The Netherlands · LEIDEN TOURS
The 15 best leiden tours you can book today, with what each costs, how long it runs and who it suits. Number one is top for a reason; start there.
Board Rondvaart Leiden at Aalmarkt 4 for a one-hour cruise through Leiden’s canals and singels. Your captain guides in Dutch and English, pointing out City Hall, Hortus Botanicus, Museum De Lakenhal, bridges, and waterfront homes. Drinks and snacks are available before departure.
“very interesting information about leiden. friendly and informative captain on the boat.”
Cruise Leiden’s canals for 50 minutes in a quiet electric boat with a Dutch and English-speaking skipper. You’ll pass bridges, parks, terraces, the observatory, university, and Hortus Botanicus. Guides such as Tom and Alexander add humor and local stories, while a cover and heater keep the ride comfortable in poor weather.
“It was great fun and Tom, our guide, had a good sense of humour.”
You captain a private electric boat for up to eight people on Leiden’s canals. After English or Dutch instructions at Aalmarkt 4, choose your own route, pause at waterside parks, and bring food or drinks for a relaxed two-hour outing. No boating license is needed.
“Very good activity. Staff very friendly, easy to use and figure out.”
Spend about 90 minutes at Hortus Botanicus Leiden, the Netherlands’ oldest botanical garden. Walk through the Clusius Garden, Japanese Garden, tropical glasshouses, and plant collections from Southeast Asia. Look for rare orchids, carnivorous plants, Jadevine, Victoria amazonica, and Chinese Lotus.
Join a live English-speaking guide, often PJ, for a 70 to 90 minute walk through Leiden. See Morspoort, Pieterskerk, the Burcht, and Rembrandt-related sites, with entry to the young artist’s first studio included. Groups are capped at nine people.
“PJ did a great job making the history of Leiden come to life. Friendly, easy to ask him questions. I would definitely recommend.”
Use Qula’s smartphone app to follow a self-guided Leiden city trail for about three hours. Solve riddles, complete search tasks, and compete for points as you visit up to 20 locations. Groups of two to six can start, pause, or stop when they choose.
“Lees goed de vraag door, bij sommige vragen staan foto's waar de vraag betrekking op heeft en niet op het onderwerp van het verhaaltje, bekijk het te onderzoeken onderwerp van te voren als er een tijdslimiet aan verbonden is.”
Explore Leiden at your own pace with Outside Escape, a private smartphone game for groups of up to six. Solve riddles at Molen de Put, Rembrandtplaats, Doelenpoort, Pieterskerkhof, Van der Werfpark, and Koornbrug, with time to pause for food, views, or a detour to the Burcht.
“Very nice way to rediscover a famous city. Fun puzzles and beautiful walking routes, perfect getaway with nice weather.Auto-translated”
Use the Discovery Trip app to solve *The Stolen Keys* while walking through Leiden. The 75 to 105 minute route visits a 1743 corn mill, old gates, churches, Rapenburg, De Burcht, and Koornbrug. It is private, self-guided, English-language, and best with your own phone, data, and charged battery.
“Foi horrível a experiência. O endereço do ponto de encontro nao existia. Só consegui fazer a primeira estação. Depois o aplicativo bloqueou e perdi tudo.”
Join Punartha, also called PJ, for a private walk through Leiden’s Merenwijk district. You’ll follow the Zijl River, see working-era windmills from outside, learn how polders were reclaimed, pass a golf course, and visit a small children’s farm. The walk is flat, relaxed, and offered in English.
“We enjoyed this walking tour of a calm lakeland area near Leiden which we would otherwise not have seen. PJ's communication before hand was very good, giving us clear instructions of how to get to the meeting point. Don't let the fact you have to travel to the start point put you off. It was an easy bus ride away and you just need to tap your credit/debit card at the start and end of the journey to pay for it. PJ explained very well to us how the windmills had worked in reclaiming the polder land. We were also able to gain a bit of an insight into the…”
At LEERzaam Leiden, Emma guides you through making a genuine leather tote in her cozy 19th-century home workshop. Choose your leather, learn each step, add engraving, and take home a handmade bag. Sessions are in English, limited to 10 people, and vegan leather is available.
“This leather purse making session was absolutely amazing! Emma ant LEERzam Leiden is absolutely lovely to work with and we very much enjoyed our time with her. The purses we made came out BEAUTIFUL! Would highly recommend this studio/Viator offering!!”
Board in Warmond for a one-hour cruise across the Kagerplassen. You’ll see windmills, polder country, and classic Dutch waterways from a clean, air-conditioned boat with WiFi and a restroom. The cruise is offered in English and returns to Gemeentehaven 1.
“Wonderful way to experience and learn about this fascinating area! Clean, comfortable boat and great service”
You’ll explore Leiden’s compact old center with a private local guide, hearing stories of Rembrandt, the Pilgrim Fathers, the oldest university in the Netherlands, and the city’s role in the Eighty Years’ War. Tours are offered in Dutch, English, German, or French.
Meet Rondvaart Leiden at Aalmarkt 4 for a two-hour, self-guided paddleboard rental through Leiden. Beginners get basic instruction before setting out, while experienced paddlers can start quickly. Follow the supplied route past canals, bridges, gates, windmills, courtyards, and places linked to Rembrandt.
“Paddleboarding on Leiden's canals was a fun and novel experience for me and my friend. The paddleboarding place was friend and accommodating. Perhaps because we were beginners some extra paddle boarding tips for stability would have been useful.”
See Leiden’s old gates, windmill, churches, and Rembrandt sites, then take a short train or car transfer to Delft for canals, royal tombs, Vermeer views, and Dutch Golden Age stories. Private guiding is offered in English, with optional hotel pickup and drop-off.
“Niels was an excellent guide for the day! It was a last-minute decision on my part to take the tour so I was thankful I ended up with Niels. He was flexible with start time and very knowledgeable about the areas visited. He was great company and I thoroughly enjoyed the tour.”
Meet your private Dutch guide at Leiden Centraal for a two-hour walk through Leiden’s Golden Age past. See Morspoort, Molen de Put, Rembrandtplaats, Pieterskerk, the old town hall, the Burcht, and Haarlemmerstraat, with time to ask about Dutch life today.
“The Leiden tour was outstanding and Federico was a wonderful guide. We were able to ask lots of questions and see many centuries of history spread out over the town. Would do this again and highly recommend to anyone from outside.”
Pick a boat, a windmill or a gallery.
