• Private Tour
• Family Friendly
• Carbon Neutral

All aboard! Hop on a traditional canal boat and cruise along the beautiful canals of Amsterdam. On this private tour, you can see the best of the city from the water in a relaxed and informative way. Focus of the tour is on the history of the 17th century canal area.

Destination

Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Category

City Highlight Tours

Duration

1.5 hours

Transport mode

Boat

Available languages

English, Nederlands, Français, Deutsch

Included

• Entrance tickets
• Private guide

What you can expect

This is the plan

Check out the plan below to see what you'll get up to with your local host. Feel free to personalize this offer with Vanessa & Frederik.

1. Meeting point

   Meet at H'ART Museum (Hermitage Amsterdam) - Amsterdam to start your journey

   View on Maps

2. Itinerary

   This is what our experience could look like, but it’s not set in stone! Once you book, you can chat directly with your host to make small tweaks to suit your preferences.

3. Meeting Point

   Meet me in front of the H'ART MUSEUM by the water

4. Scenic Canal Views

   Cruise along the Herengracht known for its beautiful mansions.

5. Canal of 7 Bridges

   Enjoy the picturesque views from the water and soak in the city's vibes

6. Golden Age Insights

   See where the merchants lived in the Golden Age 17th century

7. Houseboats Everywhere!

   Check out the beautiful houseboats while cruising a cozy grand canal

8. Trendy Jordaan

   Ready for people watching in the famous Bohemian neighbourhood, the Jordaan

9. Skinny Bridge

   Follow the water to one of the most romantic hotspots in town

10. End of Tour

    Goodbye and personal recommendations

11. Make it yours

    Want to tweak the itinerary? Book directly & chat afterwards with your host to adjust highlights, skip stops, or make small changes to fit your preferences.

    Book risk-free: Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund.

    Need something special? Personalize your experience for more time, alternative locations or a completely tailored plan.

I can personalize this tour for you

• Tell me your preferred date and group size
• Tell me your preferences and wishes so I can customize the tour for you
• Wait for my personal offer in your inbox!

Contact me

Flexible cancellation policy

• Feel confident booking

  Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund. Even up to 7 days before your experience, you’ll receive a refund, minus the service fee.

• Change of plans?

  Reschedule your experience to a date and time that works best for you.

• Loved by travelers worldwide

  Simple and flexible – your plans, your way.

Reviews from guests

Leonie🇬🇧 United Kingdom

14 April 2025

Had a lovely trip with Vanessa on her comfortable boat exploring the canals (including the smaller ones inaccessible to the bigger tourist boats) and the Amstel river. She embodies why we like “With locals” so much as it felt like the trip was with a friend rather than a tour guide. We were super impressed by her relaxed but expert boat skills. A fantastic trip and recommended.A trip on Amsterdam’s smaller canals

Joanna

5 May 2024

The boat is absolutely lovely. There was a bar setup but we were told anything from it would be extra so we did not partake- it would have been maybe a glass of wine and a soda. We had a tour with Vanessa's husband and to be honest, was had to engage him to get any information. We weren't even told where we were or given much history at all. It seems a trend with the tours by her husband. It was okay, not worth the price

pq5mmt67mh🇨🇭 Switzerland

1 April 2024

A wonderful, personalized tour suitable for a family (2 adults and 2 teenagers). Very informative, relaxed and good fun. Would recommend. A great experience!

Unknown

10 September 2023

Vanessa is a wonderful tour guide. Her knowledge/info provided was informative, and she's a master at navigating the canals. The wine was a nice touch. She went above and beyond by letting us off at a stop closest to the train so that we could return to the cruise ship on time.Amsterdam Canals Tour

Regina 🇺🇸 United States

12 July 2023

We enjoyed our cruise. Unfortunately Vanessa was not available but her husband did a good job. We wished there would be a bit more history & local stories rather than just pointing out the sites. We had to ask questions v them engaging with us. Boat is cute - big enough for 4. If you’re looking for a nice cruise without other tourist or for a special event this is it Value for money is low.Nice boat

Daniel🇬🇧 United Kingdom

7 July 2023

Thank you Vanessa for a very nice tour through the canals on your lovely boat. It was the perfect start for our corporate day out!Super trip through the canals

Lory🇬🇧 United Kingdom

5 July 2023

A lovely relaxed evening. Felt like we were with a good friend who was showing us around the canals.Charming ride with Vanessa

smtalbott🇺🇸 United States

25 April 2023

Vanessa’s tour was an absolute JOY! Beautiful boat - just the perfect size to get into the smaller canals - and very enjoyable conversation with our family of four - it was informative, friendly, and fun! Highly recommended!!!Best Amsterdam Canal Tour!

Michelle🇺🇸 United States

16 April 2023

Vanessa is a great captain and hostess. Our experience cruising the canals in her perfectly sized smaller boat was superb. Best way to see the unique architecture is from the water. We highly recommend Vanessa's tour, especially first time visitors. You can see and learn so much in such a short time on the water. Enjoy!Exceptional Canal Cruise

Jeroen🇳🇱 Netherlands

13 April 2023

I booked this trip with a group of colleagues from different countries. Vanessa took us through the old city and all the old canals in about 1 1/2 hours. Definitely the quickest and coolest way to show Amsterdam to my colleagues. Much preferred from the larger tourist boat attractions. Thank you Vanessa! Very cool view of the city

Marion🇺🇸 United States

9 April 2023

Loved the boat ride, was nice to have a private tour of the city and learned a lot about the history and current events in Amsterdam. Would highly recommend!

Otmane🇳🇱 Netherlands

20 November 2022

We had a great experience visiting Amsterdam with Vanessa in this private and cosy boat ! She spent all necessary time explaining details and interesting stories about the canals and we truly enjoyed the trip. We will definitely do it again !What a wonderful visit in Vanessa's boat !

Christina🇩🇪 Germany

30 October 2022

Vanessa gave us a great tour through the grachten of amsterdam at dusk. It was perfectly tailored to our needs and very private and informative. Custom peaceful amsterdam boat tour

Robin🇨🇭 Switzerland

11 October 2022

Vanessa was a delight! She was friendly, knowledgeable and interacted well with my kids. She personalised the tour and was sure to point out landmarks and discuss history that interested everyone. She had great suggestions of attractions and sights that might interest us. Her boat is lovely and gave us a wonderful perspective of Amsterdam. Wonderful personalised canal tour

Savannah🇺🇸 United States

12 September 2022

Don🇺🇸 United States

14 August 2022

This was a nice relaxing afternoon. This boat was great, the comforts of a bigger boat but small enough to go down the quite canals off the beaten pathSuch a relaxing way to see Amsterdam

Unknown🇺🇸 United States

1 August 2022

Vanessa took a small group of 4 of us through the canals of Amsterdam. She was very knowledgeable, friendly and able to maneuver where the larger boats could not. The wine and crackers were a bonus. Definitely one of the highlights of our trip to The Netherlands!Personal barge tour

Unknown

16 July 2022

We loved our tour with Vanessa. She has a beautiful boat and all the local knowledge one could want. Very personable and an overall fabulous tour guide. Canal boat tour

Mike🇺🇸 United States

16 July 2022

Vanessa was the perfect guide. A nice easy evening on the canals with Vanessa providing great company. Pizza from the boat was a treat! Thanks for a great night!The Best Way to See Amsterdam

Beth🇺🇸 United States

8 July 2022

The only way to do Amsterdam is a board this wonderful boat. We toured all the canals and learned all about the tremendous history of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. We kept looking over at all the large commercial tour boats, and no one looked happy on them. This is a must do in Amsterdam day!The only way to do Amsterdam

Cortney🇺🇸 United States

8 July 2022

We loved our tour on Vanessa’s charming boat! It was private and tailored to what we wanted to see. We could definitely see more on the smaller canals than the larger boats could see. What a beautiful way to see Amsterdam! Thank you Vanessa! A wonderful tour!

Francesco🇮🇹 Italy

3 July 2022

It was a wonderful experience with Vanessa's amazing tour. her boat is clean and very neat and the amazing beauties of the canals are brought out in the best way.Vanessa

Amita🇮🇩 Indonesia

23 June 2022

Rolf was brilliant..he told us many interesting facts about the history of Amsterdam as well as the present Amsterdam. Me and my family (including 4 kids) truly enjoyed the experience..and he even dropped us in front of our restaurant just in time for our dinner reservation :) Thank you again Rolf and Vanessa..Wonderful and memorable

Valerie🇺🇸 United States

17 June 2022

Rolf was a gracious and knowledgeable guide. He shared interesting, personal anecdotes along the way. He adjusted his route based on our interests. He even made a dinner reservation for us and dropped us nearby. Relaxing and fun!Charming Ride

Janice🇺🇸 United States

9 June 2022

We had a lovely experience with Pauline. She gave us a relaxing and informative ride thru the various canals. She had lots of drink options we had a great time!Lovely ride

Corinne🇨🇭 Switzerland

27 May 2022

Lovely cruise with a friendly guide…the boat is super charming and cosy and it’s really worth it to see the city from the water. Great experince !

Darryl🇺🇸 United States

24 May 2022

Had scheduled this canal boat tour for our first evening in Amsterdam, and found it to be the most enjoyable, relaxing way to view city, and it kept us safe from all those bicycle riders! Our guide was both knowledgeable and charming. Highly recommend this cruise.

Nick🇩🇪 Germany

19 April 2022

Vanessa was great, with a lot of knowledge about the city and its history. The boat is also quite special and comfortable, especially with the electric motor.Really nice tour

Ruth🇺🇸 United States

18 April 2022

It was a cold and rainy evening when Vanessa picked us up on a canal very close to our hotel. (How convenient is that?) We snuggled in to a warm, little boat that was completely covered. She had a heater and plenty of blankets. We enjoyed drinks and snacks as we cruised Amsterdam's canals. Despite the rain, we enjoyed the lights and the sites along the canals. Vanessa's commentary was very good and we all enjoyed the cruise. We stayed DRY!

Ergün🇩🇪 Germany

30 July 2021

Very nice historic boat, nice guide and captain. We will do that again, one day. Thank you!Wonderful private boat trip

Isabelle🇱🇺 Luxembourg

7 August 2020

We had a good time with Marc, Vannessa’s partner. We enjoy a lot our trip on the canals and Marc was a great captain. For me, share an experience with local people is the best way to visit a city or a county. I recommend this little boat trip. It was only too short 😄. Enjoing amsterdam

Timo

31 July 2020

Es hätte nicht besser sein können. Die Tour war einfach perfekt und das Essen unglaublich. Absolute Empfehlung! Gruß Timo Perfect!

Katrin🇳🇱 Netherlands

9 February 2020

Thank you dear Vanessa for a perfect, interesting and fun boat trip. We learned a lot about Amsterdam, the history and culture. Our wonderful and nice tour guide explained everything perfectly, is so nice and friendly, helpful and flexible. We enjoyed it LOTS!!!!! and for sure will book it again with our visitors. You can see a lot and learn amazingly in a nice and fun environment. Thank you ;-) IT WAS WONDERFUL - our private canal tour

Robin🇺🇸 United States

30 October 2019

Vanessa was thoroughly knowledgeable and took us to places other boats cannot pass through. Enjoyed our tour immensely. Incredible canal cruise

Manuela🇺🇸 United States

6 October 2019

Vanessa was a wonderful host. We spent 1.5 relaxing hours on her beautiful boat Delphine, seeing Amsterdam from the canals. It was raining the whole time but that didn’t matter as it was cosy in the boat and we could still see everything perfectly. As we did our tour early in the morning, we were almost the only ones on the water. She was very nice to our kids and gave us great tips which non-touristic sites to visit afterwards. We had a great time overall! Thank you Vanessa!Great time on the water!

Kim🇺🇸 United States

23 September 2019

Vanessa provided us with a fabulous tour in her beautiful craft. She has a classic, wood boat that is not only spotless but has been converted to electricity, which results in a very relaxing, powerful and quiet ride. She also has a vast knowledge of the city and the various waterways. This is a great way to get a perspective of Amsterdam. We had our tour early in our visit and it paid great dividends later. The boat and tour are great for almost any situation, whether you are looking for a romantic cruise or one for the kids. I highly recommend. Fabulous, relaxing and informative

Ron🇺🇸 United States

8 September 2019

Let Vanessa and her glorious bought take you on a spectacular journey through time and bring you to some of the most beautiful places I have ever seen ! The boat is pristine , the crew is marvelous ! You must take this trip . You won’t me disappointed ! The Right Way to See the Canals of Amsterdam

susan🇺🇸 United States

1 September 2019

If you have the chance do this tour. Lovely clean verryyy old but delightful ship to whisk you away from the crowded canals and tour boats with 20+ people packed close to one another. Perfect way to enjoy the water and see different areas of Amsterdam. Highly recommendRelaxing way to see Amsterdam

Diana🇺🇸 United States

20 August 2019

Our family of 7 loved our private boat canal tour of Amsterdam. Vanessa was so warm and friendly and knew Amsterdam inside and out! The adults enjoyed the wine on board, and both adults and children enjoyed the yummy snacks! Vanessa was so accommodating and at the end of the tour, she dropped us off at a dessert place we wanted to check out, since it was our last night in Amsterdam. We highly recommend Vanessa and her canal boat! Perfect way to see Amsterdam!Amazing private boat tour of Amsterdam

Aline-Phung🇺🇸 United States

31 July 2019

Kirby🇺🇸 United States

1 July 2019

Vanessa was the perfect host and the boat was delightfully charming! The electric motor made us feel like we were gliding along in another world! We also discovered quiet side canals that provided very tranquil detours off the common routes. When we return to Amsterdam we will surely always take our time for this boat experience again! Surreal abs beautiful experience!

Aida🇺🇸 United States

27 June 2019

Thank you Vanessa for our canal cruise on your boat yesterday! We had a wonderful time with our guests !!! We would highly recommend to anyone who prefers enjoying this experience privately!! Very special!!!

Saskia🇳🇱 Netherlands

21 June 2019

I'm a local myself and cruised the canals many times. Our trip on Delphine exceded all expectations! The 103-year old salon-boot is cozy and pretty. The skipper Vera is very friendly, funny and well-informed. She adapts her narrative towards your specific interests. I sailed with an American friend and we discussed 17th century daily live, the position of women in this society and much more. I learned a lot myself! She pointed out specific places in the small canals where the big boats can't go, illustrating the things she was explaining. Half way down the tour it started raining. She stopped the boat for a short stop and closed the tent. Even with the tent down the view is still great. This cruise was so much more intimate, personal and “on the spot” than the other boats I sailed. Really something different. “Off the beaten track” and more about the social, cultural aspects of Amsterdam live than subsequently just pointing out the highlights. I absloutly loved it! Lovely personal cruise

Chris🇺🇸 United States

27 May 2019

The boat is very nice and historic. We learned a great deal about the city’s history while on the water. The gentleman who captained the boat was very professional and informative. A great way to see Amsterdam.Great canal tour

adam🇺🇸 United States

11 January 2019

Vanessa was wonderful and flexible to make it easy for us to have a tour with our 18 month old daughter. I definitely recommend her tour to anyone.Great Private Canal Tour

Dana🇺🇸 United States

2 December 2018

To begin with, I had to turn my phone on as Vera was late and it was not at all clear or obvious where they would pick us up - so an additional $10 cost. We were supposed to be out 1.5-2 hours and we got back at 1.25 hours and the next group was waiting and angry that their trip was 15 minutes late. We were not offered ANYTHING to eat or drink (as described in the booking) and we did not see or hear about most items described in the booking. Although it describes that the boat is heated, there wasn't any heat on while we were on it and we were freezing - even the captain had a coat and gloves on. The captain was on her phone a lot and we had to pull information out of her. There were several other beautiful small boats that picked up at this same dock - I would recommend you try them before booking this one. This is our first booking with "WithLocals" - we have used "Tours by Locals" for years and have done dozens of bookings through them and have NEVER been disappointed. I, personally, will not use With Locals again. Historically, we are 20%+ tippers on private excursions - this one got ZERO tip - especially as we were rushed off the boat to pick up the next crew. We were wondering if Vanessa had captained if it would've been a different experience. I rely on reviews when booking international tours, so I felt responsible for writing a true one about our experience. Boat Trip NOT as described in booking

Pedro

19 September 2018

Vanessa was our captain on this 1.5h cruise on this beautiful night. To see the city from the water was awesome. Our host was so knowledgable about the history of the sights and monuments along the waterfront. Vanessa made us feel very comfortable, felt like being with a long time friend. Highly recommend this tour. Spectacular Evening Cruise

debbie

18 October 2024

Fredrick was our skipper and he did s great job of showing us the city at night. It was one of the highlights of our trip! Very comfortable boat complete with blankets!

Lizika

20 July 2024

Wir haben diese Reise zu zweit angetreten, meine Mutter und ich. Es war ein Geschenk ihrer Kinder und Enkel zum 89. Geburtstag. Zwei weitere Personen hätten gut Platz gehabt, dann wird es kuschelig. Wegen eines Notfalls in der Familie hat Frederik, der Mann von Vanessa und Partner im kleinen Ausflugsunternehmen, uns gefahren. Das war im Vorfeld gut kommuniziert. Wir hatten am Morgen der Reise Kontakt über Whatsapp, so dass wir den Steg problemlos finden und rechtzeitig an Bord kommen konnten. Das kleine Schiff fanden wir wunderschön und liebevoll gemütlich und persönlich eingerichtet, es wurden uns freundlich Getränke angeboten. Da es unsere erste Reise nach Amsterdam war, hatten wir keine besonderen Ansprüche an die Route. Nach Gesprächen mit anderen Touristen im Nachhinein denke ich, es war eine Standardstrecke. Die Führung war in gutem Deutsch, unterhaltsam, persönlich und informativ. Fakten waren klug ausgewählt, um elementares Vorwissen zu ergänzen oder einzuordnen, persönliche Anekdoten ergänzten sie zu einem Eindruck, wie Menschen in Amsterdam leben und welche Probleme sie beschäftigen. Das ganze vermittelte Frederik auf professionelle und humorvolle weise, während er ja das Boot steuern musste, was uns zwischendrin auch die Zeit gab, die wir benötigten, um die Fahrt auf dem Wasser zu genießen, die Atmosphäre auf uns wirken zu lassen, die Häuser zu betrachten und zu fotografieren. Vielen herzlichen Dank für dieses freundliche und autentische Willkommen.Stilvoll, professionell, persönlich

Michael🇺🇸 United States

20 April 2024

Despite rain and chilly night air we had a wonderful time w Vanessa and Paul. It was more leisurely that the larger boats. We had a more interactive discussion with them about the neighborhoods we glided thru and when they took us to the closest wharf for us to catch a taxi back to our hotel they made sure we were in the taxi before returning to their boat. Top notch service!Wonderful canal experience