Copenhagen canal tours compared: the DKK 80 Netto boats, Stromma's classic tour, the electric boats and winter sailings

💡 The Short Version: The blue Netto-Bådene boats are DKK 80 (children aged 3 to 14 DKK 40) for 60 minutes from Nyhavn, with no booking: buy at the quay. Stromma’s Classic Canal Tour is from DKK 135 online for the Ved Stranden departure, booked at least 3 days ahead, and DKK 149 from Nyhavn. Both pass Nyhavn, Christiansborg, the Opera House and Amalienborg. From November the Netto boats sail 10:20 to about 15:00, in glass-roofed, heated boats. Small electric boats with a live guide are from DKK 196.50. The Copenhagen Card covers Stromma’s classic tour, not the Netto boats. Or book a tour: the guided canal cruisead is from DKK 149 and the electric canal tour with a live guidead from DKK 196.50 (GetYourGuide).

The boats compared

Prices are adult prices from the operators, in kroner. GetYourGuide’s “from” prices move with the date.

For the same hour on the same water, the Netto boat is the cheaper. DKK 135 is Stromma’s early-bird price, and it cannot be combined with other discounts.

A canal tour boat on Slotsholmskanalen off Nybrogade. Photo: Leif Jørgensen, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The three kinds of boat

Netto-Bådene

DKK 80, children aged 3 to 14 DKK 40 · 60 minutes · guide in Danish, English and German

The Netto-Bådene are the blue boats that leave from Nyhavn at Heibergsgade. The route runs through the Børsgraven canal behind Christiansborg, past Nyhavn, the Holmen naval district, Amalienborg and the Little Mermaid, into the Christianshavn canal below Our Saviour’s Church and back past the Royal Library, the National Museum and Christiansborg. Meet 20 minutes before departure. Groups of more than 15 get 10% off. The boats do not sail when the tide is high or the canals are blocked.

A Netto-Bådene boat in the Børsgraven canal. Photo: Bene Riobó, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

In October the boats leave Nyhavn every 40 minutes from 10:00 to 16:40 on weekdays, and on Saturdays about every half hour. From 1 November to 25 March the boats run 10:20 to about 15:00, and from 1 September to 31 October 10:00 to about 17:00. From 16 July to 31 August there is also a daily departure from a bridge beside the Little Mermaid, with the first boat at 10:20 and then about every 25 minutes. No reservations are taken from 27 June to 9 August.

Stromma

Classic Canal Tour from DKK 135 · 1 hour · live guide in English and Danish

Stromma runs the larger boats. The Classic Canal Tour passes the Little Mermaid, Amalienborg and the Opera House, and the Classic Canal Tour & The Harbour adds Nordhavn and the Genetically Modified Mermaid sculpture. The prices:

From 1 October to 3 January the Nyhavn departures are live-guided only, with an audio guide on the City’s Voice app if you bring headphones. In the colder months the boats are covered and heated, and in summer the open boats carry free rain ponchos. A dog up to 5 kg may ride on your lap.

The Opera House on Holmen from the water. Photo: Kritzolina, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

GetYourGuide sells Stromma’s own tour: the Canal Cruise with Guidead is from DKK 149, 4.6 stars from 13,070 reviews, and cancels free. The Classic Canal Tour & The Harbourad is from DKK 249 for 105 minutes (4.5 stars from 685 reviews).

Small electric boats

From DKK 196.50 · about 1 hour · small group

The electric boats are quieter and smaller, with blankets in winter and a live guide. The electric canal tour with live guide and hyggead is from DKK 196.50 on its cheapest date (DKK 209 otherwise), 4.7 stars from 1,624 reviews. The exclusive guided boat tourad is from DKK 279, about 65 minutes, 4.8 stars from 2,511 reviews. Stromma’s own Hygge tour is a quiet electric boat for 12 guests with heated seats and blankets in winter, 1 hour 10 minutes from Ved Stranden 26, from DKK 237.

Hiring your own boat

The electric boat rentalad needs no licence and is for 1, 2 or 3 hours for a group of up to 8, from DKK 449 for the group (4.7 stars from 377 reviews). Stromma and the Netto-Bådene also hire covered boats with a crew for private groups.

Winter and the weather

• The boats run all winter. The Netto boats are glass-roofed and heated from October to March, and Stromma’s are covered and heated in the colder months.
• Take an afternoon boat in winter. The Netto boats stop at about 15:00 from 1 November, and Stromma’s After Dark departures leave in the afternoon, when the light fades.
• High tide can stop a Netto sailing. Check the clock on the quay or the departure list the same morning.

What the Copenhagen Card covers

The Copenhagen Card includes Stromma’s Classic Canal Tour, and the card cannot book it online: take a slot at the Ved Stranden 26 box office, where boarding elsewhere carries a surcharge. GoBoat’s silent electric harbour tour from Islands Brygge is on the Discover card only. The Netto-Bådene are not on the list. At DKK 135 the Stromma tour is one of the cheaper items in the card’s sums, which Copenhagen Card: is it worth it? works through.

Which to take

• The cheapest hour on the water, no planning: the Netto-Bådene at DKK 80.
• A guide who speaks English throughout, and a booked time: Stromma’s Classic Canal Tour, DKK 135 to DKK 149.
• More than the centre: the Classic Canal Tour & The Harbour, 1 hour 45 minutes, DKK 249.
• A small boat and a blanket: an electric boat from DKK 196.50.
• A bus as well: the bus and boat tickets on the hop-on hop-off bus page.
• With a Copenhagen Card: Stromma’s classic tour, collected at Ved Stranden.

Nyhavn has the quay where the boats start, and the boats pass the Little Mermaid, which is a separate 15-minute walk from Østerport station. Copenhagen walking tours and bike tours cover the same sights on land, and what to book before you go to Copenhagen lists everything else that needs a ticket. For a bed by the harbour, see hotels near Nyhavn and where to stay in Copenhagen.