There are quite a lot of canal cruise companies operating in Amsterdam and I’ve been getting a couple of questions as to which one is the best. It’s pretty hard to determine which company is actually the best as I haven’t tried them all – only a few. 😀
So I thought I’d do just a real quick post on the last one we tried when we were in Amsterdam last August which left both my husband and I happy with the experience.
After our visit to the Rijksmuseum, we proceeded towards the Heineken Experience building where the small docks for the Amsterdam Canal Cruise‘s boats can be found. Need directions going there? Click here for a map.
We had to pay €16 each for a 75 minute tour. This is a pretty sweet deal since you’ll be seeing more of the city as some of the tours operated by other companies only last for 60 minutes and will charge you the same amount.
The best time to board a boat would be around 4:00 to 5:00 as even in the summer, it wasn’t so crowded.
You will be given disposable earphones which you can plug into audio sources near your table. You can choose among 20 languages (as seen above) for the narration/audio guide which will play you go through several places of interest.
The couple narrating in the audio guide describe themselves as true-blue ‘Amsterdammers’ who were born and raised there. They gave a lot of interesting trivia and they really seem to know their stuff as locals even though it did weird me out that this said ‘Amsterdammer’ couple had American accents. An easily neglected detail for most people and to be honest, I really don’t mind. I just noticed it. 😛
The staff – including the boat’s captain and the people at the cashier/reception – are nice and courteous. The boat is well-maintained and the seats are really comfy. Wewere also allowed to consume our light snack (consisting of crackers and juices) during the trip.
I still think the best way to see Amsterdam is through its canals. If you don’t do it while you’re there, you’ll be missing out on such a delightful and historical experience.
Visiting Amsterdam soon? You can book your canal cruise online or just buy your tickets at the docks.
Amsterdam Canal Cruises
Stadhouderskade 78
Opposite ‘Heineken Experience’
1072 AE Amsterdam
Next posts will be about Paris! Stay tuned! :-*
Carol
*Trip is not sponsored by any country’s tourism department, company, or brand but by my side of the family living in Europe. 😊
