Amsterdam Canal Cruises Compared: Prices, Times, Docks

The standard one-hour cruise, side by side

All three big operators sell a classic glass-roofed cruise with a recorded audio guide. The differences that matter are price, where you board, cancellation and accessibility. Prices below are per person, as shown on each operator's own page on 12 October 2026.

Stromma 100 Highlights

Stromma's 100 Highlights page lists €14.50 next to a lower €13.50 for its Damrak, Central Station and Leidseplein departures, and €17.50 next to €16.50 from the Rijksmuseum. The page does not say how long the lower figure applies, so budget the higher one. Children aged 4–12 pay €12.50, children up to 3 board free and anyone over 12 pays the adult fare.

The Damrak boats leave from pier 5, about two minutes' walk from Central Station, and the Central Station boats from Prins Hendrikkade 37. The Leidseplein cruise starts at Leidsebosje 2 but ends at Stadhouderskade 520, so you do not finish where you started. Stromma says boats leave often around every 30 minutes, depending on season and location.

On board there is a toilet and free Wi-Fi. The commentary is in English, with 17 other languages in a phone app, so bring earphones (Stromma sells them for €1.50). Strollers are not allowed on board, but you can leave one at the departure shop. Boarding involves three steps and Stromma says its boats are not wheelchair accessible. Free cancellation runs up to 24 hours before departure.

Blue Boat City Canal Cruise

Blue Boat boards on Stadhouderskade: number 550 is opposite the Heineken Experience and 501 opposite the Hard Rock Cafe. Its English City Canal Cruise page shows €26 next to a "special offer" price of €13.50 for the 75-minute cruise. The Dutch version of the page adds the catch: at the ticket office you pay the full price. Arrive at least 15 minutes before departure.

The audio system covers up to 20 languages, and every child ticket comes with a Kids Cruise audio story and activity booklet. Blue Boat pitches this cruise at children aged 10 and over and recommends its separate Kids Cruise for younger children. It does not publish a separate child fare on the pages checked.

LOVERS Classic One Hour

LOVERS' one-hour cruise page gives an approximate 60-minute trip running daily between 09:00 and 21:00, with check-in 15 minutes before departure. It boards from the main LOVERS dock at Central Station, small docks at the Anne Frank House and Leidseplein, and the City Sightseeing dock at the Rijksmuseum. There is an audio guide in 19 languages, a toilet and free Wi-Fi. The boats are not wheelchair accessible.

Its strongest point is flexibility: tickets can be rescheduled or cancelled up to 8 hours in advance, against 24 hours at Stromma and Blue Boat. Children aged 4–13 have a child ticket and ages 0–3 travel free with a paying adult. The page shows an "online only deal" badge but no euro amount, so compare the checkout price with the fares above before you pay.

What a couple and a family of four pay

These totals use only the prices published on the operators' pages on 12 October 2026, before any booking fees or extras.

For the family, Stromma's €12.50 child fare keeps the price close to Blue Boat's online offer. Blue Boat would steer the 6-year-old to its Kids Cruise instead, which its home page lists at €26 or €12.25. That same page prints "Per person Excl. tax" under its cruise prices without saying which tax, so check the final total at checkout before you compare.

Evening and winter cruises

For a straightforward after-dark trip, Blue Boat's Evening Cruise is a 90-minute version of its day cruise from Stadhouderskade 501. It shows €28 with a special offer of €19.50, and it runs on 364 days a year. Snacks and drinks cost extra. The kiosk closes at 22:00, and wheelchair-accessible evening departures are at 19:00 and 21:00.

LOVERS' standard cruise runs until 21:00, so an evening departure is possible at the regular one-hour price. Stromma's evening options are drinks cruises rather than a plain night cruise: its Amsterdam cruise list shows a 75-minute Cocktail Cruise for adults only from €33.50.

During the Amsterdam Light Festival, from 26 November 2026 to 17 January 2027, Stromma runs a 75-minute Light Festival cruise on heated, enclosed boats from Damrak pier 4 and Middenkom near Central Station, from €22.75. Departures start at 16:30, with an audio guide on the artworks.

When an open boat or hop-on hop-off is better

Stromma's Open Boat Tour costs from €22.50–€23.50 for one hour on a smaller electric boat, with the skipper guiding live in English and Dutch. It leaves from Damrak, the Rijksmuseum or Leidseplein, can be covered if the weather turns, and takes a stroller if there is space. There is no toilet on board. Pay the extra €9 or so over the 100 Highlights fare if you want a live guide and an open view rather than recorded commentary behind glass.

The City Sightseeing hop-on hop-off boat sells 24- and 48-hour tickets. The page shows €27.50 without saying which validity it applies to, and offers a child ticket for ages 4–12. Its route section lists eight stops, from Central Station East via the National Maritime Museum (see our Scheepvaartmuseum tickets and hours guide), Waterlooplein and Albert Cuyp Market to the Rijksmuseum and Westermarkt (Anne Frank House). Boats leave about every 30–45 minutes, with the first departure from stop 1 at 9:30 and the last at 17:45.

If you are heading to a timed museum slot, the hop-on hop-off stop at Museum Square and Stromma's Rijksmuseum dock sit close to the entrance; see our guide to Rijksmuseum tickets and time slots before you plan around a boat. The Westermarkt stop is the one for the Anne Frank House, where tickets need more planning than any cruise.

Which cruise suits whom

• Cheapest standard hour near Central Station: Stromma 100 Highlights from Damrak or Central Station.
• Families with children under 13: Stromma, for its published €12.50 child fare and free entry up to age 3; LOVERS also lets 0–3s travel free.
• Wheelchair users: Blue Boat from Stadhouderskade 501, booked ahead with the wheelchair noted.
• Plans that may change: LOVERS, with free cancellation up to 8 hours before.
• Staying near Museumplein or the Heineken Experience: Blue Boat's Stadhouderskade docks, booked online rather than at the kiosk. Our GVB fares and OVpay guide covers paying for the tram there.
• City Card or Canal Cruise Ticket holders: any participating operator without a reservation. The Canal Cruise Ticket page says its ticket is valid for a year at the major operators and requires a cruise of at least one hour.

Switch to another operator if the Blue Boat online offer has sold out and the kiosk asks €26 a head, if you need a later start than LOVERS' 21:00 and Blue Boat's evening slots, or if a stroller is non-negotiable on Stromma's glass boats.