| Canal Boat Tours tips and photos posted by real travelers and Amsterdam locals. • 252 Photos
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Take a cruise on the canals, for an hour or two.
There are several cruise companies that run tours, departing every hour or so, from the main canal down the hill from the train station.
It was a very plesant way to see some of the sights, with commentary in several languages. Leave a Comment Address: Departures from main canal down from train stationOther Contact: Cost was around 8 euros
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It is a little bit tourist, but yet it is a good way to see a part of Amsterdam. They’re several tours: one-hour cruise, architecture cruise, night cruise, jazz cruise, red light district cruise. I found the museum boat very comfortable, especially a –very- rainy day. The museum boat starts opposite the central train station, and has seven stops near the major museums, such as the Rijks museum and Anne Frank’s house. The ticket costs 14.25 euro, gives a discount to some museums and it allows you to embark and disembark at any one of the six stops from 9:55am till 7:00pm. Leave a Comment
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As in Strasbourg, an interesting rainy day activity in Amsterdam is to take a boat trip around the city.
I call it a rainy day activity because when the weather is nice you will obviously prefer to be out cycling rather than just sitting in a boat.
There are several companies that do canal boat tours, leaving from the piers at the street called Damrak near the central station. I took a tour by a company called Rederij Plas, which was fine but I have no way of knowing if it was better or worse than any of the other tours.
As in Strasbourg, I was the only person on the boat who had a map and was following along to keep track of where we were going. I am always amazed that nobody else does this, as one of the main purposes of such a tour is to start getting oriented and start learning your way around.
At thirty-five different places on the tour there were recorded commentaries in Dutch, German, French and English, which were fun because I could try to understand some of the Dutch (which I have never learned, but can sometimes figure out from German and English), and then use the other three languages to see if I was right.
Second photo: The Central Railway Station and Smits Koffiehuis, which is a fancy restaurant and not a "Coffee Shop".
Third photo: One of the Seven Bridges.
Fourth photo: The opera house in the rain, as seen from the tour boat.
Fifth photo: One of the tourist boats going past the opera house (not on the same day, obviously). Leave a Comment
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The canal boat tours are many people's idea of hell - but I love them!
We bought a ticket for the Canal bus, which we were able to use for a day and a half for around 15 euros. We could stay on as long as we wanted, or use it as a (fairly slow) way of getting around the city. It was great to give our feet a rest and just sit back and let the city come to us - it also provided us with some shelter when the rains came, without restricting our sightseeing. The commentary is reasonably informative, but if you want a lot of detail about the city, take a guide book or go on a specialised walking tour.
We realised too late that we could have bought a 'multi' ticket for 22 euros, which would have included a discounted admission to the Van Gogh museum - we'll remember this next time!
The other advantage of a canal tour is that you get a different perspective than from the street. Here, seven bridges are aligned, which wouldn't be obvious from above. Leave a Comment
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This is a lovely way to see the city and give your feet a bit of a rest! There are lots of places to board the boat tours and we took ours from the Rijksmuseum. It was 13E each and well worth it. The guide spoke English and German. Leave a Comment Address: Prins HendrikkadePhone: 020-5301090Directions: 6 Rijksmuseum
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This might be the only city in the world that is better seen from the water. Because of this fact no visit is complete without a canal tour. This is the only tourist attraction that is popular with both locals and tourists, old and young folks alike.
From Winston Crurchill to the Beatles and Nelson Mandela, almost all famous guests have made their acquaintance with the city from the deck of a canal cruise boat.
The advance booking is not necessary, indeed, if you have an I Amsterdam Card you get a free canal tour in front of Central Station, at Rederij Noord-Zuid (the blue boat company.) Their boats leave at every 30 minute, and with its duration of 75 minutes, this is the longest cruise. A computerized audio system acts as the guide, using four languages (English is of course one).
If a window seat is important to you, do not board a boat in which none are available. On most rides tips are solicited, but do not feel obligated to contribute.
The tour takes in Central Station, the Golden Bend of the Herengracht, the Harlemmersluis floodgates which are used nightly to flush the canals, many picturesque bridges, including the Bridge of 15 bridges at the crossing of the Reguliersgracht with the Herengracht, the famous Skinny Bridge over the Amstel, and the harbor. The boat trips are at their best when the sun is shining, there are a few seats outside in the back of the boat, where also smoking is allowed.
Do not forget to get a guide book in order to check immediately all what you have seen.
Without the card the 75 minutes tour costs 9.50€ for adults, 5.50€ for children (5 to 12 yrs) and 65+. Children under 4 are free.
Departures
Summer season (April-September):
Every half hour, daily from 10.00am - 6.00pm, and at 7.00pm
Winter season (October- March):
Every hour, daily from 10.00am - 5.00pm
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A pleasant hour on a canal boat and only a few Euros.
They run very frequently, so no need to book – I was told before I went to Amsterdam that this was a ‘must do’ – so I duly did as I was told. It was nice, not spectacular, just nice.
The multi-lingual recorded guided tour was useful – if anything, the boat ride was a welcome rest for the feet! A lot of the boat trips leave from Damrak – easy to find too!
Watch out though - they snap your pic as you embark, all processed and on public display by the time you return, but no obligation to buy!! Leave a Comment Address: Damrak - lower end
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Did you know that Amsterdam has 165 canals, 1281 bridges, 70 canal cruise boats, 8 wooden drawbridges, 2500 houseboats and 120 water bikes? A canal cruise is a must to explore and discover Amsterdam.
I feel the day tours are more interesting than the night ones, as there is more to see in the daytime. At least when i went on the night tour, the monuments, buildings were not highlighted, so couldn't see much. Turned out to be like a boat ride anywhere in the world. Day ones are special!
This is what the tour operators have to say (though i was not lucky enough to experience the night sights):
The canals are one of the major attractions of Amsterdam, also called 'Venice of the North.’ By daytime the canals are charming, by night they become even more enchanting because many canal houses and bridges are beautifully illuminated. The four main canals in the canal belt are Prinsengracht (Princes’ Canal), Herengracht (Gentlemen’s Canal), Keizersgracht (Emperor’s Canal) and Singel. For a refreshingly different view of Amsterdam, try a canal boat tour. You'll notice numerous tour operators near Central Station and along the Damrak and Rokin downtown. Leave a Comment Directions: Most of the canal cruise companies can be found near Central Station and Damrak as well on the Rokin near Muntsquare. The hotel concierges of the hotels are able to book cruises for you, but I recommend just to check rates at the boats as rates may vary.
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Of course Amsterdam must be visited on its canals, by boat tours. I suggest you to start the trip with one such boat tour, to see the main canals and hear the captain's comments about Amsterdam, then a walk on the other canals that the boat did not visit, and in the last day in Amsterdam, a last cruise with the boat, to review the sights you've already visited.
The company that I can reccomend to you is Rederij Noord-Ziud, with its long blue boats. I think these are the longest boats in Amsterdam and it stresses the most of the captains and are like the top lenght allowed by the canals sharp (90 degree) bends.
I can tell you the driving this kind of boats is pretty difficult .. you will see that the canals are very narrow and the stone bridges very low .. you'll have to watch your head .. and watch the captain master the art of turning the boat at "intersections". He makes use of a tiny camera on the back of the ship .. to watch the boat's tail .. so he will be gratefull to tourist not to stay in the camera's way :)
I liked Rederij's boats because they have tables inside, it has a nice interior (see picture), allowing you to open or close windows, as well as a small open portion at the tail, where you can feel the wind and smell the water when going off on the Amstel, behind the Centraal Station, heading to the North Sea (for a little bit). Leave a Comment
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I have done canal trips 4 times & enjoyed it everytime
The best company to go with is canal company they have 3 lines Red, Blue & Green
They stop at various sights like Leidseplein, Prisengracht, Amsterdam centraal allowing yu to hop on & off.
Travel for the whole day is euro 16, this allows you various entrance discounts into museums etc.
Otherwise we went with the company Plas they did not go via Anne Frank's house & lasted an hour for Euro 6.50 or other companies leaving from Centraal & DamRak can charge Euro 7 Leave a Comment
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