What does an Amsterdam canal cruise cost?
It depends a lot on the type of cruise. When we checked between 4 and 14 October 2026, a classic one-hour cruise cost €13.50 to €17.99 per adult, and a small open boat had a middle price of €27.75. A private boat priced by the hour cost €150 to €400 per hour for the whole boat, and several have a minimum of 90 or 120 minutes. This guide sets out each type side by side, with dated prices read from operators' own websites. Prices change, so see today's prices on Flit Cruises and confirm with the operator before you book.
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Canal cruise prices at a glance
Flit Cruises compares 106 cruises with a price we could read, from 44 operators, leaving from 105 piers. That is a wide sample, but it is not every cruise in the city. The table shows what each type cost when we checked between 4 and 14 October 2026. The middle price is the median: half the cruises of that type cost less, half cost more.
| Cruise type | Typical length | Price range | Middle price | Cruises checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classic sightseeing (per adult) | 60 to 75 min | €13.50 to €17.99 | €15.25 | 10 |
| Small open boat (per adult) | 60 to 120 min | €16.97 to €58.00 | €27.75 | 34 |
| Evening (per adult) | 60 to 180 min | €15.50 to €56.00 | €33.50 | 11 |
| Dinner and drinks (per adult) | 60 to 180 min | €24.50 to €135.00 | €32.00 | 12 |
| Hop-on hop-off (per adult) | Not published | €27.50 to €30.60 | €29.05 | 2 |
| Private boat, per hour (whole boat) | 60 to 120 min | €150 to €400 an hour | €215 an hour | 13 |
| Private boat, fixed price (whole boat) | 60 to 120 min | €250 to €580 | €330 | 9 |
| Rent a boat and steer it yourself, per hour (whole boat) | 60 to 120 min | €23.50 to €75.00 an hour | €50.00 an hour | 5 |
| Rent a boat and steer it yourself, fixed price for 2 hours (whole boat) | 120 min | €69.00 to €97.50 | €69.00 | 3 |
Boats priced by the hour often have a minimum hire time. For the 13 private boats priced by the hour, 6 have a minimum of 90 or 120 minutes, so the whole-trip total on Flit came to €150 to €517.50, with €395 in the middle. For self-drive boats priced by the hour, 4 of the 5 have a two-hour minimum, so the booked total was €23.50 to €150, with €100 in the middle. The €23.50 low end is a pedal boat for up to 4 people.
Only 2 hop-on hop-off services are in our data, so check that the one you want is running on your dates. Seven more priced cruises don't fit these rows (5 other cruises and 2 private cruises priced per person), and 6 more are price on request. Prices change often. See today's prices on Flit Cruises and confirm with the operator before you book.
Classic one-hour cruise prices
This is the cruise many people picture: usually a larger boat, about an hour, a set route. See the table above for what these cost when we checked.
The fares sit close together, so compare what you get rather than the price alone. Is the commentary live or recorded? Is the boat covered if rain is likely? Which pier does it leave from, and how close is that to where you are staying? Flit shows the departure piers for each cruise, which helps when two fares are just a euro apart.
Open boat and small-group cruise prices
Small open boats are the biggest group in our data, with 34 cruises. Their middle price was €12.50 more than the middle classic fare when we checked between 4 and 14 October 2026. See today's prices on Flit and confirm with the operator.
What the extra pays for varies. Read each listing for the group size, whether the guide is live, whether drinks are included and whether the boat has a cover for rain.
Dinner and drinks cruise prices
This group covers cruises with food or drinks on board, from wine and cheese to pancakes and full dinners. The table above shows the range. It is wide, because a drink and a snack is a different thing from a sit-down meal. Look at the menu and the trip length side by side.
As one example, Pannenkoekenboot's pancake cruise on the IJ showed €27.50 per adult when we checked on 14 October 2026. See today's prices on Flit and confirm with the operator.
Evening cruise prices
Evening cruises vary a lot in length, from one hour to three. The lowest evening fare in our data was close to a daytime classic fare, while the middle evening fare was more than double the middle classic fare. Compare the trip length and what is included, not just the headline price. Whether the lights and the quieter canals are worth it is your call.
Private boat hire prices: per boat, not per person
Most private boats in our data (22 of 24) are priced for the whole boat, so the cost per person drops as your group grows, up to the boat's maximum. Here is the split using the middle whole-trip totals from when we checked between 4 and 14 October 2026: €330 for a fixed-price trip, and €395 for a boat priced by the hour, once its minimum hire time is included.
- 2 people: €165 each (fixed price) or €197.50 each (priced by the hour)
- 4 people: €82.50 each or €98.75 each
- 6 people: €55 each or €65.83 each
- 10 people: €33 each or €39.50 each
Some boats have a minimum hire time, so check whether one hour can be booked. Boats also have a maximum number of passengers, so check that your group fits. With these middle prices, a classic cruise at €15.25 per adult costs less per head even for a group of 10, where a private boat came to about €33 to €40 each. You pay for having the boat to yourselves. See today's prices on Flit and confirm with the operator.
What moves the price
- Time of day. Evening sailings had a middle price of €33.50, against €15.25 for daytime classic cruises, when we checked between 4 and 14 October 2026.
- Children. Of the 76 cruises priced per person, 32 publish a child fare. Of the other 44, 31 charge children the adult fare and 13 set a minimum age. Our guide to canal cruises with kids goes through the ages and family totals.
- Online or at the counter. An operator may price online and counter tickets differently. Ask before you queue.
- City passes. If you hold a city pass, check whether it covers a cruise, and which one, before you buy a separate ticket.
- Booking sites. Flit reads prices from operators' own websites. A booking site may show a different price, higher or lower, and may add a fee. Compare the final total.
How Flit checks these prices
A script checks prices against each operator's own website, and each price on Flit shows the date it was last confirmed. Some are a few days old, so confirm with the operator. Flit is free. There is no sign-up, no commission, and nobody pays to be listed higher. We do not list every operator, because some publish no price we can read, and new ones appear. So use Flit to narrow things down, then compare today's cruise prices and confirm on the operator's site.
Flit is run by one person in Amsterdam, not a company. Getting around by bike too? See what bike rental in Amsterdam really costs.
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