, everyday practical advice with multiple detailed walks of important areas. The ONLY areas that I could possibly find to criticize were the recommended hotels seemed a bit limited (because he avoids known tourist chains) and the typeface is too small for many older adults. This is the book to buy if you want help planning your trip to Amsterdam and environs.

I always use Rick Steve’s’ books to plan my trips. As soon as I know where I’m going, I get his book for that country or countries. The books are very detailed and include maps, suggestions on where to stay, where to eat and what to see along with tips on best way to get tickets and best times to go.

I've used RS books for 30 years. I was really hoping for a better variety/more options for lodging in Amsterdam.

This book was a great purchase for our upcoming trip to Amsterdam. Even though we only have a few days there's lots of info for Amsterdam plus easy day trips by train. I feel like I already have a handle on the layout of the city as well as places to visit, walk and eat. There's also good info on using their transit systems to get from the airport to our hotel.

Comprehensive and insightful. Better than any other guide book I sampled.

I love the way that these books are organized and the type of information provided. The walking tours are awesome. Now my go to guide book for all destinations.

Purchased to help plan an extended European tour next year (2025). The publication is very comprehensive, up to date, and extremely useful for my purposes. I wish the e-book version was included with the purchase to make travelling with the book even more useful. I also purchased to book on Italy at the same time and the same comments as above apply. Would definitely recommend and Rick Steves publication judging by the two purchases I made.

There is nothing to dislike. Rick Steves provides a very comprehensive review of European cities and countries. The hotels, restaurants, historic sites, art galleries and museums are all exactly as described in the Amsterdam book. The info on public transport is spot on. A friend and I travelled all over Greece for 16 days, in 2010, using Rick Steves's book as our only guide. It was a superb experience. Along the way we encountered many people clutching the same book as us. The Amsterdam book is my 6th and it did not disappoint!

Usei este guia do Rick Steves para planear a minha viagem a Amesterdão e arredores. O guia é muito, muito bom. Torna tudo mais fácil e maximiza o potencial da viagem. Adoro os apartes históricos que dão muito contexto e enriquecem a experiência. Sem dúvida que ajudou bastante a termos uma experiência magnífica e inesquecível nos Países Baixos. Bem haja Rick Steves e equipa. Fazem um trabalho excelente. Muito obrigado.

Great reference guide