CANAL CRUISE
Open boat cruise with a guide
A small open boat with a live guide, slipping into canals the big boats cannot reach.
Small boat, live guide
An open boat carries a small group, often a dozen or so, with a skipper who is also your guide. There is no roof between you and the gables, and the boat is small enough to turn into the narrow canals of the Jordaan and the old centre, where the big glass boats never go.
Because the guide talks live, you can ask questions, and the tour follows the mood of the group. Many of these boats have drinks on board. It feels less like a tour and more like being shown around by someone who lives here.
What you see
The route depends on the skipper, which is part of the charm. Expect the main canals of the ring, quieter side canals such as the Bloemgracht and the Egelantiersgracht, and often the Brouwersgracht with its old warehouses. Some pass the house on three canals in the old centre.
Good to know
These boats are open, so they are best on a dry day. Most companies hand out blankets in cooler months and some put up a cover when it rains. The groups are small and the boats fill up, so book ahead in summer and at weekends.
Before you go
- Many open boats leave from the Prinsengracht near the Anne Frank House and from jetties around the Jordaan; check your ticket for the exact spot.
- Book ahead: the groups are small.
- Bring a layer. On the water it is cooler than in the street.
- Ask your guide anything; that is the point of a live tour.
What people say
Related spots
More things to do in Amsterdam ›
LANDMARKBrouwersgracht
Often voted the prettiest canal: warehouses, houseboats and no tour-boat crowds.
HIDDEN GEMHuis aan de Drie Grachten
A 1610 house with a canal on three sides, one of the most photographed corners nobody can name.
CANAL CRUISEDrinks cruise
Wine and cheese, beer or cocktails on a small boat, mostly late in the afternoon and in the evening.
CANAL CRUISESelf-drive boat
Rent a small electric boat and steer it through the canals yourself, no licence needed.
MUSEUMAnne Frank House
The secret annex where Anne Frank wrote her diary, kept as it was. Tickets sell out weeks ahead.
CHURCHWesterkerk
The church under Amsterdam's tallest tower, where Rembrandt was buried in a grave nobody can find. Anne Frank could hear its bells from her hiding place a few doors away.
Tours and quests that pass here
These walks have a stop a few minutes from Open boat cruise with a guide. Free, on your phone, start any time.
CITY QUESTThe Canal Cipher
A coded will, seven places, seven words. Walk the canal ring and read what the merchant hid.
AUDIO TOURIn Rembrandt's Footsteps
From the biggest house on the street to bankruptcy and an unmarked grave. His Amsterdam, in the order he lived it.
AUDIO TOURAmsterdam Ghost Tour
Plague pits, public executions and the canal that swallowed people. The city's grim side, told without the cheap scares.