Smaller boats, a bar on board, often unlimited drinks. And the only two tours in Amsterdam with a German-speaking live guide.
© Yiorgos Ntrahas / Unsplash
This category has grown the fastest in recent years. Instead of a large excursion boat you travel on a saloon boat or an open electric boat with 12 to 30 seats, there is a bar on board, and a skipper talks live.
Watch out for one point when booking: “bar on board” and “drinks included” are two different things. On many tours the bar is there, but you pay for each drink yourself. The version with unlimited drinks usually costs ten to fifteen euros more and pays off from the third glass. Which applies in each case is set out in the provider's description of every tour.
Live guides in Amsterdam almost always work in English. These tours are the exception — here a German-speaking guide leads the cruise, and the ratings are among the best in the whole city.
One of the few cruises in Amsterdam where a German-speaking guide talks live — and one of the best-rated tours in the city. Drinks can be added on as an option. Departure from Prins Hendrikkade.
A German-speaking live guide and unlimited drinks in one ticket. Check in at the STROMMA desk on Prins Hendrikkade, first pier.
The host guides in several languages, German among them — ask for the language you want when booking. Drinks and snacks optional.
Live commentary in English. Sorted by rating.
© Yiorgos Ntrahas / Unsplash
Open boat with a bar and live skipper, leaving from Centraal Station — with almost five stars from over a thousand reviews, the strongest cruise in this category.
from €19.40
per personFree cancellation up to 24 hours before
Check availabilityBooked via Headout
Saloon boat with a bar on board; bookable in an option with unlimited cocktails and sparkling wine. Departure from Oudezijds Voorburgwal.
Electric, open and in a small group. The skipper talks in English, with digital companion booklets in eight languages. Departure from Stationsplein.
Three jetties to choose from, lasting one to one and a half hours depending on the option. You add the unlimited drinks version during the booking step.
Quiet electric boat with no roof, bar on board, leaving from either Centraal Station or the Anne Frank House.
from €19.32
per personFree cancellation up to 24 hours before
Check availabilityBooked via Headout
Heated saloon boat, unlimited drinks and a cheese platter in the price — the weatherproof version of this category.
from €29.30
per personFree cancellation up to 24 hours before
Check availabilityBooked via Headout
Saloon boat with a bar, leaving from Leliegracht in the canal ring. Refund only with a paid flex ticket.
© Yasonya / Shutterstock.com
Saloon boat with a bar, live guide and three jetties to choose from. You pay for the drinks individually on board; they are not included in the ticket.
Not automatically. “Bar on board” initially means no more than that there is a bar — you settle up for each drink there. Many providers also sell a version with unlimited drinks, which costs about ten to fifteen euros more and adds up from the third glass. Check the option you have selected when booking; this is the most common reason for disappointment on board.
In the Netherlands the minimum age for alcohol is 18, and the crew checks. Children are allowed on most of these cruises but of course are not served alcohol. A few boats are explicitly for adults only — those tours are marked as such on this site.
Yes, but few. The recorded commentary on the classic cruises is available in German almost everywhere. A live guide who talks in German, on the other hand, is rare: in Amsterdam there are essentially two providers for that, and both leave from Prins Hendrikkade by Centraal Station. Both are marked with the note “In German” on this site and are among the best-rated tours in the city.
The classic one-hour cruise is the cheapest option. Small boats with a live guide sit a few euros above it. It gets considerably more expensive as soon as food or unlimited drinks are included — the price is then quickly three to five times as high. The current prices are shown with every tour on this site; we pull them straight from the providers' systems rather than entering them by hand.
For the classic cruise in the off season, not necessarily — you can walk to the jetty and buy a ticket for the next departure. In high season, at weekends and on public holidays you should reserve: the popular cruises regularly sell out then, and queues form at the ticket desks by Centraal Station. For all the smaller boats, for cruises with a live guide and for anything with food or drinks, one rule applies: book ahead without fail. These boats have twelve to thirty seats and are often full days in advance.
Most visitors are well served by the classic one-hour cruise — it is the cheapest and runs most often. If you want a bit more, take a small open boat with a live guide.
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