Boat Tours during the Day
You can’t miss the canals in Amsterdam - they wind their way through the oldest and busiest parts of the city - but you’ll get a different perspective of life in the Venice of the North when you take a boat tour through the elaborate waterways. From famous canal-side houses to the most important museums, you’ll see it all from the comfortable interior of a canal boat. There are four major tour providers who put on basic canal boat tours:
Blue Boat City Canal Cruise
This cruise is 75 minutes long, and an audio guide is available in 21 languages. If you’re planning to buy the Amsterdam City Card, then this tour is one of the tours and attractions included. Boats depart from either opposite the Hard Rock Cafe or opposite the Heineken Experience and run every 30 minutes in summer or every hour in winter.
Lovers Canal Cruise
The basic cruise takes 1 hour and includes a GPS audio guide in 19 languages. Boats depart roughly every 15 minutes in summer and every 30 minutes in winter from Prins Hendrikkade 25, which is close to Amsterdam Central Station.
Stromma cruises
This company offers three different tour options, the 100 Highlights tour, the Hop-On Hop-Off tours, and the Open Boat Tour. The 100 Highlights tour takes one hour and is accompanied by an audio guide in 19 languages while the Open Boat tour takes an hour and fifteen minutes and is led by the captain of the boat.
Friendship Amsterdam
These tours are offered in open-top boats. With a smaller group of visitors, and a personal tour from the captain, they’re a pleasant way to tour the canals in an hour. You can also buy a range of drinks on-board. Just be aware that, because the boats are open-top, they often don’t run in bad weather.
Canal Tour through illuminated Amsterdam Canal Tours by Night
For a bit more romance, or just a different perspective on the city, why not take a canal tour after dark? If you’re visiting between December and January and wrap up warm, you’ll be rewarded with particularly beautiful views of the Festival of Lights. During the festival, Amsterdam’s canals, bridges, and major buildings are dressed to impress with colorful light installations, and you can get some of the most unique views from the water.
Boat Tour & Attraction Combos
If you want to plan a full day in Amsterdam, then you might want to combine your boat tour ticket with an entry ticket to one of the city’s top attractions! Several boat tour providers offer discounted tickets to museums or other sights when you book a canal cruise, so consider where you’d like to visit and book in advance to save money!
Van Gogh Museum
Tickets for the Van Gogh Museum are highly-sought after, but you can get guaranteed entry when you book a combo ticket with a boat tour. You’ll be given a timeslot to enter the museum, which can be extremely busy, so make sure you plan it into your schedule, and it might be a good idea to use your boat tour ticket after you’ve been to the museum, since those tickets are more flexible.
Rijksmuseum
One of Amsterdam’s most popular museums, the Rijksmuseum is a national museum of art and history, and is home to major masterpieces by Rembrandt, Vermeer, and other major Dutch painters. Tickets combined with a boat tour are available. In addition to saving you money, they’ll also let you skip the long lines at the museum. The museum is also a stop on the hop-on hop-off boat tour, so it’s extremely easy to access!
Amsterdam Dungeon & Madame Tussauds
You can get discounts to two of Amsterdam’s most fun attractions when you book a combo ticket. Learn about Amsterdam’s dark history in the dungeon, or meet your favorite actors, singers, and celebrities at Madame Tussauds Amsterdam.
Heineken Experience
Follow up your canal tour with a trip to the iconic home of Heineken beer. Learn about the history of the company, the manufacturing process, and enjoy a tasting when you opt for a combo ticket to the Heineken Experience.