Blue Boat

Blue Boat takes you onto Amsterdam’s UNESCO-listed canal ring, where seventeenth-century canal houses, Golden Age warehouses and historic bridges line the water. A standard city cruise lasts about seventy-five minutes and passes landmarks including Montelbaanstoren and the Skinny Bridge over the Amstel.

You can choose a family cruise, a children’s voyage with Johnny the Mouse and Harold the Cat, or an evening journey lasting about ninety minutes. The children’s route includes a booklet and pirate binoculars, while an audio guide shares Amsterdam’s history in twenty-one languages. A smaller open boat explores narrower canals in summer, and wheelchair-accessible boats welcome visitors with different mobility needs.

Blue Boat began in 1948 as Rederij Noord Zuid and has remained family-run since the 1980s. Group options include lunch, buffet, drinks and team cruises, while private boats can host weddings, birthdays or funerals. One detail children may remember is the search for pirates along Amsterdam’s waterways.