Seventy-five minutes on the IJ, unlimited Dutch pancakes, a buffet of toppings and a ball pit below deck. The Pancake Boat is not a canal cruise and does not pretend to be one — it sails the open water behind Central Station past the A’DAM Tower, the EYE and the shipyards, and the point is the food. From €30,20, and the one boat trip in Amsterdam that children ask to do twice.
What the Pancake Boat is
The Pancake Boat is a converted passenger ship moored at the NDSM wharf in Amsterdam-Noord that does one thing: it sails for seventy-five minutes while you eat as many pancakes as you can manage. There is no guide and no commentary. You sit at a table by the window, the kitchen keeps sending pancakes out, and the city goes past.
It is run by Pannenkoekenboot B.V., which does the same thing in Nijmegen and Rotterdam, and it has been on the IJ long enough to be an Amsterdam institution rather than a novelty. Just under three hundred people have rated it on Tiqets at 4.3 out of 5 — a good score for something this specific.
Downstairs is set up for families, upstairs is adult seating. If you are two adults who want the pancakes without the ball pit, ask for upstairs when you board.
| The Pancake Boat | |
|---|---|
| Duration | 75 minutes |
| Departs from | Ms. van Riemsdijkweg 33, NDSM wharf, Amsterdam-Noord |
| Included | The cruise, unlimited pancakes, the toppings buffet and the ball pit |
| Not included | Drinks, and €2,70 water tax per person paid on board |
| Dietary | Gluten-free and vegan pancakes available |
| Seating | Families downstairs, adults upstairs |
| Accessibility | The boat is wheelchair accessible; the toilets on board are not |
| Price | from €30,20 per person |
| Rating on Tiqets | 4.3 out of 5 across 292 reviews |
Check today’s sailings and book the Pancake Boat
The pancakes
The pancakes are Dutch pancakes — thin and plate-sized, closer to a crêpe than to anything stacked. They come out of the kitchen in a steady stream for as long as the boat is sailing, and you take what you want from a buffet of toppings: syrup, sugar, jam, marmalade, cheese, bacon, apple.
Two things are worth knowing before you book. Drinks are not included and are bought on board, which is where the bill grows if you are not paying attention. And there is a water tax of €2,70 per person that Amsterdam charges on passenger sailings, collected on board rather than in the ticket price.
Gluten-free and vegan pancakes are available, but tell them when you book rather than when you sit down — the kitchen is small and works to the numbers it was given.
What you see from the water
The boat sails the IJ, the open water behind Central Station, not the canal belt. That is the trade this trip asks you to make: you give up the seventeenth-century gables and you get the working, modern side of Amsterdam instead.
From the NDSM wharf you pass the A’DAM Tower with its swing over the edge, the white geometry of the EYE Filmmuseum, the shipyards and cranes along the northern bank, and the full skyline of the old city from the water — Central Station, the Basilica of St Nicholas and the dome of the Lutheran church all lined up. On a clear evening it is the better photograph, though nobody comes here for the photograph.
Why it works with children
Of the six food cruises in Amsterdam, this is the one to book with children under ten. Four reasons:
- They can eat as much as they like, of something they already recognise, with toppings they choose themselves.
- There is a ball pit below deck, which means nobody has to sit still for seventy-five minutes.
- It sails in the afternoon as well as the evening, so it fits around a nap rather than fighting one.
- Nobody has to be quiet. There is no guide talking, so a loud table is not a problem.
Getting to the NDSM wharf
The NDSM wharf is in Amsterdam-Noord, across the IJ from Central Station, and the ferry is free. Walk through Central Station to the back, take the NDSM ferry (F906), and the crossing takes about fifteen minutes. Ferries run every fifteen minutes during the day and through the night at weekends.
The boat is moored a few minutes’ walk from where the ferry lands. Allow half an hour from Central Station to be safe, and be at the boat fifteen minutes before departure — it leaves on time and there is only one of it.
Practical points
- Bring cash or a card for drinks and the water tax. The €2,70 is per person and is collected on board.
- Tickets are non-refundable and cannot be rescheduled. Book the sailing you are sure of.
- Ask for upstairs if you are adults without children — it is quieter and away from the ball pit.
- Say so when you book if you need gluten-free or vegan pancakes.
- The toilets on board are not wheelchair accessible, although the boat itself is. Worth planning around on a 75-minute sailing.
Comparing food cruises? All six are side by side in our guide to dinner cruises in Amsterdam. For a cruise through the canal belt itself, see the traditional one-hour cruise or compare all twenty Amsterdam canal cruises.
Frequently asked questions
From €30,20 per person, which includes the 75-minute cruise, unlimited pancakes and the toppings buffet. Drinks are extra, and a water tax of €2,70 per person is collected on board.
Seventy-five minutes. The boat leaves from the NDSM wharf, sails the IJ and returns to the same berth.
From Ms. van Riemsdijkweg 33 at the NDSM wharf in Amsterdam-Noord. Take the free NDSM ferry (F906) from behind Central Station; the crossing takes about fifteen minutes.
Yes. Pancakes keep coming from the kitchen for the whole sailing, and you help yourself to toppings from a buffet. Gluten-free and vegan pancakes are available if you request them when booking.
It is the most child-friendly boat trip in Amsterdam. Unlimited pancakes, a ball pit below deck, a family seating area and no guide to be quiet for. Adults without children can ask for the upstairs deck.
No. It sails the IJ, the open water behind Central Station, past the A’DAM Tower, the EYE Filmmuseum and the shipyards. For the seventeenth-century canal belt you need a canal cruise from the city centre.
No. Drinks are bought on board and are not part of the ticket price, along with the €2,70 water tax per person.
The boat itself is accessible, but the toilets on board are not — worth knowing before a 75-minute sailing.
