The countdown to the New Year continues apace. We here at Sarah’s Tours have compiled the perfect itinerary for all you wonderful winter travelers who wish to welcome in 2020 in style. Your ultimate guide to NYE in Amsterdam is right here.

Amsterdam at New Years is a truly beautiful and inspirational experience. The Dutch are famous for our friendliness, pragmatism, and sense of cooperation. So this year there will be a passionate emphasis on community spirit and celebration across Amsterdam. For NYE 2019, Amsterdam is ditching the central fireworks display. Instead, neighbourhoods and communities across the city will come together to light up the skies with multiple local fireworks extravaganzas. You’ll have an enormous choice, although Amsterdam’s Chinatown guarantees some of the best displays of the lot. The city’s night skies will explode in fabulous colours in every direction like never before as the clock strikes midnight. It promises to be a memorable sight you won’t want to miss.

While drinking in the view, you may be tempted to celebrate with a different type of drink. Settle in for the festivities with a delicious, world-famous Dutch beer or cosy hot chocolate in one of the many city squares where NYE street parties will be in full swing. Dam Square is undoubtedly the biggest, with beer tents, live music and a wonderfully festive atmosphere. Other famous spots like Leidseplein and Rembrandtplein will also be in celebration mode. All across the city, you’ll find a party atmosphere to rival anywhere on earth.

If you find yourself feeling peckish, it’s obviously because you haven’t tried some mouth-watering Oliebollen yet. Oliebollen – a donut-like traditional treat filled with sultanas, raisins and currants – are a symbol of NYE across the country, but especially in Amsterdam. People traditionally eat them to help ward off bad spirits as the new year approaches. So indulge in these delicious, deep-fried dough balls as you savour the unique atmosphere of the end-of-year celebrations in the Dutch capital. They’re readily available across the city, but prepare to join a lengthy queue as the sun sets on New Year’s Eve.

On New Year’s Day itself, all shops and all but a few select museums will close. So what better way to truly wake up to a new year and a new you than by sprinting into the icy waters of the Amstel River. On 1st January, hundreds of brave (or crazy) take part in this “New Year’s Dive” to welcome in the new year. It’s an exhilarating tradition that dates back 60 years. The event takes place at over 150 locations across the country. Naturally, Amsterdam leads the way in both the amount of people and the amount of fun to be had. This is genuine bucket list stuff so go on – we dare you to take the plunge.

Here at Sarah’s Tours, we’re delighted to wish you all a “Gelukkig nieuwjaar”. Come party with us all the way into an exciting and prosperous 2020. Let’s start those New Year’s Resolutions early by booking a tour and ringing in the New Year in serious style.