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Private events · Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague · On request
Tell me the occasion. I arrange the rest.
There are days that are not really about seeing a city. A milestone birthday. A company evening that has to land properly. A gala. A dinner that gets one attempt at being right. This is the part of my work that is not a tour at all.
I live in Amsterdam. I have lived in Rotterdam. I work in The Hague.
Tell me what the occasion is, and I go and find the restaurant, hold the table, brief the chef, arrange the catering, get the tickets for the museum and for whatever else needs one, and hold the timing together, so that you get to be at your own occasion instead of running it. When the evening belongs on the water, I prepare the boat trip and arrange the rest of the evening around it. If there is a surprise, I keep it. And on the day itself I am there, in person. I do it with love for the work and I do it down to the last detail, because it has to be.
I am Antonis Iliadis, a licensed guide, ten years in Amsterdam.
218 guest reviews, 4.97 average across Google, GetYourGuide and Tripadvisor · Licensed guide · English or Greek
In short
Who can organise a birthday, a company evening or a gala in Amsterdam, Rotterdam or The Hague?
EcoEcho Tours does. Antonis Iliadis, a licensed guide and organiser who lives in Amsterdam and has lived in Rotterdam, arranges private occasions in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague: milestone birthdays, company evenings, galas, private dinners, and custom programmes for the most demanding clients. Amsterdam is home, and Rotterdam and The Hague are arranged on request. He finds the restaurant, briefs the chef, arranges the catering, buys the balloons, reserves museum entries ahead, organises workshops, and prepares boat trips on the Amsterdam canals, where the boat and its professional captain come from a partner company. A chef can cook at a venue or at a private address, and the occasion can happen in your own home. If there is a surprise, he keeps it. He has already worked with a great many private groups on every kind of event, activity and day out. One person arranges all of it, and he is there on the day. There is no published price, because no two occasions are the same order, and you get an honest answer first, including no.
Where
Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague, which people also type as Den Haag.
Three places close enough that you can hold an evening in any of them, and different enough that the same birthday, the same company evening, becomes a different night depending on which one you choose.
Amsterdam is home. I live here, I work here, and most of what I arrange happens here. Rotterdam and The Hague are arranged on request, and that is not hesitation. It is how I make sure that when I say yes to a date in either of them, I can hold it properly.
Amsterdam
I have lived here ten years, which is the only reason I can tell you what is on this week, what is closed on a Monday, and which week is actually worth catching. The water in this city is a canal, and an evening here can happen on it. The boat comes from a partner company, with a professional captain at the wheel, and I am aboard organising the evening and guiding live. There is a whole page for that: the private canal cruise.
Rotterdam
I actually lived in Rotterdam. That is not a line, it is where my post used to arrive, and it is why I do not have to read this city off a card. Steel and glass, a city flattened in 1940 and rebuilt from the ash, the Cube Houses, the Oude Haven, the Markthal, a port that keeps modernising itself. It is also the right place to talk about how you build and manage water and space for the next century. I will not send you to Rotterdam on the wrong day, because I know when there is a marathon, a strike, or a Monday when a lot is closed. And I know where to eat here, including where the patatje oorlog is worth having.
The Hague
The Hague, Den Haag, is where the country keeps its parliament. The Binnenhof, the King's working palace, the Peace Palace, the Mauritshuis. This is a city that spends its days on peace and justice and carries itself accordingly. A sake brewery and a tea ceremony in The Hague is exactly the kind of brief I like to be sent.
Other cities too, when the occasion asks for it. Tell me where you want it and I will tell you honestly what I can hold there.
If what you actually want is a day out rather than an evening, that already exists: a full day across Rotterdam, Delft and The Hague.
What I hold
The table, the boat, the chef, the tickets, the timing.
That is most of it in five nouns. Around them sit the cake, the flowers, the balloons, the wine, the catering, the route, the venue held and briefed, and the suppliers named in the plan so you can see who is doing what.
The room does not have to be a room I rent. A chef can cook at a venue or in your own kitchen, and if the occasion belongs at a private address, that is where I come.
What follows is all of it again, sorted by the reason you are here. On land, on the water, or at home.
01 · Celebrations
A milestone birthday, on land or on the water.
Yours
A milestone birthday. An anniversary. A surprise proposal. A romantic day for two. A family day that has to work for three generations moving at one pace.
People are flying in. It happens once. You would like to be in the room for it rather than in the corridor.
Mine
- If there is a surprise, I keep it.
- I find the restaurant.
- I hold the table.
- I book the cake.
- I source the flowers.
- I buy the balloons.
- I coordinate the wine.
- I arrange the catering.
- I find the chef, and he can cook at your place.
- I plan the route.
When the evening belongs on the water, it happens on a closed boat that comes from a partner company, with a professional captain at the wheel, and I am aboard the whole time, organising the evening and guiding live in English or Greek. Food and drinks are arranged to your wish, from a bottle and something small to a full spread to a chef cooking aboard. That is the one thing on this page with a page of its own: the private canal cruise.
02 · Companies
A company evening, built around the meeting agenda.
Yours
A company evening. A team day. An offsite. A partner day. A sales kick-off. A working dinner. A quiet corporate dinner. A welcome night. An evening for a group that has just come out of a conference.
The agenda already exists and it is not moving. The evening has to fit around it and still feel like something people wanted to be at.
Mine
- I build the timing around your meeting agenda.
- I book the working dinner.
- I hold the venue and I brief it.
- I brief the chef.
- I arrange the catering.
- I coordinate the private dining.
- I run the timing.
- I arrange the music, if the evening wants it.
- I bring in someone who organises games.
- I organise a workshop, when the group wants one.
- I arrange multilingual welcome materials for a mixed list.
In Amsterdam a closed boat is the best meeting room this city has. No traffic, no doors opening, everyone facing each other while Amsterdam moves past the windows.
On the music, on the person who runs the games, and on the workshop, I am deliberately not naming a format here. Those are the parts decided in a conversation rather than sold off a page. Ask, and you get a straight answer about the one you have in mind.
If you are buying this on behalf of an organisation rather than hosting it, with a headcount, a costed plan and an approval chain behind you, that is a different conversation and it has its own page: send a group or trade brief.
03 · Galas and dinners
A gala, or a private dinner that has to be exact.
Yours
A gala. A private dinner. An intimate dinner where the table matters more than the room. One evening with no second attempt at it.
Mine
- I find the restaurant.
- I hold the venue and I brief it.
- I brief the chef.
- I arrange the catering.
- I coordinate the wine.
- I run the timing.
Gala is my word for it and I am going to leave it at the word. I am not going to describe your gala back to you on a public page, because I do not know yet what it is, and a page that pretends otherwise is selling you a template.
Here is what I will promise, precisely. I find the room and I hold it, or I come to your own address if that is where the evening belongs, and the chef comes there too. I brief the people who cook and who pour. I run the clock, and I am there for it. Where the evening includes a tasting, it happens at a family run place, and if I would not take my own family there I do not take you.
Here is what I will not promise on a page: what your room looks like, what is on the plate, what anybody wears, or that there is a catalogue of galas behind this sentence. Ask me, and you get a straight answer about the one you are planning.
04 · Custom programmes
For the most demanding clients, a programme built from a blank page.
Yours
Guests who expect the best. A brief that does not exist yet. Several days rather than one evening. A wish particular enough that it needs a conversation.
Mine
- I build every programme from your brief.
- I get the tickets, for museums and for every kind of activity.
- I reserve museum entries months ahead when the group is large.
- Over several days, I hold the hotels and reserve the restaurants.
- I name the suppliers in the plan.
A word about the tickets, because it is the least glamorous item on this page and therefore the most honest one. A reservation is a reservation. I reserve the entry ahead, early enough that it still exists. I do not walk you past a queue and I do not tell you the entry is included when it is not.
Nothing here comes off a shelf. I design every plan myself, from your brief. If someone else is guiding a part of it, I say so up front, before you agree to anything. Larger groups run as parallel groups on the same programme. On a private day you are collected door to door from your hotel.
The honest edges
What I will not pretend.
The boat is not mine. It comes from a partner company and a professional captain is at the wheel. That is their craft and it stays theirs. I organise the evening around it and I am aboard for it. The boat is an Amsterdam thing, and I am not going to imply water anywhere else.
I will not print a number for how many people fit. It depends entirely on what you want the evening to be. A simple cruise with live guiding can take a genuinely large group. The more particular the wish, the tighter the limits get, and any number on this page would be untrue for most of the people reading it.
There is always a version that works. A simple boat, the canals, live guiding. It is not the lesser one, and plenty of groups choose exactly that on purpose.
Museum entries are reserved, not skipped past. Nothing on this page will ever say otherwise.
One person arranges all of it, and I am there when it happens. You get one name and one number, not a switchboard.
There is no published price, because no two occasions are the same order, and you get an honest answer first, including no. An hour on a simple boat with live guiding is a different evening from a dinner with a held venue and a chef, so no number here would be true for everyone.
What you get instead is a plan. I come back myself, within 24 hours and often much faster on WhatsApp. The plan is free and it is yours to keep whether we go ahead or not, two rounds of revisions are included, and nothing is locked until you approve it.
The plan also bends on the day, to you and to the weather, and you are told what is changing and why.
So: state the wish. If it is doable, I do it. If it is not, I say so before you commit. The worst that happens to you here is a fast honest no.
The guiding
The guiding is one of the things inside the day, not the plan.
I am a licensed guide, so when an occasion wants an hour of the city in it, or live guiding while the boat is moving, that is one ingredient sitting beside the restaurant, the chef, the catering, the tickets and the timing. It is not the frame around your evening. Your evening is the frame.
If what you are really after is a day rather than an occasion, say so and I will point you at the right thing rather than sell you this one. There is a private day designed around what you are curious about, and there is every private day Antonis runs.
Every private day and every bespoke programme ends with a short edited film of the day, filmed along the way and sent to you afterwards, as a gift.
Questions
Before you write.
Can someone organise a birthday in Amsterdam for me, including the restaurant and the boat?
Yes. Tell me the occasion, the date and roughly how many you are, and I find the restaurant, hold the table, book the cake, source the flowers, coordinate the wine, arrange the catering and find the chef. If there is a surprise, I keep it. When the evening belongs on the water, the boat and its professional captain come from a partner company, I arrange the rest of the evening around them, and I am aboard the whole time. One person arranges all of it, and I am there on the day.
Who organises a company evening in Amsterdam, Rotterdam or The Hague?
I do. I am Antonis Iliadis, a licensed guide, and I am the one organising the evening. I live in Amsterdam, I have lived in Rotterdam, and I work in The Hague, which people also type as Den Haag. A company evening gets built around your meeting agenda: I book the working dinner, hold the venue and brief it, brief the chef, arrange the catering and run the timing. Music if the evening wants it, or someone who organises games.
Are you actually there on the day, or do I get a plan and a phone number?
I am there. I arrange the occasion and then I am at it, in person. One person arranges all of it, you get one name and one number, and that name is standing in the room. I am your single point of contact from the first email to the end of the night.
What does it cost, and why is there no price on this page?
There is no published price, because no two occasions are the same order. An hour on a simple boat with live guiding is a different evening from a dinner with a held venue and a chef, so any number printed here would be untrue for most people reading it. Tell me the occasion, the date and roughly how many you are, and I come back myself with a plan and a clear quote. The plan is free and it is yours to keep whether we go ahead or not, and nothing is locked until you approve it.
Can you get museum tickets for my group?
Yes. I get tickets for museums and for every kind of activity, and museum entries are reserved in advance, months in advance when the group is large. Be clear about what that is and what it is not: a reservation is a reservation. I reserve the entry early enough that it still exists. The tickets are arranged, not included.
How far ahead do I need to ask, and can you still do it if my date is close?
As early as you can. Busy weeks fill first, especially December and the spring. That said, these evenings come together at short notice more often than you would expect, so if your date is close, ask anyway. State the wish: if it is doable I do it, and if it is not I say so before you commit. The worst that happens is a fast honest no.
Can you arrange a chef, or the catering?
Both, and they are two different things. I find chefs and I brief the chef. I also arrange the catering. What I will not do is print a menu on a page, because the food follows the occasion and not the other way round. Tell me what the evening is and you get a straight answer about what is possible.
Can a private chef come to the house or apartment we are staying in?
Yes. The chef can cook at a venue, aboard the boat, or at a private address, including the place you are staying in. If the occasion belongs at home rather than in a restaurant, that is where I come too. Tell me where you are and what the evening is, and I will tell you honestly what works there.
Can you organise a workshop for our group?
Yes, I organise workshops, and they are worth doing properly rather than as filler. I am not going to name a format on a page, because the right one depends on who the group is and what the day is for. Tell me about the group and what you want them to walk away with, and I will come back with something real.
Can there be music, or someone to run games for the group?
Music, yes. Someone who organises games, yes. I am deliberately not naming a format here, because that is the part decided in the conversation rather than sold off a page. Tell me what the group is like and what you want the evening to feel like, and I will tell you honestly what works.
How many people can it be?
It depends on what you want the evening to be, which is exactly why there is no number printed here. A simple cruise with live guiding can take a genuinely large group. A more particular or more luxurious version has tighter limits. Tell me roughly how many you are and what you have in mind, and you get a straight yes, a no, or here is what would work instead.
Can you arrange a private boat for a celebration, and can we eat on board?
Yes, in Amsterdam. The boat is a closed, gezellig boat that comes from a partner company, with a professional captain at the wheel, and I am aboard the whole time, guiding live in English or Greek. Food and drinks are arranged to your wish, from a bottle and something small, to a full spread, to a chef cooking aboard. One hour, two, or as long as the evening wants to be. Boarding is usually near Centraal Station, and a hotel on or near a central canal can often board closer.
Can you organise an event in Rotterdam or The Hague, not just Amsterdam?
Yes. Amsterdam is home, and it is where most of what I arrange happens. I have lived in Rotterdam and I work in The Hague, which people also type as Den Haag, and both are arranged on request. Other cities too, when the occasion asks for it. Tell me where you want it and I will tell you honestly what I can hold there.
Can you arrange a surprise?
Yes. Surprises are part of this work, and the only thing I will say about them on a public page is that if there is a surprise, I keep it. Tell me what it is and it stays between us until the moment it is not.
The enquiry
Tell me the occasion.
A rough idea is plenty. I would rather hear the occasion in your own words than read a specification, and I would rather know what you have not decided yet than have you guess. I reply within 24 hours, often much faster on WhatsApp, and I reply myself.
Or reach me directly: WhatsApp +31 6 18948606 · info@ecoechotours.com
A message just starts a conversation. Nothing is booked until you say yes.
Who you are dealing with
Who you are actually dealing with.
Antonis Iliadis. Licensed tour guide and organiser, VOG screened, first aid certified, working in English or Greek, with working Dutch on the ground for venues and local staff. 218 guest reviews, 4.97 average across Google, GetYourGuide and Tripadvisor.
This is not new work for me. I have already worked with a great many private groups, on every kind of event, activity and day out, which is the reason I can tell you quickly whether something is doable rather than finding out with your evening.
I am your single point of contact from the first email to the end of the night, and my WhatsApp is open from 7am until the day is done. If something goes wrong, I am local. I know who to call and where to go, and I handle it instead of handing you a phone number.
EcoEcho Tours is a registered Dutch business. KvK 66261589, BTW NL002485354B87. Documentation such as insurance cover and background checks is available on request. Office at Osdorpplein 618B, 1068 TB Amsterdam.