In this guide
💡 The Short Version: The official Canal Cruise Ticket is €17 (€8.50 for ages 4 to 17), valid for a year at the main operators with no reservation. GetYourGuide’s one-hour cruises were cheaper, from £10.57 to £15.85 (about €12.36 to €18.54) on 1 October 2026, so the official ticket buys flexibility, not a saving. The I amsterdam City Card includes one cruise between 10:00 and 18:00. What differs between boats is the type (a covered saloon boat or an open electric boat), how many are aboard, whether the commentary is live or an audio guide, and where it leaves from. Or book a tour: Eco Boatsad (from £15.84, 4.8 stars, GetYourGuide) carries at most 28 guests with a live English-speaking skipper.
The tickets, compared
The official price is from I amsterdam’s Canal Cruise Ticket page, 1 October 2026, converted at the ECB rate of 30 September 2026 (€1 = £0.855). GetYourGuide prices are its lowest “from” price on the same day.
| Ticket | Price | What it covers | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canal Cruise Ticket, adult | €17 (about £14.54) | One cruise of at least an hour, at a date, time and departure point you pick, valid for a year | Visitors who want to choose the boat on the day |
| Canal Cruise Ticket, ages 4 to 17 | €8.50 | The same | Families |
| I amsterdam City Card | €0 | One cruise, 10:00 to 18:00, at a participating operator; no booking | Card holders |
| One-hour cruises on GetYourGuide | £10.57 to £15.85 (about €12.36 to €18.54) | One boat, one operator, a fixed date and time | Visitors who want to pick the boat in advance |
| Hop-on hop-off bus and boat | From £25.20 (about €29.47) | The boat daily 9:30 to 19:45 and the bus daily 10:00 to 17:00, valid for one to two days | Visitors who want transport as well; rated 3.9 stars against 4.3 to 4.9 for the single cruises below |
| Two-hour small-group cruise | From £41.00 (about €47.95) | Two hours with an open bar and snacks | A group of friends |
- The official ticket is not tied to one operator. The page says it is valid at all major canal tour operators, and its list shows Blue Boat, Lovers and Stromma among them. Boats are heated and have toilets, and audio guides come in several languages.
- A GetYourGuide cruise is tied to one boat. Check the departure point and whether the commentary is live before you book.
- Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum bundles sell a museum slot and a cruise together; see the Rijksmuseum tickets guide and the Van Gogh Museum tickets guide.
How to buy
- The official ticket: order it on iamsterdam.com. It arrives by email, and you show it on a phone at one of the participating companies. There is no reservation: check the departure times, which vary by company, and board at one of the departure points.
- The City Card cruise: show the card at a departure point of a participating operator, between 10:00 and 18:00, any day. One cruise per card, whichever operator you choose. The City Card guide has the sums.
- GetYourGuide: pick a date and a time. Most of the cruises below offer free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead; the museum bundles do not.
- Arrive early. Tours & Tickets asks for 15 minutes before departure, and says boarding can stretch a one-hour cruise to 90 minutes in peak season.
Tours worth paying for
The boats differ less than the listings suggest. These are the ones that differ in a way a reader can use. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” price on 1 October 2026, per person.
The cheapest from a big operator
From £10.67 · 4.3 stars from 21,704 reviews · 1 hour
Amsterdam: Canal Cruise from Anne Frank, Rijksmuseum or CSad is sold by Tours & Tickets. The boat is heated, and the commentary is an audio guide in 19 languages. You choose a departure point near Centraal, near the Anne Frank House or near the Rijksmuseum. Rescheduling is possible up to 24 hours ahead. It is the cheapest of the large operators.
A restored saloon boat with a live host
From £12.00 · 4.6 stars from 31,658 reviews · 1 hour
Amsterdam: Saloon Boat Cruise with optional Cheese & Winead is run by Flagship Amsterdam on a late 19th-century saloon boat with a quiet electric engine; some of its boats have sailed since 1902. A skipper and a hostess give the commentary in English, and the optional cheese and wine comes with unlimited beer, wine and soft drinks. It leaves from the Anne Frank House or Centraal, and it has more reviews than any other cruise listed here. It is not suitable for wheelchair users: there is a big step into the boat. The minimum drinking age is 18, and large stag and birthday groups are not allowed. Free cancellation.
A small silent electric boat with a local skipper
From £15.84 · 4.8 stars from 2,898 reviews · 1 hour
Amsterdam: Canal Cruise on Eco Boat with Live Local Skipperad is run by Eco Boats Amsterdam, which the listing calls GetYourGuide’s top-rated provider for canal cruises. It takes at most 28 guests, with cushions and blankets, and a drinks package is optional. It leaves from the water opposite Centraal, where you look for a dark green beach flag. The boat is open or partly covered depending on the weather, and it carries no microphone, so ask the skipper to speak up. The same operator’s sunset cruisead is from £15.84, 4.8 stars from 5,063 reviews. Free cancellation.
An evening cruise with an audio guide
From £15.49 · 4.4 stars from 23,278 reviews · 1½ hours
Amsterdam: Evening Canal Cruise – City Lights & Wine Optionad is run by the Blue Boat Company, with an audio guide in more than 20 languages and an optional wine or snack upgrade. It is wheelchair accessible: contact the reservations department to reserve a wheelchair seat. It leaves from one of two docks on Stadhouderskade. Free cancellation.
A two-hour small-group cruise with an open bar
From £41.00 · 4.9 stars from 780 reviews · 2 hours
Amsterdam Small Group Canal Cruise Including Snacks & Drinksad is run by Rederij de Wester from Keizersgracht 401. The ticket includes an open bar of beer, wine, soft drinks, water, 0.0% beer and Dutch gin, with bitterballen, cheese and stroopwafels, and a stop on the way to pick up fresh bitterballen. It costs about £25 more than the one-hour boats and lasts twice as long. Free cancellation.
A silent electric boat with an open deck
From £10.57 · 4.4 stars from 2,584 reviews · 1 hour to 75 minutes
Amsterdam: Canal Cruise with Panoramic Rooftop and Open Deckad is run by Smidtje Canal Cruises, one of the operators the City Card accepts. It leaves from the Anne Frank House or Centraal, with commentary in Dutch and English and other languages by QR code on your own phone, so bring earphones and a charged battery. Wheelchairs must be carried aboard: there is no ramp. Free cancellation.
What to see
The canal ring of Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht, dug in the 17th century, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the cruises are the way to see its bridges and house fronts from the water. The listings name much the same sights, in a different order:
- The inner canals. Prinsengracht, Herengracht and the Westerkerk tower.
- The Amstel. The Magere Brug, the Blauwbrug, the Amstelsluizen and the Stopera.
- The harbour side. Centraal Station, the NEMO science museum, the EYE film museum and the A’DAM Tower, with the Scheepvaartmuseum on the way back.
The route changes with canal traffic. What to skip: the hop-on hop-off bus and boat, unless you want the bus too: its rating on GetYourGuide is 3.9 stars from 6,478 reviews, against 4.3 to 4.9 for the one-hour cruises above. Flagship, Smidtje and Tours & Tickets all have a dock by the Anne Frank House, which suits a visit there.
Rules and where the boats leave from
- Hours: the official ticket and the City Card are used between 10:00 and 18:00. GetYourGuide’s cruises have their own times, including evening departures.
- Departure points: Tours & Tickets boats leave from Prins Hendrikkade 20B by Centraal, from Leliegracht 51 by the Anne Frank House and from Stadhouderskade 511 by the Rijksmuseum. Blue Boat leaves from Stadhouderskade 501 and 550, the second opposite the Heineken Experience. Eco Boats leave from in front of Centraal, Flagship from the Anne Frank House and Centraal, and Rederij de Wester from Keizersgracht 401.
- Children: the official child ticket is for ages 4 to 17, Tours & Tickets’ for ages 4 to 13, and Eco Boats’ for ages 13 and under.
- Drinks cruises: the minimum drinking age is 18 on Flagship’s cheese and wine option.
- Dogs: only service dogs on Tours & Tickets boats.
- Weather: pack a jacket. Open and partly covered boats get cold.
The cruises sit well beside the Heineken Experience tickets guide, which bundles two, and the A’DAM Lookout tickets guide, where one of them ends. The I amsterdam City Card includes one cruise. In winter the Light Festival runs its own cruises, covered in Amsterdam Light Festival and Christmas, and for a cruise where the snacks and drinks are the point, Amsterdam food tours and classes compared sets them beside the walks and workshops. 3 days in Amsterdam puts a cruise on day one, and Amsterdam in one day takes one in the early afternoon. For the rest of the city’s bookings, see what to book before you go in Amsterdam.
Common questions
How much is an Amsterdam canal cruise?
The official Canal Cruise Ticket from I amsterdam is €17 for an adult and €8.50 for a child aged 4 to 17. GetYourGuide's one-hour cruises cost from £10.57 to £15.85 on 1 October 2026, about €12.36 to €18.54, and a two-hour small-group cruise with an open bar from £41.00.
Do I need to book an Amsterdam canal cruise in advance?
Not for the official Canal Cruise Ticket or the City Card cruise: you pick a date, time and departure point and board without a reservation. GetYourGuide's cruises are booked for a date and time, and most allow free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead. The Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum combinations are non-refundable.
Is a canal cruise included in the I amsterdam City Card?
Yes, one cruise, with any participating operator, between 10:00 and 18:00, with no booking. The operators I amsterdam names are Blue Boat, Lovers, Amsterdam Circle Line Sightseeing, Stromma, Smidtje Canal Cruises, Amsterdam Boat Cruises and Mokum Open Boat Tours.
How long is an Amsterdam canal cruise?
One hour is the standard. The official ticket has a minimum duration of one hour, evening cruises run about 1½ hours, and the small-group cruise with an open bar runs two hours. Boarding can add time: Tours & Tickets says its one-hour cruise can take up to 90 minutes in peak season.
Are Amsterdam canal boats open or covered?
It depends on the boat. The official ticket's boats are heated and have toilets. Flagship's other listing uses an open modern boat in the sun and a covered saloon boat in the rain, and Eco Boats cruises open or partly covered depending on the weather. Take a jacket.