Amsterdam Canal Cruise: Historic Salon Boat

Join Captain Jack on an all-inclusive Amsterdam canal cruise with a maximum of 8 guests. Enjoy luxury, drinks, snacks, and intimate conversations while exploring the city’s canals.

Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Amsterdam Canal Ring - All cruises are personally captained by the owner of the Drift Away.
    Departures are from Singel no.7, and the cruise concludes at the same location.
    There is no fixed route; the cruise is customized based on guests’ preferences.
    The unique design of the Drift Away allows access to Amsterdam’s narrowest canals and the ability…
What's Included
  • Snacks
  • Extensive open bar
  • Local beers, top shelf liquors, soft drinks, hot drinks
  • Specialty G&T with local gin
Additional Information

Discover the iconic canals of Amsterdam on a delightful cruise aboard the historic salon boat, Sophie, established in 1911. This intimate experience, limited to 12 guests, offers a cozy and personalized journey.
Your host and guide for six days a week is Amsterdam native Boudewijn Metzelaar, affectionately known as “Captain Bow.” On Saturdays, one of his…

Location
Singel 5
Singel
Singel 5 is an adres. “Hotel Canal View” is located here. The departure point is INFRONT of this adres marked with 6 black morning poles with white caps along the canal. !!There is NO SIGN at the departure point itself at the moment due to zoning restrictions!!
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(483 Ratings)
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Crystal2787
Oct 18, 2025
Beautiful boat, warm atmosphere, great experience - My partner and I loved our experience on this boat tour. The captain created a warm atmosphere and the information he shared was interesting, informative, and entertaining. The boat itself is beautifully refurbished with a great bar selection. Canal tours are such a great way to see Amsterdam, the canals are quiet and offer a different perspective on the city.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dedelc2023
Oct 14, 2025
A magical and intimate experience on the canals of Amsterdam - This boat tour was truly one of the highlights of our trip! We were just two couples on board (plus the captain John), which made the whole experience feel very private and relaxed. Nothing like the big, crowded tourist boats. We did the tour in the early evening, just in time to watch the sun set over the canals and the city slowly light up as night fell. The views were absolutely stunning. The boat itself was super comfortable, we even had warm and soft blankets to keep us warm, the mini bar was a great bonus, and the captain’s stories and fun facts about Amsterdam made the ride even more enjoyable. You could really feel his passion for the city. My boyfriend and I loved everything about it. We 100% recommend this to anyone looking for a more special and personal way to experience Amsterdam’s canals.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Extraordinary543887
Oct 12, 2025
A great canal trip! - Such a great trip. Bow was so personable, freely shared lots of information both personal and historical. Beautiful journey. We would love to do it all over again.
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Khalm69
Oct 6, 2025
Great time - don’t miss out - We had a great time. It was the highlight of our time in Amsterdam and John green😀 was the best captain!!! Don’t miss ! History and a glass of wine in the canals with a small group was great
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Darrenwi2466zx
Oct 6, 2025
Beautiful 160 year old canal boat for a small private tour of the canals in Amsterdam. - Very friendly Captain Hans was great! He was full of stories on Amsterdam and the canal areas. Highly recommend. Drinks, wine and bar available.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Psbalmat
Sep 30, 2025
Bow’s Journey Evening Cruise was the highlight of our trip! - After researching many reviews from various canal cruises in Amsterdam, my husband and I booked our evening canal cruise with Bow’s Journey (by far the best reviews, including Facebook reviews by Rick Steves’ researchers and followers). Even though we booked a small group cruise (12 max), we got a private tour by Captain Jan (this was truly amazing)! Our favorite evening in Amsterdam! I was given a delicious glass of wine and my husband was given his favorite Bourbon, and Captain Jan gave us a lovely tour of beautiful canals and explained interesting history and information about Amsterdam (we really enjoyed his interest and personality-and his passion and love for Amsterdam). Thank you for a lovely and special evening Captain Jan! Your evening cruise was the highlight of our trip!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Craig
Sep 28, 2025
The captain John was very nice and informative and the journey was smooth as glass. We learned a lot with a fun group - The cabin was very good. The boat was very, very nice. I highly recommend this to anybody who is looking for something to do. This is not like the tours where you’re put on a boat like a cattle.
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Pikalu
Sep 27, 2025
Great evening canal cruise - The evening canal cruise with an extremely nice and prudent young skipper was the highlight of the day. Just perfect!
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Arthurssix
Sep 27, 2025
Best canal tour in Amsterdam - What a pleasant experience. We happened to be the only ones on our tour. So we were able to chat with our guide in between the interesting facts he gave us about canals and Amsterdam. Such a relaxing unhurried time. Definitely the canal tour to book.
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Sab60927
Sep 26, 2025
Wonderful afternoon cruise - We had a wonderful afternoon cruising the canals with our captain, John, who also served as our well informed historian. Lovely couple from Cabo also on board. beautiful city....thank you.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $68
up to 8 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).