A private canal cruise in Amsterdam means one thing above all: the boat is yours. No strangers on the bench opposite, no fixed departure to squeeze into, no recorded audio guide talking over your conversation. This is a Dutch canal boat built in 1915 that takes ten people at most, with a live guide on board and a drink in your hand, leaving from the dock in front of the H’ART Museum on the Amstel.
Not sure which boat to pick? Our comparison of all Amsterdam canal cruises puts every boat side by side: duration, departure pier, what is included and the current price.
A boat from 1915, just for your group
The boat was built in 1915 and has been working these canals ever since. It is a traditional Dutch design: low, narrow and open at the sides, with a shallow hull that slips under the low bridges and into the small canals the big glass-roofed tour boats cannot enter. That is the practical reason to book a private boat instead of a seat on a scheduled cruise. You end up in parts of the canal ring most visitors only ever see from the bridge above.
Ten people is the maximum and the boat is booked as a whole. Whether you come with four or with ten, you get the same boat, the same guide and the same price, because you are paying for the boat rather than per seat. That makes it a straightforward choice for a family, a group of friends, a proposal, or a company outing that should not feel like one.
What is included
- One and a half hours on the water in a boat reserved for your group alone
- A live guide on board, in English or French
- One complimentary drink per person
- A maximum of ten passengers, no other guests
- Departure from the dock in front of the H’ART Museum
| Duration | 1 hour 30 minutes |
| Group size | Up to 10 people |
| Boat | Traditional Dutch canal boat, built in 1915 |
| Guide | Live guide, English and French |
| Included | One drink per person |
| Departure | H’ART Museum, Amstel 51, 1018 DR Amsterdam |
| Booking | Per boat, not per person |
| Tickets | Non-refundable, rescheduling is not possible |
Departure point: H’ART Museum on the Amstel
The boat leaves from the dock directly in front of the H’ART Museum at Amstel 51, on the east bank of the Amstel between the Blauwbrug and the Magere Brug. There is no ticket office to find first: show the ticket on your phone as you step aboard.
| Metro | Waterlooplein, lines 51, 53 and 54, about five minutes on foot |
| Tram | Tram 14 stops at Waterlooplein |
| On foot | Roughly ten minutes from Rembrandtplein, fifteen from Dam Square |
| By car | There is no parking on the Amstel quay. Park in a city garage and walk the last few minutes. |
The dock sits in the middle of a part of town worth arriving early for. The Rembrandt House Museum is a few hundred metres away on the Jodenbreestraat, the Waterlooplein flea market is around the corner, and the canal district starts on the other side of the water.
What you see along the way
The guide’s thread is Rembrandt. He lived a few hundred metres from the dock and the boat passes the streets and canals he walked in the 1640s, which is a more useful way to see the seventeenth century than reading a plaque. From the Amstel you slip past the Magere Brug, the white wooden drawbridge that still opens for passing boats, and turn into the canal ring itself.
Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht were dug as one plan in the seventeenth century and have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2010. Because this boat is small it can leave the main ring: the Reguliersgracht, where seven bridges line up in a single view after dark, is off limits to the larger tour boats. Tell the guide what you would rather see and the route bends that way.
Availability and booking
There is one boat and it holds ten people, so the calendar runs out faster than it does for a scheduled cruise. Summer evenings, the weekend around King’s Day and the weeks of the Amsterdam Light Festival go first. The module below shows which days and times are still free.
Check availability and book the private canal cruise. You reserve the whole boat, so the price covers your group of up to ten. These tickets are non-refundable and cannot be rescheduled, so pick your date with care.
Frequently asked questions
Ten at most. The boat is booked as a whole, so the price is the same whether you come with four or with ten.
Per boat. You reserve the boat and the guide for an hour and a half, and divide the cost across your group however you like.
English and French.
From the dock in front of the H’ART Museum at Amstel 51, about five minutes on foot from Waterlooplein metro and tram stop.
One drink per person is included.
No. These tickets are non-refundable and rescheduling is not possible, so choose your date carefully.
Within the hour and a half, largely yes. The boat is small enough for the narrow canals that the big tour boats have to skip, and the guide will adapt to what you want to see.
A scheduled cruise puts you on a large covered boat with a recorded audio guide and up to a hundred other passengers. Here you have a boat from 1915, a guide who answers questions, and at most nine other people you already know.
Map of the canal district in Amsterdam
You will never be bored in the canal district of Amsterdam. The many shops, restaurants, hotels, attractions and museums ensure that both young and old are entertained. There are also many activities to undertake on or along the canals. Use the map below to explore the canal area. What are you going to do in Amsterdam?
