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School Trips to Amsterdam

The charming canals, winding streets and wealth of museums across the city make visiting Amsterdam a first class learning experience for students. School trips to Amsterdam prove very popular for a range of interests, particularly art, design, history and music.

The city is also smaller than many other major European cities, meaning that it’s less of a challenge to visit as many attractions as possible during a school tour to Amsterdam. Visit the world-renowned Rijksmuseum, dedicated to housing masterpieces of art and design for over 200 years. Just around the corner you also have the hugely impression collections on display at Van Gogh Museum. 

For an unforgettable history experience, Anne Frank House is a deeply moving exhibit that documents Jewish persecution at the time of the Second World War – a must-see for all school trips to the Netherlands.

Amsterdam school trips always prove popular for both students and teachers alike. Have a read through our subject-focussed trips listed below or feel free to get in touch for more information on tailoring the perfect trip for your class.

Browse our curriculum-linked school trips to Amsterdam

Art & Design

Art & Design

There is an incredibly diverse range of art on offer in Amsterdam, particularly in the recently improved Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum. These are some of the destinations during the art & design school trips.

Learn more about our art & design trips to Amsterdam here

Cultural & Transition Year

Cultural & Transition Year

Many groups choose to base themselves in Noordwijk, a modern seaside resort with long sandy beaches, numerous cafés, shops and traditional Dutch attractions. Noordwijk provides a suitable base for excursions to Amsterdam.

Learn more about our cultural & transition year trips to Amsterdam here

Geography

Geography

Geography school trips to the Netherlands are excellent for the study of physical, human and environmental geography.

Learn more about our geography trips to the Netherlands here

History

History

Amsterdam is a thought-provoking destination for history school trips, and an ideal location to put classroom learning into context.

Learn more about our history trips to Amsterdam here

Music - Amsterdam & the Dutch Coast

Music

Visit the popular coastal resort of Noordwijk, a perfect location packed with concert venues, churches and local markets.

Learn more about our music trips to Amsterdam here


Amsterdam trip highlights – our groups love...

Van Gogh Museum

Van Gogh Museum

Comprising the largest collection of Van Goghs in the world, the museum includes over 200 canvases by the master, providing a fascinating insight into his life and oeuvre. The museum also exhibits an extensive permanent collection of works by other 19th-century artists including Gauguin and Toulouse-Lautrec. The museum is ideally located on Museumplein in Amsterdam, between the Rijksmuseum and the Stedelijk Museum.

Rembrandthuis Museum

Rembrandthuis Museum

Originally a house where Rembrandt painted for a number of years, the museum's collection provides an almost complete overview of Rembrandt's graphic work including four original etching plates. The museum also includes the restored Rembrandt's house - historically accurate, this provides a wonderful opportunity to see where Rembrandt worked.

Foam Photography Museum

Foam Photography Museum

FOAM - from Dutch Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam, is located in a beautiful century-and-a-half-old canal house at one of Amsterdam’s central canals. The interior is a mix of original architectural features and modern chrome and glass that provide an artistic ambiance for museum goers. Both still photography and multi-media shows are displayed. The museum rotates its shows on a regular basis, every 2-4 months, showing small exhibits of two or three different international artists at the same time, to give an audience a chance to view work by both world-famous artists up-and-coming talent.

Rijksmuseum

Rijksmuseum

Dedicated to arts, crafts and history, the museum has over 400 masterpieces on display telling the impressive tale of the political, economic and artistic wonder of Holland's Golden Age. In addition to eighteen works by Rembrandt, other favourite items of the public on display include Vermeer's famous 'The Kitchen Maid', Steen's depictions of daily life and exquisite Delftware.

Anne Frank House

Anne Frank House

Containing the preserved warehouse offices, annexe and a modern extension, students can visit the rooms where the Frank family hid for over two years and where Anne wrote her diary. The modern extension houses exhibitions on those hiding in the annexe and on the wider story of the fate of Europe’s Jewish population, as well as displays seeking to link these themes to contemporary issues relating to persecution and prejudice.

Camp Vught National Memorial

Camp Vught National Memorial

The only official SS-concentration camp in the occupied part of WWII and includes the Children’s Memorial, the crematorium and a reconstructed prisoners’ barracks. Groups can also benefit from the invaluable opportunity to meet a concentration camp survivor or a member of the survivor’s family at Camp Vught.

Jewish Historical Museum

Jewish Historical Museum

Situated in a complex comprising four former synagogues in the heart of the old Jewish district, the museum covers all aspects of Jewish culture and religious belief.

Delta Park Neeltje Jans & Delta Works

Delta Park Neeltje Jans & Delta Works

Following the 1953 disaster, the Delta Works were constructed consisting of several moveable barriers, locks and dams. The Delta Works lie within the water-themed Delta Park Neeltje Jans where exhibitions, films and a guided visit to the storm surge barrier itself will give you an impression of the stupendous power of water.

Rotterdam Harbour Cruise

Rotterdam Harbour Cruise

Your students will spend the afternoon on a visit to Rotterdam Harbour where they can take a 75-minute cruise and observe the gigantic throughput facilities and redevelopments.

NEMO Science Centre

NEMO Science Centre

Enjoy five floors of exciting things to do and discover. Filled with exhibitions, theatre performances, films, workshops and demonstrations, pupils will smell, hear, feel and see how the world works.

Amsterdam Museum

Amsterdam Museum

This museum is crucial for understanding Amsterdam's rich history. Apart from its permanent art treasures, Amsterdam Museum presents interesting temporary shows – not only about Amsterdam recent history, but also about its people, arts, fashion and crafts.

Canal Cruise through Amsterdam

Canal Cruise through Amsterdam

See the major sights of Amsterdam as you travel along the canal.

Stedelijk Museum

Stedelijk Museum

The museum possesses one of the world's main collections of modern art and design including works by big names, such as Malevich, Mondrian, Chagall, Matisse, Picasso, Rietveld, Appel and Warhol.

Amsterdam school trip experts

Each year, hundreds of students visit Amsterdam with our help. Members of our team regularly visit this region to really get to know the ins-and-outs of the area, from logistics and attractions to our range of accommodation. 

Your dedicated Tour Co-ordinator will use their knowledge of Amsterdam to create an itinerary that’s tailor-made, perfectly timed and meets your exact school travel needs. They’ll be able to share their first-hand experience, suggest options you might not have considered and give you insight into the feedback other teachers have given us too.

Planning your first school trip?

If you're planning your first school trip, our essential guide will take you through each step of the process...

  • Choosing your destination
  • Gaining approval from your Local Authority and/or your Head
  • Promoting your tour in school
  • Confirming your booking
  • Tailor-make your tour
  • Completing your risk assessments (including a sample risk assessment)
  • Quick reference timeline
  • Pre-tour checklist

Additional support, resources & information

Tour planning service

Tour planning service

With NST, you’ll get your own dedicated, knowledgeable Tour Co-ordinator who’ll work with you from start to finish. You’ll benefit from their unrivalled destination knowledge, and their experience gained from working with many other groups too. They’ll tailor-make your itinerary from scratch and take care of everything for you: 

  • Pulling together an itinerary that runs smoothly 
  • Planning the right balance of visits every day with realistic timings 
  • Pre-arranging and pre-booking your visits, entrance tickets, passes and meals 

 

You’ll receive your final itinerary a full 4-weeks before you travel too.

Free school trip promotion pack

Free school trip promotion pack

We’ll support you and provide everything you need to advertise your school trip around school and to parents. Our free school trip promotion pack consists of: 

  • Parents’ letter & permission slip template for you to complete A3 posters to promote your trip around school 
  • PowerPoint presentation templates which you can tailor to your own needs 
  • Online parents’ video which showcases the benefits of taking a school trip 

Risk assessment support including preview visits

Risk assessment support including preview visit

Risk assessment plays a vitally important part in the planning and organisation on any school tour.

Our risk assessment guide aims to help you understand more about your obligations and how you can more effectively manage group safety on your next educational visit and provide you with risk assessments for your trip.

Planning first school trip

Planning first school trip

Organising your first school trip can appear to be a daunting process. 

If you're planning your first school trip, our guide will help to take you through each step of the planning process, answering frequently asked questions and providing tips and support along the way. 

Our helpful guide covers the following: 

  • Choosing your destination 
  • Gaining approval from your Local Authority and/or your Head 
  • Promoting your tour in school 
  • Confirming your booking 
  • Tailor-make your tour 
  • Completing your risk assessments (including a sample risk assessment) 
  • Quick reference timeline 
  • Pre-tour checklist 

 

View our essential guide to a successful school trip here

Get live updates on your group's tour location

Get live updates on your group's tour location

Locate My Trip uses GPS technology and is the easy, convenient way for your school to follow your location whilst on tour. Specifically designed to provide reassurance to both parents and teachers, NST will know where your group are 24/7. If your schedule needs to change, we’ll put plans in place to keep your tour on track. 

With Locate My Trip your group can also share photos and videos with the school and parents, via a secure link, to keep them updated on your experience whilst you’re away.

Watch our short Locate My Trip video here

Your online school trip organiser - My Tour Manager

Your online school trip organiser - My Tour Manager

Save time and stay on track with your school trip admin with our online orgnaniser - designed to help busy teachers like you. 

With My Tour Manager, you'll be able to download FREE resources and access trip paperwork online and in one place. Your personalised checklist details what you need to do and by when, plus you'll receive fortnightly reminders too. 

What's more, you can take all your trip documents on the go whilst on your tour with our app, My Tour Manager-On-the-Go. 

Find out more and watch out short My Tour Manager video here

Free classroom resources

Free classroom resources

We've created a range of free geography resources and educational posters to brighten up your classroom!

Take a look at our downloadable posters here

Why choose NST...

Here's why hundreds of teachers choose NST each year...

  • Unrivalled knowledge

Your dedicated tour co-ordinator will use their unrivalled local knowledge and expertise of Amsterdam to create a tailor-made, curriculum-linked itinerary to meet your group’s exact needs.

  • Making it easier for you

With our online school trip organiser, travel app, free classroom posters to support in-school promotion.

  • FREE group leader inspection visits

We offer a free inspection visit to your chosen destination to support your risk assessment planning. 

  • Value for money

We’re committed to bringing you the best possible value trips to help make every penny count.

 

  • More than 20 years’ experience

With over 20 years’ experience, with NST you can rest assured that your group is in safe hands.

  • Risk assessment guidance

Our risk assessment guidance will help you to manage group safety on your next educational trip. 

  • Peace of mind

Your group’s location can be followed with our trip tracking device - Locate My Trip - plus you’ll have 24/7 support from us whilst you’re away.

  • Offsetting carbon emissions

For every trip taken, we'll plant a Maya nut tree in Peru to support reforestation, local communities & biodiversity. Plus, we'll offset an additional tonne of CO2 to guarantee carbon emission reductions. 

Looking for protection on your next school trip? 

Booking with a school travel company is the best way for you to protect parents’ money and give yourself peace of mind.

Financial protection from the moment you book

NST are fully bonded & licensed:

  • ABTA
  • ATOL
  • IATA
  • Commission for Aviation Regulation

 

Managing safety on school trips

For your protection, NST's independently audited Safety Management System covers:

  • 24-hour emergency cover
  • Audited accommodation & transport
  • Excursions & school visit assessment
  • Group leader preview visits to assist with risk assessment planning

Package Travel Regulations 2018

Don't forget - if your school arranges transport, accommodation and other services directly, you’ll be liable under the Package Travel Regulations – meaning you’ll have all the responsibilities of a travel company, both legal and financial. 

We're LOtC Council’s Quality Badge assured

For groups travelling from Northern Ireland... the Department for Education advises schools to always look for the LOtC Quality Badge when choosing a school travel provider.

Learn more here