Private Pedicab/Rickshaw Tour of Rotterdam With a Local Guide
Description
This private sightseeing tour of Rotterdam is the best way to see Rotterdam and takes you around the historic city center by rickshaw, also known as a pedicab. Travel with ease and be able to experience the city while your driver-guide narrates the highlights; you’ll pass by the only buildings left from WW2, The Cubehouses and other attractions. With a customized itinerary, your driver makes brief stops at the most known places in Rotterdam. Pickup and drop-off include hotels and cruise port. So come and discover Rotterdam, a city that will leave you breathless with its energy, diversity and creativity. Get ready to be surprised, inspired and amazed by everything this city has to offer."
Tour Options
Itinerary
Before the Second World War there was no Central Station, but there were four stations around the center. In 1957, the central station was opened at its current location. In 2004 a total renovation of the central station was started, in 2014 the current end result was delivered. The old station could no longer cope with the passenger influx.
In 2011, the municipality of Rotterdam organized the first city initiative, an administrative instrument to stimulate administrative innovation and citizen participation. The inhabitants of Rotterdam were called upon to submit projects that would bring about the enlivening of the city and improve the quality of life in the city. An amount of 4 million has been set aside from the city initiative to implement the project.
In the Middle Ages, one of the 10 city gates that Rotterdam had here. In the 30s, the city of Rotterdam grew rapidly and the gate stood in the way, as they wanted a better flow for the increasing traffic. It was decided to move the gate about 100 meters (a demolition of the gate met with a lot of resistance). During the bombardment in the Second World War, the gate was severely damaged, a year after the bombing the gate was demolished, because it could no longer be finished. Some ornamental works from the old gate were saved and incorporated into the walls of the buildings on the corner of the town hall square.
The town hall was built between 1914 and 1920 (by Henri Evers) and is one of the few buildings in the center of Rotterdam that survived the bombardment of May 14, 1940.
Currently, the meent is one of the hotspots in Rotterdam. There are many cafés, eateries and clothing shops. In the 90s, the meent was a street where mainly temporary employment and travel agencies were located, the meent was an atmosphereless street with a lot of vacancy. Robin von Weiler is no stranger to Rotterdam. He owes his nickname Mr. Meent to everything he has done for this street and still does.
The laurenskerk is the only remnant of the medieval center of Rotterdam. The laurenskerk is a cross between a hall church (all buildings equal in height) and a cruciform basilica (here the side towers are lower than the main tower). The church was built between 1449 and 1525.
Modern complex with a covered market and several restaurants under an arch of apartments.
In the 70s of the 20th century, architects wanted to create hospitable residential areas with the participation of the residents and other users in response to the large-scale and a gray modernism of the architecture of the reconstruction after WWII. Piet Blom, structuralist and adept of Aldo van Eyck, assumed that large-scale buildings had to be built to the size of people by building them from small-scale recognizable elements. The basic idea, that the building is built on columns, so that the space under the buildings can remain public, is inspired by Le Corbusier
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Traveler pickup and drop-off is offered. In case you stay in a hotel in the center the easiest way with the least risk of misunderstandings is to pick you up at your hotel. So please always indicate in which hotel you are staying. We pick up our guests from all hotels in and around the center of Rotterdam, including ones not listed above here. I provide pick up service at the most common docking locations of cruiseships as well. Most sea Cruiseships do dock at the Rotterdam Cruise Terminal, most river cruiseships at the Boompjeskade. In case you would like to be picked up somewhere else please indicate as well. In case you are not in a hotel in the center and don't have any suggestions where to be picked up from, we will suggest a couple of locations to meet. Hotel pickup is offered. View the hotel list on our checkout page to see if yours is included among the pickup points.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- If you have questions about accessibility, we’d be happy to answer all of your questions. Just call us.
- For safety reasons, the combined passengers weight must not exceed 200 kg/440 lbs.
- For safety reasons, the combined passengers weight must not exceed 200 kg/440 lbs.
Reviews(75)
This was a wonderful tour. As we had already visited Rotterdam on another vacation, we wanted to see and hear about some different and unusual sights. Our guide surely made that happen. He told us many interesting stories and we were very pleased with this tour! P.S. He did take a picture of us and promised to text it to us but I have not received it yet. I forget his name but he is studying medicine at the University and we would love to have the picture
Dear Gail, Thank you so much for your wonderful review! happy to hear that you chose to explore a different side of Rotterdam with us and that your guide was able to share new places and interesting stories. It's always our goal to create a unique experience, even for guests who have visited the city before. We're sorry to hear you haven't received your photo yet. We believe we know which guide you're referring to, and we'll contact him right away to make sure the picture is sent to you as soon as possible. Thank you again for choosing TourGuys. We hope to welcome you back to Rotterdam in the future! Warm regards, The TourGuys Team
Fun way to see Rotterdam! Izzy & Saad were excellent guides, very knowledgeable about the city— took us to all the highlights and a few “secret” places
Dear Joan, Thank you so much for your 5 star review and recommendation! Grateful to hear you loved seeing Rotterdam by pedicab. It's great to know that Izzy and Saad helped make your experience memorable by showing you not only the city's highlights but also a few hidden gems along the way. Thank you for choosing TourGuys, and we hope to welcome you back to Rotterdam for another adventure in the future! Warm regards, The TourGuys Team
Was amazing tour, the guid and the tour was amazing, very well explained the history of the city and each site enough time to wach and explain, amazing experience and worth every penny
Dear Mona, Thank you so much for your fantastic 5 tsar review! We're soo soo happy to hear you had such an amazing time exploring Rotterdam with us. It's wonderful to know that you enjoyed the stories behind the city, had plenty of time at each stop, and felt the tour was worth every penny. Your kind words about our guide's professionalism and friendliness truly mean a lot to us. We'll make sure to share your feedback with them; it will absolutely make their day! We hope to welcome you back to Rotterdam again for another unforgettable experience. Wish you the besttt!!! The TourGuys Team
Izzy was a great tour guide. This was our first visit to Rotterdam. Izzy reached out to me after booking to see what we wanted to see on our tour. He picked us up at our hotel, gave us the history of Rotterdam and showed us the sights around the City Center. Definitely would recommend this, especially if you have never been to Rotterdam.
Thank you for your 5star review! It was a pleasure welcoming you to Rotterdam, and we're so happy to hear that Izzy made your first visit a great experience. Showing guests both the city's remarkable history and its modern highlights is exactly what we love to do, and it's fantastic to know you enjoyed the personalised approach. We truly appreciate your recommendation and hope your next trip to Rotterdam gives us the opportunity to show you even more of what this amazing city has to offer. Safe travels! truly, Team TourGuys
We were supposed to take this tour (and had paid), but 15 minutes before the tour, they called and wanted to delay it by 30 minutes due to a summer festival (we booked this months ago and the summer festival was something planned for months that they knew was occurring). Since it was afternoon, we could not delay, as we were on a cruise ship. We were willing to go late, but they said they could not guarantee we would be back by the time we needed to return to the ship. I asked if they could refund the money; they stated that we would have to check with customer service. They asked what we wanted to do; we said we would have to cancel if they could not guarantee we would be back on time. Now, they are saying we lied, that they did offer the original time (they did not - my husband heard the conversation), and the person I was talking with refuses to refund our money (over $150 - there was no other "customer service" person). I would not trust booking with them again, which is too bad since we will be back again in a few months.
Dear Robin, Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We're genuinely sorry that you left disappointed, as we were looking forward to showing you Rotterdam. However, we do need to correct several statements in your review which are not true.. The proposed 2:30 PM start was presented as an option, not as the only available pickup time. Once you explained that you needed to return to your cruise ship by approximately 3:00–3:15 PM, we immediately offered to keep the original 2:00 PM meeting time and shorten the tour so you could return within your preferred timeframe. We also explained that, as a responsible operator, we could never guarantee an exact return time due to circumstances outside anyone's control, such as traffic or unexpected congestion. After discussing the option together, you decided to cancel the tour. At no point did we refuse to operate it. Regarding the festival, this was precisely why we contacted you before the tour; to communicate the situation and work with you on the best solution. Our goal was to make the tour possible despite the circumstances. We're disappointed that our recollection of the conversation differs so significantly, but we stand by the facts and the efforts we made to accommodate your schedule. We wish you a pleasant return visit to Rotterdam and all the best for your future travels. Team TourGuys
Very relaxed, fun & interesting covering a relatively small area of central Rotterdam. Someone younger than I am might have enjoyed doing it as a walking tour. Guide Izzy was fun and informative.
Thank you so much for your lovely review Nancy! We're grateful to hear you enjoyed your time with Izzy and found the tour relaxed, fun and informative. Rotterdam has so many fascinating stories, and we're happy we could share them with you in such an enjoyable way. We hope to welcome you back again on your next visit to discover even more of the city. Safe travels! Team TourGuys
We absolutely loved the tour. Mo was very friendly, knowledgeable and considerate. His presentation kept us involved and interested. Definitely recommend this tour.
Thank you so much for your fantastic 5star review Mark! We're grateful to hear you had such a great time exploring Rotterdam with Mo. He'll be delighted to know that you appreciated his friendly approach, local knowledge, and engaging storytelling. A pedicab tour is a wonderful way to discover the city's highlights in a relaxed and comfortable way, and we're so glad you enjoyed the experience. Thank you for your recommendation, and we hope to welcome you back to Rotterdam again in the future! Wish you the best, Team TourGuys
Very interesting and knowledgeable tour
Vielen Dank für Ihre schöne Bewertung! Es freut uns sehr zu hören, dass Ihnen die Tour gefallen hat und Sie Rotterdam mit uns auf eine interessante und informative Weise entdecken konnten. Unsere lokalen Guides lieben es, die Geschichten, Highlights und versteckten Ecken der Stadt mit unseren Gästen zu teilen. Vielen Dank, dass Sie sich die Zeit genommen haben, Ihre Erfahrung zu teilen. Wir hoffen, Sie bald wieder in Rotterdam begrüßen zu dürfen! Herzliche Grüße, Team TourGuys
Izzy was great with communication prior to our tour and the day of. We were picked up right in front of the cruise port and dropped there as well after the tour which was super convenient. Izzy has a real passion for what he does. He showed us some off-the-beaten path sites and shared lots of interesting information about Rotterdam. He has great energy and a good vibe. Would definitely book again!
Thank you for your review and recommendation! We're so happy to hear you enjoyed your pedicab tour with Izzy. It's great to hear that the pickup from the cruise port, hidden gems, and his passion for Rotterdam made your experience special. Thank you for choosing TourGuys and for your recommendation. We’d love to welcome you back again! Warm regards, The TourGuys Team
Our driver, Mo, was enthusiastic, friendly, knowledgeable and thoughtful. We learned much about Rotterdam and it's history visiting the historic area. The unique architectural buildings were fascinating. This was a very enjoyable experience on an electric pedicab. Highly recommend.
Thank you for your 5-star review! We're happy to hear you had such an enjoyable experience with Mo. His enthusiasm and knowledge are exactly what make our pedicab tours special. It's wonderful that you enjoyed discovering Rotterdam’s history and unique architecture in such a fun way. Thank you for recommending TourGuys, and we hope to see you again! Warm regards, The TourGuys Team
