 | Amsterdam Canal Boat Tours Reviews | Tips 1 - 10 of 185 |  |
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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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| | | | Canal Boat Tours: Canal Cruises | Tip Rating: | | | | |
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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| | | | Canal Boat Tours: Rainy day boat trip | Tip Rating: | | | | |
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 Website: http://www.rederijplas.nl/
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