Hi, on an earlier episode of Amsterdam/rick steves, he recommended a free canal tour, which through research, I beleive it is no longer offered. does anyone have any suggestions for an inexpensive tour or even just a ride on the canals. thank you
Posted by
Genesee, ID
1840 posts
When you get to Amsterdam not many things are really inexpensive. Last August my wife took our daughter and two grands to Europe. They found a Hop On Hop Off tour canal boat at the canal just by the Central Station and spent all day getting on and off.
Posted by
Tucson
4183 posts
We did the same thing except we got on at the Rijksmuseum near the apartment we rented. It is not called a HOHO boat, so don't let that confuse you, but it works like one. I think we paid 18€ each for the all day ticket, but I should could be wrong about that.
The boats go on all the canals and out into the harbor. We hit every canal except one. They aren't really guided tour boats, but there is a recorded message that plays in Dutch and English and French, and that describes what you are passing.
Seeing everything from the water was very different from walking along the canals. This is a link to the blog entry I did that includes that day -- http://travelswithtrout.blogspot.com/2014/01/benelux-april-2013-amsterdam.html. Click on the pictures to see them bigger or just to see them by themselves.