Historische Privégids

Market Garden day trip

Martin was a pleasant, knowledgeable, and easygoing companion and guide. He tailored his approach to my preference, bringing out points of interest but not cluttering up the experience by insisting on including more than I wished to. HIs through familiarity with the entire Market Garden campaign insured that the sites we visited were explained in context, and he was always willing to engage in additional discussion and to bring up salient points for consideration, but without needless overnarration. In addition, he is a good and careful driver and picked me up right from my hotel! I am very pleased to recommend him highly.

Emotional history lesson

A full day of history, facts and insights. It was personalised to follow a family member who
had fought in the operation.

Katie

The start of my journey

My experience was great it was everything I imagined and more.
I learned alot about Westerbork Transit Kamp and Amersfoort Kamp when we visited them I found them both very touching
Martin also took the time to show me Anne Franks neighborhood where she lived before going into hiding, where she went to school her statue which I found all very interesting.
I just want to thank Martin for a great day he was an excellent tour guide, he picked me up where I was staying in Amsterdam and dropped me off
I'm hoping to book another tour with Martin soon to further my journey.

Leanne

Excellent battlefield tour with Martin

Excellent battlefield tour. Really enjoyed the day. Martin is very knowledgeable and provides the details and stories you won’t find in a history book. Martin is very flexible and fits the tour to what you are most interested. He also took us to sites off the beaten path that were significant to understanding the battle. If one has seen the movie “A Bridge Too Far”, Martin takes you to the actual sites depicted in the movie and can tell you what is accurate and what is not. Would recommend this tour for the World War II history buff.

Martin can probably answer any question you might have. Thank You Martin!!!

Karen

Great day

Great day spent with Martin exploring the Arnhem battlefield. Martin was very friendly, accommodating and knowledgeable about the Market Garden Operation and surrounding area.

Spent a second day with Martin on a drive up from Amsterdam to the Westerbork transit camp and a tour of that historic site. Very informative and moving experience.

Highly recommend Martin for any of his tours.

Christopher

Market Garden Tour

This was an excellent experience. Martin was very informative and took us to spots I never would have found on my own. His knowledge of Market Garden was amazing!! A warm and kind person too I might add.

Immensely interesting and worthwhile day tour

Martin is the best kind of guide for Holocaust history - incredibly knowledgeable but also compassionate and thoughtful. He smoothly adapted the day's tour to suit our particular interests and showed us sites and details we would never have been able to find on our own. The day was full, but with comfort breaks. Martin's good company meant the long-ish drive to Westerbork camp didn't seem long at all.



Lucy Adlington

Only tour guide I would hire again and again

Spent a wonderful day with Martin. We started off visiting Kamp Amersfoort, then The Hidden Village, and spent a lot of time at Westerbork. Martin is very knowledgeable about WWII and put up with all my questions, including hypothetical ones. His answers were well thought out. On the return trip to Amsterdam we drove on the Afsluitdijk, major dam and causeway, quite impressive. All in all I really enjoyed my day with Martin and highly recommend anyone interested in WWII, Anne Frank, etc to hire Martin. I look forward to our next visit and tour with him in the future.

Thanks Martin.

Marco

Superb tour guide.

The most important part of the day was the tour guide, Martin van Elmpt. I have an abiding interest in the Holocaust--hence the trip to Westerbork. Martin was the perfect guide. Deeply immersed in historical studies, he was able to help me gain a better understanding. He's also very adaptable; that is, he discerned quickly that I've done a lot of research on Kamp Westerbork and this meant he took my knowledge and interests into consideration as we made our way through the day, he showing me things that weren't necessarily part of the initial tour. I found him a gregarious and gracious companion for the day we spent together. I hope to return to the Netherlands in a few years with my family and would very much want to do the tour again with him as a guide.

Michael

An emotional day at Arnhem

A superb and emotional day of tribute to a very brave few. Our excellent guide, historian Martin Van Elmpt, went far beyond the call to learn all he could about my godfather David Dobie who was one of the three battalion commanders in that fateful operation. Thus we were able to stand at the very places where he landed, fought, was wounded, his hospital, escape, and hiding places from the Nazis as the few British Paras struggled at The Bridge too Far against overwhelming odds.
Never forgetting the hardship endured by the Dutch civilian townsfolk, a private guide is definitely the way to go… thank you Martin

Tim LaPage

We learned about these tours through friends. The tour actually consists of a number of sub tours. We did the tour in South Amsterdam (Rivierenbuurt) and the one in the Plantage buurt. The first covered Anne's life before she and her family went in hiding and led us along a number of significant places (Euterpe straat, headquarters and interrogation place of the SD!). The second drew the greater picture of the rounding up and deportation of the Jewish inhabitants of Amsterdam.

We found both tours interesting. Martin was knowledgeable and explained well.

If you want to learn about Anne's life in a short time and not just by visiting the Achterhuis, do one or more of these tours!

Joost Friederich

We had a very informative and moving private walk in Amsterdam. We were able to see different areas

where Anne lived and went to school. We were very privileged to get into the tiny Anne Frank house

where she lived until captured. Our guide was very knowledgeable and extremely pleasant.

Heather and Mark Andersons

Martin is an exceptional guide and a nice, friendly person who is flexible to your schedule and sheds light on all aspects of Market Garden. The bike tour allows you to experience the battle in true Dutch style. With Martin as a guide, I learned a lot about a battle that I didn’t know about before. 100% would recommend!

Francisco Coutinho

Impressive - Impressive! Superb Tour with Martin

I took this private tour with Martin. I was very impressed with his knowledge and the sights we saw. He was very knowledgeable and we explored many areas I'd never imagine visiting on a "normal" tour. The Jewish Quarter was fascinating and humbling, the church with the nun buried under the sidewalk was hilarious, and the "monkey bar" was quite entertaining. Martin also took me to a wonderful cafe high above the city, we explored a small part of the Red-light District, and I learned about Amsterdam architecture and why the buildings slope towards the street. I was especially moved by the memorial where the names of the Jewish residents who died in the Holocaust are posted on the canal wall. I would never have found that.

If you like a more personable experience and you are a lover of history as I am, this is the tour for you.

Thank you, Martin, for a wonderful tour.

We really enjoyed the Market Garden tour last week. It was great to have an insite into where my grandad was during the war and to learn more about operation Market Garden.

Martin was so full of information and so passionate about this tour that you really feel a part of the history while being there. He takes you to see the house that Anne lived in before going into hiding. We saw lots of sights that other tours do not show you. If you only go on one tour while in Holland consider this one, you will not be disappointed.

Troy Bennett

Great tour!!! Brings the battle to life !

Martin is an exceptional guide and a nice, friendly person who is flexible to your schedule and sheds light on all aspects of Market Garden. The bike tour allows you to experience the battle in true Dutch style. With Martin as a guide, I learned a lot about a battle that I didn’t know about before. 100% would recommend!

Francisco C

Go beyond the Anne Frank House

We booked this tour with Martin back in October and were very pleased. The entire process was easy and hassle-free. Martin was top notch, professional, friendly, and very knowledgeable. Martin contacted us right after we booked the door, and was extremely responsive to emails with questions and requests. Unfortunately, we had to request a slight change the tour itinerary because we were sick but Martin was very understanding and easy to work with.

As the other reviewer mentioned, Martin was filled with information and very interested in the subject matter. The visit to Camp Westerbork itself was indescribable and moving. Martin provided background information on the camp and the Franks and really added to the experience.

We also visited the neighborhood and house where the Franks lived before they went into hiding. We even saw the bookshop when Mr. Frank purchased Anne’s red and white checkered diary.

It was a full day and unforgettable. If you are interested in learning more about Anne and her family, we highly recommend this trip. I also suggest visiting the Anne Frank house because this tour will supplement that very well. Thank you Martin for an amazing experience.



Stacey and Natalie

A Bridge Too Far

Our guide Martin was excellent with extensive knowledge of the battle called “a bridge too far”. Highly recommended that you watch the film or read the book by Ryan before attending. We went places that a normal large tour would be unable to go. It was a great day to see the locations of where the brave men and women fought for the liberation of the Dutch people—sadly unsuccessfully—in 1944. Highly recommend.

Janet